NU Sets Two School Records in Win at Quadrangular

Morgantown, W.V. - For the second time this season, the sixth-ranked Nebraska women's gymnastics team surpassed the 197 barrier, scoring a school-record 197.050 in a quadrangular with West Virginia, Penn State and James Madison in front of a crowd of 1,788 at WVU Coliseum. The Huskers used a school-record score of 49.60 on bars to better 197 for only the second time in school history. Nebraska's previous record of 197.025 was set Jan. 28 at Missouri. Altogether, Nebraska hit all 24 routines and scored 49 or better on all four events en route to its fifth straight victory. West Virginia finished second with a 196.6, followed by Penn State (194.925) and James Madison (190.100).

The Huskers placed six gymnasts in the top eight on bars, including sophomore Bree Dority O'Callaghan (Kearney, Neb,) and freshman Tami Harris (Virginia Beach, Va.), who both received career-high scores of 9.950 to tie for first. In all, four Huskers received career-high scores in the event, surpassing the previous record of 49.475 set at last year's Region 3 Championships. Sophomore Julie Houk (Hamilton Ohio) recorded a 9.925, while freshman Alecia Ingram (Oklahoma City, Okla.) tied her career-high with a 9.90 to finish tied for fifth. Sophomore Jess Wertz (Lebanon, Ohio) finished seventh with a 9.875 and freshman Libby Landgraf (Fort Collins, Colo.) tied for eighth with a career-high score of 9.825.

In addition to her career high on bars, Ingram tied her career high on beam with a 9.925 to win the event and propel her to her fourth all-around title (39.60) this season. Ingram also tied for third on floor with a career-high score of 9.925.

The Huskers were solid on all four events, including vault, where the team scored a season-high 49.175. Harris, who recently increased the start value of her vault to 10.0, unleashed a career-high 9.90 to finish second, while Landgraf, who also increased the difficulty of her vault, tied for sixth with a career-high 9.850. Harris, in addition to her bars (1st) and vault (2nd) finishes, added a sixth-place finish on floor (9.875) to capture fifth in the all-around with a career-high 39.3.

Sophomore Jen French (Greensboro, N.C.) also produced a solid meet, tying for fifth on beam with a career-high score of 9.875, and finishing tied for eighth on vault with a season-high 9.800.

Coach Dan Kendig was extremely pleased with his team's performance.

"They really did a heck of a job today," Kendig said. "Everybody did great."

The Huskers will take a week off before hosting the Masters Classic on Feb. 24 at Pershing Auditorium. Competition is set to begin at 2 p.m.