Kent State stuck it to the NIU gymnastic’s team Sunday afternoon, proving its reign in the MAC.

While the Huskies (4-2 overall, 3-2 MAC) celebrated ‘Stick it Pink,’ an effort to increase breast cancer awareness, the Golden Flashes came out victorious with a 194.200-193.750 win.

The loss is the Huskies’ third in four contests and second in a row. However, NIU head coach Mark Sontag was pleased with how the team performed against the preseason MAC favorite KSU (10-3, 4-0), especially after facing the quickest turnaround of the season.

“I’m proud of the girls, and I’m proud of the meet,” Sontag said. “We already competed once this weekend, and it’s very rare to compete twice in a weekend, but we came back and got a nice score. It was nice to go against one of the top teams in the conference and come within one miss of beating them.”

Though the team celebrated Senior Day, sophomore Holly Reichard stole the show, winning top honors in the all-around competition. Reichard scored a 39.175 and led the meet on the uneven bars with a 9.775 mark.

Senior Jennifer Naughton led both teams on the beam, with a 9.850 score, and shared the lead floor tally with teammates Leah Johnson and Reichard.

After the meet, the Huskies said goodbye to six seniors, who have seen 26 wins over the past four years. Tiffany Anderson, Briana Dicus, Johnson, Jessica Marston, Naughton and Ashton Flora all competed for the last time at the Convocation Center.

Each of the girls was presented with a picture, but Flora had an extra item in her gift bag. The senior’s boyfriend, a former NIU football player, ended the ceremony by getting down on one knee.

“No, no, I didn’t expect it. Not for 10 years,” joked a blushing Flora about the engagement. “It was definitely exciting, and the answer is yes.”

On Friday, NIU lost on the road to Central Michigan by a score of 195.350- 192.475. Reichard led the Huskies with a 9.800 on the floor and a 9.775 on the vault.

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