2002 Season Review

Success can be defined in many ways. In gymnastics, it is often measured by an individual?s quest to achieve the perfect 10.0. But for Coach Dan Kendig and the 2002 Nebraska gymnastics team, success wasn?t defined by a scoresheet.

The Huskers were dealt two major blows before the start of the season with the losses of All-Americans Bree Dority O?Callaghan, who retired from gymnastics because of a back problem, and Alecia Ingram, who elected to redshirt the season after undergoing shoulder surgery. In November, senior Laura Goss was hospitalized with kidney failure, reducing the Huskers? numbers even further. The team was dealt another blow when junior Jess Wertz injured her ankle before the season opener.

Despite the early setbacks, the Huskers never doubted themselves, and the team went on to capture its second straight conference title, third consecutive regional title and a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Super Six Finals. Individually, six Huskers were named All-Americans, which tied for the most in school history, while three qualified for the NCAA event finals. The Huskers also had five gymnasts named to the All-Big 12 team, and Associate Head Coach Rhonda Faehn was named the 2002 South Central Assistant Coach of the Year.

Not only did the Huskers excel in the gym, but they were also outstanding in the classroom. Nebraska placed a school-record seven members on the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches Scholastic All-American team, including Jen French, who also garnered second-team Verizon/CoSIDA Academic All-America honors. In addition, Nebraska led the conference in academic All-Big 12 selections for the fifth year in a row. In all, seven Huskers were honored by the league, including six on the first team.

Nebraska had one of its most successful seasons in 2002, but it wasn?t always a smooth ride. Nebraska struggled with consistency throughout the year, but the team never stopped believing it belonged with the best teams in the country.

The Huskers? biggest weapon proved to be its trio of all-arounders, who together made up 50 percent of Nebraska?s routines. The combination of sophomore Richelle Simpson, a Penn State transfer, A.J. Lamb, fully healed from a bothersome back injury, and Tami Harris, one of the Huskers? most consistent competitors, gave NU a distinct advantage.

Nebraska was also bolstered by the improved routines of its veterans. Junior Julie Houk showed why she was one of the best bar workers in the country, winning six individual event titles and earning her third All-American award, while French demonstrated her prowess on the floor exercise increasing her personal best to 9.925. Sophomore Gina Bruce and Goss both proved valuable competitors and often stepped up in pressure situations.

Although junior Jess Wertz struggled to find her rhythm after her injury, she was a force in the postseason, especially on vault, where she earned first-team All-America honors.

The Huskers also received significant contributions from freshmen Carrie Gloudemans and Jamie Saas, who filled in when and wherever needed. The biggest surprise may have been the emergence of sophomore Libby Landgraf. A mainstay in the Huskers? vault, bars and floor lineups, Landgraf reached new heights in 2002, setting personal bests on all three events.

Typical of Kendig?s philosophy of measuring oneself against the best, Nebraska faced one of the toughest schedules in the country in 2002, and the Huskers wasted no time testing themselves against the nation?s elite programs. NU opened the season Jan. 6 at NCAA runner-up Georgia, where the Huskers proved they were ready for the early season challenge, as three Huskers posted scores of at least 9.90, including Simpson, who tied the school record on floor with a 9.95 in her first meet as a Husker.

Entering the final rotation, NU trailed Georgia by only a quarter of a point, but the Bulldogs proved too powerful and secured a 196.875-196.35 victory. Even with the loss, the Huskers knew they were well ahead of where they were at the same point in 2001.

Nebraska kicked off its home season with a 194.60-193.225 victory over No. 16 Iowa, but it didn?t come easily. In an uncharacteristically sloppy performance, the Huskers struggled on the uneven bars and balance beam, typically two of Nebraska?s stronger events. NU got off to a slow start on vault, scoring a 48.675, the team?s lowest score in more than a year. The Huskers? troubles continued on the uneven bars when their first competitor fell and another committed a costly error. It didn?t get any better on the balance beam as the team had to count a fall. One bright spot was the performance of Saas, who Kendig praised for her fighting spirit. As the anchor of NU?s beam unit, Saas found herself in a pressure-filled situation having to compete after two Huskers had fallen, but the freshman showed true grit and came through in the pinch.

Nebraska opened the Big 12 season on Jan. 18 in Ames, Iowa, where it defeated the Cyclones, 196.025-195.70, with a well-rounded effort.

Against Missouri on Jan. 27, Nebraska tried some new things on vault, resulting in its highest score to date. Four Huskers competed vaults with a 10.0 start value, as NU claimed five of the top six spots on the event.

The Huskers also saw improvement on the uneven bars. After failing to break 49.0 on the event in the first three meets of the season the Huskers posted a 49.275, highlighted by the performances of Harris and Houk, who shared the title as each received a 9.90.

But it seemed Nebraska couldn?t eliminate all of its mistakes. After its first four competitors all scored 9.80 or better on floor, including Lamb, who posted a personal-best 9.95, the Huskers? final two gymnasts each fell on a tumbling pass, resulting in the lowest floor score of the season. Even with the errors, the Huskers cruised to a 195.95-194.70 victory.

With consistency as its goal, fourth-ranked Nebraska traveled to Tuscaloosa, Ala., site of the NCAA Championships, to face 2001 NCAA Runner-up Alabama, ranked fifth nationally.

The Huskers put together some impressive routines, and while they had eliminated many of the mistakes that plagued them earlier in the season, a lack of polish proved costly, as Nebraska fell 196.925-196.10 to the eventual champs.

With the loss, Nebraska fell to 3-2 on the season, but the Huskers left with a preview of the national championship atmosphere. Secure in the knowledge that they knew what was required to compete for a national championship, the Huskers used the following two weeks to polish their routines and to prepare for the Hearts Invitational, hosted by N.C. State.

The extra time in the practice gym paid dividends, as the Huskers produced their most complete performance, bettering 49.0 on all four events for the first time all season. Nebraska ran away with the meet title with a score of 196.875, bettering runner-up Auburn (195.80) by more than a point.

Individually, the Huskers swept the all-around taking the top three places, highlighted by a career performance by Harris. The Virginia Beach, Va., native won the vault (9.875) and floor (9.90) titles and also placed second on the balance beam with a career high 9.90. Her all-around total of 39.50 ranks 14th all-time at Nebraska, and her performance earned her Big 12 Gymnast-of-the-Week honors.

Throughout the course of the season, the Huskers made it their goal to eliminate the wobbles that hindered them much of the season. In their biggest home meet of the season, the Masters Classic, Nebraska was ready to show the hometown crowd just how much progress it had made.

After starting the meet with a shaky performance on vault, which placed the Huskers behind Arizona State after one rotation, Nebraska regrouped on bars to score a 49.325. But the turning point of the meet came when Nebraska hit the balance beam. NU claimed the top six places, as five of six Huskers set or tied career highs, en route to a school-record score of 49.675, the second-best beam score in the nation in 2002 behind Alabama?s 49.725.

It started with Lamb, who tied her own school record with a 9.95, a mark she shared with two other Huskers. But the record held for only three more routines as Simpson, the fifth Husker to compete, bettered the mark with a 9.975 to set a new school and Masters Classic record. But the Huskers weren?t finished as Goss set a new personal best by scoring a 9.95 to smash her previous high of 9.875.

Nebraska, which led ASU by more than a point heading into the final event, finished the evening with another record-setting performance, as Simpson became the first Husker in school history to score a 9.975 on the floor exercise.

The Huskers broke 197 for the first time in 2002, totaling 197.15, the fifth-best score in school history. West Virginia, ranked 25th at the time, finished second (194.75), followed by 16th-ranked Arizona State (194.60) and Ohio State (193.60).

Kendig and the Huskers have long held the belief that the Devaney Center is the best place to compete floor exercise, and when Penn State came to town on March 3, the Nittany Lions saw first hand the impact the hometown crowd had on the Huskers.

Despite competing only five gymnasts on floor, the Huskers? 49.525 was the top score ever recorded at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. After the first five Huskers hit, Kendig pulled Carrie Gloudemans from the lineup in order to rest her ankle, which she had injured in warm-ups.

The meet also proved to be a breakout performance for Lamb, who earned top-three finishes on all four events and won the all-around with a career-high 39.525. Lamb, who became the third Husker to better 39.50 in the all-around, posted a 9.875 on vault before earning a season high 9.875 on bars. After a third-place finish on beam (9.85), she earned a share of the floor title with a 9.925.

The Huskers closed out the regular season with a 196.95-195.10 victory over conference rival Iowa State. Nebraska, which trailed by 0.125 points heading into the final rotation, used a strong showing on floor to secure the win over the 10th-ranked Cyclones.

Even though it was senior day, Landgraf stole the spotlight early in the meet. For the second consecutive week, Landgraf earned a career-high 9.925 on vault to share the title with ISU?s Shelly Kringen.

Two weeks later, Nebraska faced Iowa State for the third time in 2002, in another typically tight Big 12 Conference Championship. After three rotations Nebraska sat comfortably in first with its largest lead of the evening, but the Huskers got a bit of a scare when two major bobbles on bars seemed to open the door for the Cyclones. Even though Iowa State posted one of its best balance beam scores of the season, NU?s lead was too great as Nebraska claimed its fifth Big 12 and eighth conference title under Kendig.

Individually Simpson had the meet of her career posting a personal-best all-around score of 39.575, which included two event victories.

After attaining school-record scores on beam and floor, the Huskers turned their attention to vault, which had proved to be their Achilles heel. Under the watchful eye of Assistant Coach Adrian Burde, the Huskers? vault coach, Nebraska?s scores increased, evidence that the team was peaking at the right time. Proof came April 6 at the NCAA Northeast Regional in State College, Pa., where Nebraska needed to finish in the top two to earn a berth to the national meet.

Ranked eighth in the nation, Nebraska entered the meet in search of its third straight regional title, but the Huskers? road to the NCAA Championships first had to travel through fifth-ranked Michigan, No. 16 Iowa, Penn State, George Washington and Pittsburgh.

NU got off to a shaky start on bars, and after each team had competed two events, Nebraska found itself trailing Iowa, 97.65-97.40, while Michigan sat third with 97.325 points.

Following a strong performance on floor, in which Simpson claimed the individual title with a 9.90, Nebraska headed to its final and most inconsistent event ? the vault. But on this night it proved to be NU?s best event, and for the first time all season Nebraska had five gymnasts in the lineup competing 10.0 vaults.

The Huskers were led by Lamb, who posted a career-high 9.925 to tie Michigan?s Elise Ray for the individual title. Landgraf continued her strong vaulting, posting a 9.90, while Bruce?s 9.875 was her best score of the season. But the biggest contribution came from Simpson, who competed a Layout Tsukahara with a full twist for the first time in competition and scored a personal- best 9.875, helping the Huskers to a season-high 49.40, a mark that tied for second all-time at Nebraska.

With a bye on the final rotation, all Nebraska could do was wait for the other teams to finish, and when the chalk dust settled, Nebraska had edged Michigan, 195.925-195.60, while Iowa, which led the entire meet, finished third with a score of 195.475.

Entering the NCAA Championships, Nebraska had yet to hit every routine. Although the Huskers improved with every meet, consistency throughout routines was difficult to come by.

The Huskers had their work cut out for them in Tuscaloosa, as they found themselves in the afternoon qualifying session that featured four of the final six teams from the 2001 championships. Nebraska?s most consistent performance of the year came at exactly the right time, as the team bettered 49.0 on every event for just the second time all season.

After starting out on floor, Nebraska headed to vault. After struggling on vault all season, Nebraska had turned its weakness into a strength, scoring a 49.30, the team?s second-best showing of the season and the top score in the session. Highlighted by Houk?s 9.90, Nebraska also dominated on bars, posting a 49.15, the highest bars score across both sessions.

Because the Huskers had a bye during the final rotation, the team had to wait to discover where they had finished. Nebraska?s score of 196.575 was more than enough to take third, while Utah (196.775) and Georgia (196.65) rounded out the qualifying field.

In the Super Six Finals, Nebraska got its hardest event out of the way first, scoring a 48.75 on the balance beam. But little steps on landings proved costly. After sitting out a bye, Nebraska took the floor and scored a 49.175, but could only muster a 49.075 on vault.

Nebraska returned from the locker room following its second bye and attacked the uneven bars with confidence. Harris started things off with a 9.875, while Lamb and Simpson posted scores of 9.85. 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. Houk, the only gymnast to record a 9.90 in the first qualifying session, earned her second 9.90 of the championships to give the Huskers a season-high 49.425, the second-best bars score in the competition.

Despite the strong finish, Nebraska had to settle for a fifth-place finish behind Alabama, Georgia, UCLA and Utah.

Even with the early season setbacks and the many difficulties that emerged throughout the season, the Huskers perservered and found ways to win, and in doing so, lived up to the team motto that the strong survive and the best succeed.