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Feb. 15, 2015Final StatsNIU Tri-Meet Results 
DEKLAB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University women’s gymnastics team tied the school record with a 195.650 as it defeated league foe Bowling Green and Alaska at the Convocation Center Sunday afternoon.
NIU (6-2, 3-1) turned in season highs on vault (48.950), beam (48.750) and on the floor (49.075). The Huskies’ vault score tied for second on NIU’s all-time list while the floor score was tied for eighth best.
Bowling Green took second at the meet with a 195.200, while Alaska was third with a 190.925.
“This group, from the beginning of the year, wanted to get into the record book,” said NIU head coach Sam Morreale. “They want to set themselves apart from other teams. It’s not something they talk about everyday, but it’s something that’s in the back of their mind.
“The fact that they tied the school record, they’re ecstatic about, but they’re also a little upset because they were so close to breaking it. That’s what I love about them. They just aren’t satisfied.”
NIU was able to get some people gymnasts back this weekend, including Amanda Stepp. However, several Huskies, who have performed well in the gym, carried those performances to competition to help lead the Huskies to victory.
“It’s a testament to the depth of this group,” he said. “We have kids coming in and out of the line up. We have kids that were injured early in the year coming back to get in the line up. The hard part is becoming the line ups are solid so they have to work their way and earn it, which in turn makes us better.”
Jamyra Carter, Jaelyn Olsen (Osage Tribe) and Brittany Wenzel established career highs in the uneven parallel bars, beam and floor respectively. Carter, a sophomore from Ypsilanti, Mich., scored a 9.875 to took first on uneven parallel bars, while Olsen’s 9.850 gave the junior from Bethany, Okla. first on the beam. Wenzel posted a 9.875 on the floor exercise, tying for first place with Julia York of Bowling Green.
Freshman Ashley Potts had her best day as a Huskie finishing in second on bars and beam with a 9.800 and a 9.825, respectively. Both are career highs. Fellow freshmen Andie Van Voorhis’ career high of 9.825 on the vault was good enough for third place behind teammate Megan Greenfield. The sophomore from Crystal Lake, Ill. scored a 9.850 to tie her personal best.
“The freshmen are just surprising us,” Morrelae said. “They’re just getting up there and they’re hitting. They’re calm, they’re cool and that’s a huge piece of what we’re doing.”
NIU dominated on bars, scoring a 48.875 and taking four of the top five spots. In addition to Carter and Potts taking the first two places, Courtney Dowdell and Lauren Africano tied for fourth with each scoring a 9.750.
NIU returns to action Friday, Feb. 20, when NIU travels to Cape Girardeau, Mo. to face take on Southeast Missouri State. Competition begins at 6:30 p.m. Central Time.
