Northern Illinois University gymnastics has added USA Level 10 gymnasts Natasha Jufko (Spring Hill, Fla./Pasco-Hernando HS) and Megan Melendez (Stafford, Va./North Stafford HS) to the Huskies' 2010-2011 roster, NIU women's gymnastics coach Mark Sontag announced Monday.
"This rounds out what is turning out to be a real strong group of freshmen for next year," Sontag said. "It's going to definitely be a group that will be come in and help us right off the bat."
Jufko trained at LaFleurs Gymnastics in Tampa where she served as Level 9 captain as a sophomore and Level 10 captain in 2009. As a freshman, her team won the Region 8 Championship and as a senior she helped her team win the state championship for Level 10. Jufko was a Level 9 national qualifier for the 2007-2008 season as well as a Level 10 N.I.T qualifier in 2009. She also grabbed the title of vault champion in 2008.
Melendez was named MVP of her high school team following the 2008-09 season after winning the state beam championship and taking first in district and second in regionals on balance beam. She earned all-conference, all-area and all-state honors her freshmen and junior years and served as captain of her North Stafford High School team as a junior.
Melendez trained at and competed for Apollo Gymnastics in Woodbridge, Va. In 2009 she earned a number of titles. At the NY Invitational, she picked up fifth in the all-around competition and took first place on uneven parallel bars, while she was fourth in the all-around and won the balance beam at the Richmond Classic. The Washington Post named her All-Metro and her local newspaper titled her All-Area and Gymnast of the Year. She was a regional qualifier for both 2009 and 2010.
Both Jufko and Melendez were also top-notch students in high school as Jufko earned high academic honors all four years while Melendez was a three-time winner of her school's Student-Athlete and Student-Scholar Awards.
