Ingram and Ringo Lead Huskers to Victory

Ames, Iowa -- Behind Alecia Ingram's (Knoxville, Tenn.) second all-around title of the season and a pair of victories from senior Amy Ringo (Phoenix, Ariz.), the eighth-ranked Nebraska women's gymnastics team improved to 3-1 on the season with a 195.50-195.075 victory over Iowa State in front of a crowd of 1,582 at Hilton Coliseum Friday evening.

Ingram, a freshman who was selected as the Big 12 Gymnast of the Week on Wednesday, took first in the all-around with a 39.325, .05 ahead of Iowa State's Sissy Huey's score of 39.275. Ingram placed first on vault (9.90) and earned top-four finishes on the other three events for the Huskers, whose lone loss of the year was to second-ranked UCLA in the season opener.

"I said all week that the meet would go down to the wire, and it did tonight," Nebraska Coach Dan Kendig said. "In some areas, we really improved from our last meet. I'm happy to come out with the win on the road, and we came out healthy, which is the important thing at this point of the season."

While Ingram captured the all-around title, Ringo turned in her best performance of the season, earning top-three finishes on all three events she competed in. The senior All-American took first on floor with a score if 9.90, tying ISU's Jessy Smith and Stephanie Sweitzer for top honors on balance beam with a 9.825 and placed third on vault with a season-high score of 9.80.

Entering the last event, Nebraska enjoyed a 146.70- 146.25 lead over the Cyclones, but were heading to balance beam, an event NU had struggled on in its first two meets. This evening, the Huskers hit five of six routines, capped by the performances of Ringo and Ingram, whose fourth-place score of 9.80 clinched the victory for the Huskers. ISU scored a 49.125 to get within 0.125 of the Huskers, but were deducted three-tenths of a point for competing out of order, providing NU with a comfortable margin of victory.

"Overall, I was pleased with our beam effort tonight," Nebraska assistant coach Rhonda Feahn said. "Heading in to the final event, we knew it would be close and there was a lot of pressure, but they were aggressive and had a lot of confidence. It was a good situation (ending on beam) at this time of the season, and we responded and got the victory."

The Huskers opened strong in the first rotation, scoring a 49.00 on uneven bars, paced by 9.875 by Julie Houk (Hamilton, Ohio) to place second and a third-place score of 9.85 by sophomore Bree Dority O'Callaghan (Kearney, Neb.), who missed last week's meet with a knee injury. ISU opened on vault, scoring a 48.65, including a 9.85 by Kringen to finish second.

After two events, ISU cut the Husker lead to 0.30, as the Cyclones scored a 48.70 on uneven bars, bettering the 48.55 by the Huskers on vault. Huey led the charge for ISU, winning the uneven bars title with a 9.925 on uneven bars.

On the third rotation, NU topped the 49 mark on floor for the third straight meet with a 49.15, including four scores of 9.80 or better. In addition to Ringo's first-place score, Ingram tied for third with a 9.85, while freshman Libby Landgraf (Fort Collins, Colo.) and sophomore Jess Wertz (Lebanon, Ohio), placed sixth and seventh with scores of 9.825 and 9.85, respectively. While the Huskers were performing well on floor, ISU stayed within striking distance with a 48.90 on balance beam, as Smith and Sweitzer tied Ingram for first on the event.

The Huskers return to action on Sunday, Jan. 28, when they travel to Big 12 rival Missouri for a 2 p.m. meet. NU's next home meet is Saturday, Feb. 3 against Oklahoma at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.