DeKALB —The NIU women’s gymnastics team took home second place in the Kent State Tri-Meet Sunday, scoring 194.150 at the MAC Center in Kent, Ohio.

The Huskies finished behind Kent State University’s score of 195.300 but defeated Southeast Missouri State University’s score of 191.500 to capture second place.

NIU’s second-place outing on Sunday comes on the heels of their second-place finish in the Florida Quad Meet on Jan. 7. The Huskies closed out the event with a score of 194.550.

“It’s a sign of how our program has advanced that we’re far from satisfied with a 194,” NIU head coach Sam Morreale said in an NIU athletics press release. “We put together a solid meet to stay over 194 but we know we’ve got more.”

The top score of the day for the Huskies went to senior Tara Kofmehl, who scored a 9.850 on floor exercise to tie for first place. Kofmehl, along with freshman Isabella Sissi and senior Morgan Hooper, also scored a 9.775 to lead NIU in the vault. Hooper also tied for third on the balance beam with a score of 9.800 and a 9.700 in bars.

“Morgan stepped in on vault and did a great job,” Morreale said. “She had a really solid day which was a good bounce back from last week. She did a lot of work this week to smooth out the small errors and it paid off.”

Other notable performances for the Huskies included junior Brooklyn Spears’ 2022 debut on bars. Spears scored a 9.825 on bars to tie for third. Freshmen Alana Anderson and Emmalise Nock scored a 9.800 on floor to tie for fourth.

“We still have to work on our sticks and we have to cut down on the misses,” Morreale said. “There are a lot of positives to take, but there are still mistakes to build off of. It’s a short week but we’ll be excited to get out there again and compete.”

The Huskies will face off against Southeast Missouri State again, along with Lindenwood University 6 p.m. Saturday at the USA Invitational in Lebanon, Tennessee.