Huskers Have Strong Showing at NCAA Event Finals

Tuscaloosa, Ala. -- The junior trio of Julie Houk, A.J. Lamb and Jess Wertz represented Nebraska at the NCAA Individual Event Finals in Coleman Coliseum on Saturday. Lamb finish fifth on vault and ninth on the uneven bars, while Wertz finished ninth on vault and Houk finished 10th on the uneven bars.

In the event finals, gymnasts are required to perform two different vaults and the final score is an average of the two vaults. Lamb, the first competitor on vault, performed a handspring front pike with a half twist and followed with a handspring front pike. The Lincoln, Neb., native scored a 9.90 on her first vault and a 9.80 on her second vault, which had a start value of 9.90. Lamb's final score of 9.85 placed her fifth among the 11 competitors. On the uneven bars, she scored a 9.8375 to finish ninth overall. The only Husker with previous event finals experience, Lamb said she felt honored to compete in Saturday's competition.

"It was kind of a surprise that I even made finals, especially on bars," Lamb said. "It felt good to compete. There wasn't any pressure since you were just competing for yourself, and you didn't have your team counting on you. I just gave it my all and I did fine."

During the qualifier on Thursday, Lamb added first-team All-America honors on vault and bars to go along with her Northeast Regional and Big 12 Conference vault titles. What makes her accomplishments this season even more outstanding is that she did not compete either vault or bars last year, and had never competed a 10.0 vault until Nebraska's dual with Penn State on March 3. After earning first-team All-America honors on floor in 2000, Lamb was hindered by a back injury last season that limited her to the balance beam and floor exercise. Lamb is just the fifth Husker to compete for two individual event titles in the same year and the third under Head Coach Dan Kendig.

Wertz's first vault was a Yurchenko full twist, and earned a 9.8375. On her second vault, a Yurchenko layout, which has only a 9.80 start value, Wertz received a 9.65 for a final score of 9.7440 and a ninth-place finish. The Lebanon, Ohio, native's appearance in the event finals was even more impressive considering she missed the Huskers' first four meets with a sprained ankle and struggled with consistency throughout the season, hitting just 40 percent of her vaults entering the NCAA Championships. But during the three-day competition, she averaged 9.81 on the event, including posting a 9.90 in the qualifying session to tie for fourth among all competitors. Wertz has often been at her best in big competitions and proved it when she unleashed a season-high 9.90 at the Big 12 Championships to earn her second straight Big 12 vault title. A two-time all-conference selection on the event, Wertz became just the second Husker to earn a perfect 10.0 when she received the mark at Arizona State last season.

Although she has been in pressure situations before, Wertz admitted to being a b it nervous but said competing as an individual was not as satisfying as competing as a team.

"I was really nervous but it was a calm nervous," she said. "The fact I was able to land both vaults and just being here was really great. But this was nothing compared to the team competition. It was hard to get motivated for myself."

Competing in her first event finals after missing the cut off by the slimmest of margins the previous two seasons, Houk, the only gymnast to record a 9.90 in the first preliminary session on Thursday, a feat she repeated in Friday's Super Six competition, scored a 9.80 to finish 10th among 13 competitors. A second-team All-American in 2000 and 2001, Houk, who hails from Hamilton, Ohio, earned first-team honors after posting one of only three 9.90s awarded during the two qualifying sessions.

"It feels great," Houk said. "I've worked hard for this my whole college career and I finally got here. It's kind of hard though, competing for three days."

Nebraska is already looking forward to next season after finishing 2002 with a 23-8 record and the Big 12 Conference and Northeast Regional crowns. The Huskers will have nine All-Americans on their roster in 2003 and will play host to the 2003 NCAA Championships April 24-26. In addition, NU will regain the services of Alecia Ingram, the 2001 Big 12 Newcomer and Gymnast of the Year. Ingram underwent shoulder surgery in late November and took a redshirt year.

"I'm just proud of the fact we did well this weekend," Kendig said. "We hit every routine and this will springboard us into next year. Just being at home next year for nationals is going to be a big, big bonus. We'll be dominated by juniors and seniors that have had a lot of NCAA experience, and the biggest thing is we've got to keep improving, stay healthy and put our best foot forward at nationals."