Huskers Finish Fifth in Super Six Finals

Tuscaloosa, Ala. - Despite ending the evening with a season-high score on the uneven bars, the Nebraska women's gymnastics team had to settle for fifth place at the NCAA Championships in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Friday night. Nebraska tallied a 196.425 to finish fifth among six teams, matching their 2001 finish. Head Coach Dan Kendig, who has guided Nebraska to the Super Six Finals five of the last six years, including each of the last four, was very pleased with how the Huskers' responded.

"I'm extremely proud of the athletes," he said. "They worked really hard all year for this night. We hit routines tonight. We really didn't have a miss. I couldn't be prouder of this group had we won the whole thing. Although we wish our placement could have been higher, our performance couldn't have been."

The Huskers got the hardest event out of the way first, scoring a 48.75 on the balance beam. But little steps on landings proved costly, as only sophomore Richelle Simpson was able to better 9.80 on the event receiving a 9.85. Freshman Jamie Saas scored a solid 9.75, while junior A.J. Lamb and sophomore Tami Harris each received scores of 9.725.

Nebraska took the floor after sitting out a bye and scored a 49.175, led by Simpson's 9.90. In Thursday's competition, Simpson, a native of Toronto, Ontario, missed qualifying for the floor finals by 0.025. Lamb also improved upon her qualifying score, recording a 9.85, while both Jen French and Harris received scores of 9.825. Competing in her first national meet, freshman Carrie Gloudemans was able to eliminate the mistakes that cost her in the qualifying session to score a 9.775. After two rotations, Alabama led the field (98.75), followed by Georgia (98.575) and UCLA (98.525). Nebraska and Stanford sat fifth with identical scores of 97.925.

Nebraska, which posted the top score on vault during the qualifying round, could only muster a 49.075, which tied Stanford for the lowest mark in the competition. Four Huskers received scores of 9.80 or better, including Wertz and Lamb, who both received 9.85s. The duo will represent Nebraska on vault in Saturday's event finals.

Nebraska returned from the locker room following their second bye and attacked the uneven bars with confidence. Harris, an All-American in 2001, started things off with a 9.875. Lamb, who will compete on bars in the event finals received a 9.85, as did Simpson, who received second-team All-America honors on Thursday. Wertz then stepped up and posted a season-high 9.90. Not to be outdone, Landgraf, one of five Husker All-Americans on bars, also received a 9.90, the highest mark of her career. Junior Julie Houk, the only gymnast to record a 9.90 in the first qualifying session, earned her second 9.90 of the competition to give the Huskers a season-high 49.425, the second-best bars score in the competition.

The meet also marked the last competition for senior Laura Goss. Goss, who earned All-Big 12 honors on vault and beam in 2000, competed for the final time on the balance beam finishing with a 9.70. Goss overcame kidney failure in early November to compete on beam in every meet for the Huskers, averaging 9.638. She became just the fifth Husker to record a 9.95 on the balance beam and the first to accomplish the feat as a senior when she helped Nebraska to a school record beam score of 49.675 at the Masters Classic on Feb. 23.

The Huskers capped a successful season that saw them capture their second consecutive Big 12 crown and third straight regional title en route to a final record of 23-8.

The draw for the individual event finals was held Thursday night with Lamb drawing the first spot on vault and fourth place on the uneven bars. Meanwhile Wertz will compete third on vault, while Houk drew the eighth spot on bars. The individual competition will begin at 7 p.m.

NOTE: The NCAA Championships will air on Sunday, April 28 at noon on CBS.

Team Results

Team	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	Total
Alabama	49.325	49.450	49.375	49.425	197.575
Georgia	49.250	49.325	49.375	49.300	197.250
UCLA	49.325	49.375	49.150	49.300	197.150
Utah	49.175	49.300	49.350	49.125	196.950
Nebraska	49.075	49.425	48.750	49.175	196.425
Stanford	49.075	48.925	49.000	49.025	196.025

Nebraska's Individual Results

Vault		Bars
A.J. Lamb (NU)	9.850	Julie Houk (NU)	9.900
Jess Wertz (NU)	9.850	Libby Landgraf (NU)	9.900
Tami Harris (NU)	9.800	Jess Wertz (NU)	9.900
Libby Landgraf (NU)	9.800	Tami Harris (NU)	9.875
Richelle Simpson (NU)	9.775	A.J. Lamb (NU)	9.850
Gina Bruce (NU)	9.725	Richelle Simpson (NU)	9.850

Beam		Floor
Richelle Simpson (NU)	9.850	Richelle Simpson (NU)	9.900
Jamie Saas (NU)	9.750	A.J. Lamb (NU)	9.850
Tami Harris (NU)	9.725	Jen French (NU)	9.825
A.J. Lamb (NU)	9.725	Tami Harris (NU)	9.825
Laura Goss (NU)	9.700	Carrie Gloudemans (NU)	9.775
Jen French (NU)	9.675	Libby Landgraf (NU)	9.775