DeKalb Times

Northern Illinois University issued the following announcement on Jan. 6

The Northern Illinois University gymnastics team opens its season Friday night in Gainesville, Florida with enthusiasm and high expectations as the team looks to continue its upward trend and achieve even greater heights in 2022.

 

With the return of a pair of 2021 MAC individual champions and NCAA qualifiers, the signing of "arguably" the most talented freshman class in head coach Sam Morreale's 11 years leading the program, and depth on every event, the 2022 Huskies have their sights set on returning to the top of the MAC podium and beyond this season.

 

"Our goals don't change," Morreale said.  "We want to be conference champs, we want to beat some of the big teams on our schedule, we want to be undefeated in the conference. Some of the 'big' teams on our schedule are our MAC opponents and that's the great thing about our conference. The other side of it is we, we want to get to Regionals as a team. That is where we're driving this train, that's our next step, getting that postseason berth."

 

The Huskies are coming off a second-place finish at the 2021 Mid-American Conference Championships, the third consecutive MAC Championship meet that NIU placed in the top two. Returning Huskies Tara Kofmehl (Mesa, Ariz./Red Mountain HS) and Natalie Hamp (Ionia, Mich./Ionia HS) won MAC individual titles, and they, along with 2021 senior Zoie Schroeder, advanced to NCAA Regionals as individuals.

 

Four of the five seniors on the Huskies' 2022 roster were freshmen on the 2019 team that won NIU's first MAC women's gymnastics championship and that group, along with returning "super senior" Gabby Welch (Greenbrier, Tenn./Aaron Academy), are leading the charge to make 2022 a historic season.

 

"Our senior class, they came in as freshmen and won a MAC Championship, and in the last couple of years, we've come up a little short in terms of their expectations, so they are determined to lead us to another one," Morreale said. "They really want to bookend their careers. So, we have the great senior class to lead us, we have quality depth throughout our lineups and we're going to be very competitive every day in practice. We had a super preseason, especially compared to a year ago when we didn't really have a summer, and we're ready."

 

Among the seniors, Kofmehl and Morgan Hooper (Lincoln, Neb./St. Pius X HS) will serve as the Huskies' team captains, a role Kofmehl earned entering the 2021 MAC Championships. The Arizona native won a share of the MAC individual title on vault and competed as an all-arounder in the NCAA Salt Lake City Regional, where she scored a 39.175 to place seventh. Hooper has competed all-around at times over the last two seasons and has been a regular on uneven parallel bars, balance beam and vault throughout her Huskie career.  

 

"Tara is clicking on all cylinders," Morreale said. "She has a very high skill level to go with a great work ethic and attention to detail. She is really good at what she does. It is funny because floor has always been her best event, then she goes out and wins the MAC on vault and now has become one of our most solid performers on balance beam. Tara is not someone who is going to take 1000 reps, but she takes quality reps and her hit ratio is extremely high.

 

"Morgan is a super-talented gymnast who is definitely good enough to be an all-arounder for us," Morreale said. "Bars is her best event and that's where she's going to shine, but she also has one of our highest difficulty beam routines."

 

Welch returns for her "super senior" season where she will contend for the anchor spot in NIU's vault line-up and has the capacity to step into the top six on floor.

 

"We were very happy Gabby was able to come back," Morreale said. "The intangibles she brings from a leadership standpoint and a calming presence is something we need with the youth we have on the roster."

 

Kelsey Martz (Lima, Ohio/Delphos St. John's HS) and Liana Roman (Meriden, Conn./Platt HS) round out the 2022 senior class. The two event specialists will be in the mix for spots in the floor and bars line-ups, respectively.

 

The Huskies' five-woman junior class is led by Hamp and Brookelyn Sears (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville HS), who was on pace to compete as an all-arounder in 2022 before a setback just prior to the holiday break which may hinder her early in 2022. Sears suffered a knee injury two years ago and returned to compete every meet on uneven parallel bars last year while wearing a knee brace. Prior to the latest injury, she had shed the brace and returned to her pre-injury form if not beyond, according to Morreale.

 

"Brookelyn was looking really, really good on all four events and we'll get her back here at some point this month," Morreale said. "She worked really hard, and her knee has tested out as one of the strongest on the team which speaks to her desire to get back to where she was.

 

"Natalie [Hamp] is a rock star on bars and that's her claim to fame, but she has pushed hard in the other three events this offseason to get in the mix," Morreale said. "What she does [on bars] is as difficult as anyone in the nation, so truly it's about consistency."

 

Twins Jacklyn and Gillian Dolitsky (Commack, N.Y./Commack HS) and Ciara Ryan (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake South HS) comprise the rest of the junior class. Ryan brings the only 10.0 vault on the team and is ready to move into an exhibition spot on that event while working on consistency. The Dolitskys have all four events covered as Gillian is capable of putting together a "spotless" routine on bars and vault, while Jacklyn's top events are balance beam and floor exercise, which are two of the Huskies' deepest events.

 

"I am super proud of the work all three of them put in during the offseason," Morreale said. "All three are pushing the competition on those events."

 

NIU's five sophomores made quite an impact as freshmen with Alyssa Al-Ashari (Lansing, Mich., Grand Ledge HS), Kendall George (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville Central HS) and Olivia Lynd (West Chester, Ohio/ Ursuline Academy) all competing in line-up at one point or another during the 2021 season while Grace Humphrys (Cocoa, Fla./Space Coast HS) was an exhibition gymnast on vault and floor exercise throughout the year. Entering this season, Al-Ashari is one of the Huskies' top bars workers and is slated to lead off on that event for NIU, while also moving into the anchor spot on balance beam. After beginning 2021 in the NIU line-up on vault, beam and floor, George's 2021 season was derailed by injuries in mid-February. She'll begin 2022 as one of the Huskies' top six on beam and will challenge for line-up and exhibition spots on vault and more. Lynd made her mark on both vault and beam a year ago, scoring as high as 9.8 on balance beam, where she's expected to have the most impact in 2022. Isabelle West (Northbrook, Ill., Glenbrook North HS), who did not compete for the Huskies a year ago while rehabbing an injury, is ready to make her Huskie debut, beginning on vault, and has a bars routine that is "knocking on the door" of the line-up, according to Morreale, while Humphrys brings a work ethic and determination that will serve her well both this year and in the future.

 

The six freshmen on the 2022 NIU roster served notice almost immediately upon arriving on campus this fall that they were going to be a force to be reckoned with.

 

"The great thing about a freshman is, they came in and made us better," Morreale said. "They put everyone on notice that they were ready to make a push. We are excited to see them compete and see how they handle the college meet atmosphere. We are super-impressed with these six freshmen and what they are going to do for us moving forward. Top to bottom this is arguable the best group of freshmen we've brought in, especially with what their top-end can be going forward."

 

Huskie fans will see Minnesota freshman Isabella Sissi (Blaine, Minn./Mounds View HS) on all four events in either the line-up or as an exhibition gymnast, while Emmalise Nock (Rosemount, Minn./Rosemount HS) is already one of the Huskies' best tumblers on floor exercise and brings a strong vault as well as a double tuck dismount off the balance beam. Alana Anderson (Joliet, Ill./Joliet West HS) can contribute on floor, beam and bar as she continues to push the skill level on those events.

 

"For Isabella, Emmalise and Alana, what they're doing is not necessarily at the top of their skill tree, but they make what the do look effortless and that makes it fun to watch," Morreale said.

 

Freshman Ellery Werner (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander HS) is currently a bars and beam specialist who brings clean routines and beautiful lines as she continues to develop. Emma Brkljacic (Tampa, Fla./East Lake HS) has the ability to be one of NIU's best vaulters and is another gymnast who has added to the Huskies' depth on balance beam. Jenna Blair (Buffalo, N.Y./Frontier HS) has a chance to contribute on floor exercise as she continues to make the adjustment to college gymnastics.

 

With so many talented gymnasts throughout the roster on every event, the biggest challenge for Morreale and his staff may be determining who to put in the line-up each week.

 

"Everyone is prideful, they are all working hard to contribute and get in the line-up," Morreale said. "We are super deep on several events which is a great problem to have. It's going to make my job harder because who the top six are in any given week is not cut and dried.

 

"For example, on beam, with the routines we have, they're almost interchangeable. To be able to take your ninth person and be able to insert her in your line-up and have confidence she can be as good as one of the top six, that's a great thing as a coach and is a testament to [Associate Head Coach] Nita [Teague] and her hard work with that group.

 

"You look at our bars squad, they should be able to chase some greatness this year," Morreale added. "We're able to put one of our top bars routines in the leadoff spot and have the potential to open with that 9.8. Floor and vault are similar, the competition to be in the top six is making everyone and our team, better.

 

"We have the talent, the skill, the depth, everyone works hard.  It's going to come down to hits, handstands and sticks. We do those three things and get everyone understanding their roles and pushing in the same direction, we are going to have a chance to meet those goals."

 

The Quad Meet versus the No. 2 ranked Florida Gators, Rutgers and Texas Woman's University is the first meet in a season-opening, month-long road swing.  The meet is available beginning at 5:45 pm (CT) on SEC Network +.  

Original source can be found here.