Husker Women Continue to Roll; Men Finish Second

The eighth-ranked Nebraska women’s gymnastics team captured its sixth-consecutive match victory with a 195.725-194.625 win over Brigham Young Saturday evening in Provo, Utah. The Husker men’s gymnastics team, which also traveled to Utah Saturday, finished second in a triangular with seventh-ranked Michigan State and the eighth-ranked Cougars, scoring 225.95. BYU edged the Huskers for first with a team score of 226.00, while MSU finished third with a score of 225.675.

The Husker women, who improved to 14-2 on the season, were led by senior Laurie McLaughlin (State College, Pa.), who tied for first on two events. McLaughlin tied BYU’s Mindi Hilton for first on uneven bars (9.85) and tied BYU’s Jeni Thomas for first on balance beam (9.85). It is the second straight week McLaughlin placed first on both events, as the senior from State College, Pa., accomplished the feat at last week’s Masters Classic to earn Big 12 Gymnast-of-the-Week honors.

In all, three different Huskers tied for event titles as Nebraska posted its best road score of the season. Senior Courtney Brown (Fishers, Ind.) won her second straight title on vault, tying her career high with a 9.90, while also taking third on both balance beam (9.825) and floor exercise (9.85). Senior Misty Oxford (Kelso, Wash.) rounded out the Huskers individual winners, tying BYU’s Natalie Broekman for first on floor exercise with a score of 9.90. Oxford also finished third on vault with a 9.80.

“We thought the scoring was a little bit tight tonight, but I’m still really pleased with the way we did,” NU women’s gymnastics coach Dan Kendig said. “We were six for six on our bar routines, and we hit five out of six on the floor and beam, so we performed really well.”

Junior Nicole Wilkinson (London, Ontario) was NU’s only all-arounder, finishing second with a score of 39.05, the third time in four meets Wilkinson scored a 39 or better in the all-around. Broekman won the all-around title for BYU, which fell to 4-9 on the season with a score of 39.175.

The Husker men took three of the top four spots in the all-around, paced by All-American Derek Leiter’s (Lincoln, Neb.) second-place score of 56.65, finishing behind BYU’s Guard Young, who won the all-around with a score of 57.20. Leiter, a junior from Lincoln, earned runner-up finishes on floor exercise (9.70), vault (9.55) and horizontal bar (9.65), as the Huskers moved to 8-2 on the season.

Sophomore Jason Hardabura (Oakville, Ontario) earned the Huskers’ only individual title, taking first on high bar with a score of 9.675 and placed second on still rings (9.675) en route to a third-place finish in the all-around (56.40). Freshman Martin Fournier (St. Hubert, Quebec) placed fourth in the all-around with a career-high score of 56.10, highlighted by a third-place finish on parallel bars (9.60). Other top-three finishers included sophomore Grant Clinton (Katy, Texas), who finished third on still rings with a career-high score of 9.70, and junior Blake Bukacek (Lincoln, Neb.), who finished third on high bar with a score of 9.60.

“We hit 78 percent of our routines, and that’s not great, but it’s a good score for us on the road,” Husker men’s Coach Francis Allen said. “We hung in there pretty well. We just need to clean up our act a little and we’ll be fine.”

Both Husker teams return to action next Sunday, March 14, with a men’s and women’s dual meet against Penn State at the Bob Devaney Sports Center, beginning at 1 p.m.. The Husker men will take on the top-ranked Nittany Lions, while the Husker women will take on the fourth-ranked Lady Lions.

Women’s Team Scores (Records)
1. Nebraska (13-2) 195.725
2. BYU (4-9) 194.625

All-Around
1. Natalie Broekman (BYU) 39.175
2. Nicole Wilkinson (NU) 39.05
3. Kim Little (BYU) 38.325

Vault
1. Courtney Brown (NU) 9.90
2. Kim Little (BYU) 9.85
3. Misty Oxford (NU) 9.80

Uneven Bars
1. Laurie McLaughlin (NU) 9.85
Mindi Hilton (BYU) 9.85
3. Kelly Parkinson (BYU) 9.825

Balance Beam
1. Laurie McLaughlin (NU) 9.85
Jeni Thomas (BYU) 9.85
3. Courtney Brown (NU) 9.825

Floor Exercise
1. Natalie Broekman (BYU) 9.90
Misty Oxford (NU) 9.90
3. Courtney Brown (NU) 9.85

 

Men’s Team Scores (Records)
1. BYU (11-2) 226.000
2. Nebraska (8-2) 225.950
3. Michigan State (4-9) 225.675

All-Around
1. Guard Young (BYU) 57.20
2. Derek Leiter (NU) 56.65
3. Jason Hardabura (NU) 56.40

Floor Exercise
1. David Ruiz (MSU) 9.75
2. Derek Leiter (NU) 9.70
3. Guard Young (BYU) 9.65
Tommy Housley (MSU) 9.65

Pommel Horse
1. Ken Baker (MSU) 9.70
2. Jonathoan Plante (MSU) 9.65
3. Guard Young (BYU) 9.60
Dmitry Kolodyaz (BYU) 9.60

Still Rings
1. Cortney Bramwell (BYU) 9.90
2. Jason Hardabura (NU) 9.725
3. Grant Clinton (NU) 9.70

Vault
1. Tommy Housley (MSU) 9.65
2. Derek Leiter (NU) 9.55
3. Guard Young (NU) 9.45

Parallel Bars
1. Dmitry Kolodyaz (BYU) 9.75
2. Rob Rimpini (BYU) 9.65
3. Martin Fournier (NU) 9.60

Horizontal Bar
1. Jason Hardabura (NU) 9.675
2. Derek Leiter (NU) 9.65
3. Blake Bukacek (NU) 9.60