March 29, 2007

DeKALB, Ill. - Northern Illinois won just one dual meet versus Mid-American Conference competition in 2007, but after taking second place at the Illinois Classic last weekend and defeating 20th-ranked Illinois in the process, NIU head coach Mark Sontag believes his Huskies have as good a chance to win this year's MAC Gymnastics Championship as any of the seven teams in the competition.

NIU will be looking for its first MAC team title in women's gymnastics, but as the Huskies have posted a team score of at least 48.825 on every event this season, a consistent performance across all four events and throughout all six spots in the line-up will put Northern Illinois squarely in the mix for the title, Sontag believes.

"We're a well-rounded team in that we don't have a weak event, but our Achilles heel has been consistency," Sontag said. "It's been a year where, at different times, we've done well on each event, but this is the meet where you have to put it all together."

NIU scored season-highs on the vault (48.850) and floor exercise (48.900) last week, went 48.825 on the uneven parallel bars earlier this season versus Eastern Michigan, and had a season-best 48.875 on balance beam at No. 9 Denver. The Huskies earned at least 48 points on every event last week, only the second time all year they have achieved that mark across the board.

"It will take everyone doing their job to win. The people at the top of the line-up will get us in the door - they are given performers week after week," he said. "Where you win a championship, and especially in this league, is when six people on each event go in and get the job done. Perfection is the focus and the goal for a meet like this. The title goes to the team that comes closest to that."

Northern Illinois is led by sophomores Leah Johnson (Glenview, Ill.) and Jennifer Naughton (Smithville, Mo.). Johnson, the lone all-arounder in the NIU line-up, won the state title in the all-around last week at the Illinois Classic with her season and career best score of 39.075. Naughton also earned All-State honors as she won the floor exercise and owns Northern Illinois' best scores this season on the vault (9.850), beam (9.875) and floor (9.850).

Senior Jody Yednock is NIU's top performer on the uneven parallel bars and is a member of the Huskies' beam team, while freshman Natalie Blum has been extremely consistent on the floor exercise as well as on vault and balance beam.

"We've been training hard," Sontag said. "We've come together as a team and we're peaking at the right time. I'm proud of the way the team has battled through illness and injury and stayed focused, even after we lost some people early in the year. I'm extremely proud of everyone."

The Huskies will open the meet on the floor exercise and then move to the vault, bars and beam, with one rotation off between each event. Action gets underway at 1:05 p.m. (CDT) at the Convocation Center in Ypsilanti.

Comcast SportsNet Chicago will air the 2007 MAC Gymnastics Championships tape-delay on Tuesday, April 17 at 8 p.m. (CDT).

-- NIU --