After a close loss to Kent State, the NIU gymnastics team has bounced right back.

NIU Juniors Leah Johnson and Jennifer Naughton helped bring the Huskies (1-1 overall, 1-1 MAC) to a 193.4-188.125 win over the Western Michigan Broncos (2-2, 1-
1) on Sunday.

Johnson placed first in the uneven bars, where she tied her career high of 9.775. The junior recently set her new record last weekend against Kent State.

“I am really happy that we are at such a great place right now,” Johnson said. “I just want to continue it. We can do great things.”

The all–arounder credits her performances to her teammates and fans. Johnson believes the cheering from both, a crowd of over 500 people, affected her routines
positively.

“I think the louder it is the better it is,” Johnson said. “The fact that we have our teammates and our fans supporting us in the background makes it more motivating
to go all out.”

Johnson also took first in the floor exercise and in the allaround category where she scored 9.8 and 38.925 respectively. Noughton claimed first place on the balance beam, scoring 9.750, while freshman teammate Holly Reichard took second on vault,
scoring 9.750.

WMU’s Courtney Lesson placed first on vault with a .9775.

NIU Head coach Mark Sontag said he was happy with the way the team performed. Sontage felt the girls’ improved from their last meet.

“The secret to us getting better is to go after and hit these routines and not to try to not fall,” Sontag said. “Today we had a couple mistakes but I liked the attitude,
the go get it attitude. Once I see that, I know our team is getting better.”

Other noticeable gymnasts included NIU’s Jennifer Rice and Allison Holysz. Rice scored a 9.7 with her floor routine, while Holysz put up a 9.725 on the uneven
parallel bars.

“We wanted to get everyone’s attention here,” Johnson said. “We want to draw in a lot of fans and take notice that we can have huge scores not only at away
meets, but also at home.”

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