Huskers Face Big 12 Rival Iowa State

The eighth-ranked Nebraska women’s gymnastics team (1-1) will travel to Ames, Iowa, Friday, Jan. 23 for a dual against No. 4 Iowa State (2-0) at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones are coming off a win against then-No. 12 Iowa.

The Nebraska women’s gymnastics team suffered its first loss of the season, as it was defeated by No. 1 Utah, 196.90-194.325, last Friday in front of 9,269 at the Huntsman Center.  The Huskers put up a hard fought battle throughout the meet, but it was not enough to keep the Utes (2-0) from capturing the win.

Senior Libby Landgraf led the Huskers in the all-around with a 39.35 to finish second. She secured top-five finishes on all four events. She tied for third on balance beam (9.85), while tying for fourth on both vault (9.80) and uneven bars (9.85).

Freshman Kristi Esposito had a breakout performance in the all-around competition, capturing third place with a score a 39.275. Esposito took third place on the floor exercise (9.90) and tied for fourth place on the uneven bars (9.85). Other top performers for NU included freshman Stephanie Carter, who tied for third on balance beam (9.85) and fourth on vault (9.80), and senior Tiffany Byrd, who tied Landgraf for third on balance beam (9.85).

Utah junior Annabeth Eberle led the Utes to the win, winning three of the four event titles and the all-around competition with a total of 39.625. She took home titles on vault (9.90), balance beam (9.90) and floor exercise (9.925) while also finishing second on uneven bars with a 9.90. Rachel Tidd was the Utes’ other event winner with a 9.925 on uneven bars.

Scouting the Cyclones

Iowa State opened its season with a win against Big 12 rival Missouri, upsetting the Tigers, 196.300-195.350. In addition, ISU had the highest season-opening score in school history against Missouri. ISU’s record improved to 2-0 overall after defeating in-state rival Iowa, 196.950-196.725, Jan. 17 in Iowa City.

Iowa State freshman Janet Anson led the way for the Cyclones in the all-around against Iowa, capturing third place with a 39.575. Anson also tied for first on vault (9.95) and second-place on bars (9.85), while finishing in a four-way tie for second on beam (9.875) and tying for third on floor (9.90). ISU sophomores Laura-Kay Powell and Erin Dethloff captured fourth (39.40) and fifth (38.90) place, respectively in the all-around.

Nebraska Notes

- Nebraska earned its highest opening-meet score in school history (196.550) against Michigan, Jan. 11, topping the previous record of 196.450 against Georgia in 2003.

- Freshman Kristi Esposito scored a 9.925 in her debut on the floor exercise to tie the freshman record in the event.

- Senior Libby Landgraf took first-place honors on the uneven bars, scoring a 9.90, as the senior matched her career high in the event against Michigan, Jan. 11.

- Senior Richelle Simpson captured the all-around title with a score of 39.70 against Michigan, Jan. 11 including first-place honors on the vault (9.975) and floor exercise (9.95).

- The Huskers scored above 49.00 in three events, the vault, the bars and the floor exercise against Michigan, Jan. 11.

- The win against Michigan marked Nebraska’s 50th consecutive regular-season home win dating back to the 1993 season.

- Three Huskers, seniors Tiffany Byrd, Tami Harris and Richelle Simpson, scored a 9.850 on the uneven bars in a four-way tie for second place against Michigan.

- Senior Libby Landgraf led the Huskers in the all-around with a 39.35 to finish second against Utah, Jan. 16.

- Freshman Kristi Esposito, had a breakout performance in the all-around competition, capturing third place with a score a 39.275 against Utah, Jan. 16.

- Stephanie Carter tied for third on balance beam (9.85) and fourth on vault (9.80), and senior Tiffany Byrd tied Landgraf for third on balance beam (9.85) against Utah, Jan. 16.

Coaching Milestones

Head Coach Dan Kendig is Nebraska women’s gymnastics all-time winningest coach. In 11 years at Nebraska, Kendig is 250-83-2 overall and 182-30-0 in regular season meets, including 49-0 at home. He is in his 21st season of coaching and owns a career record of 363-195-3.

A six-time conference coach of the year, Kendig has guided the Huskers to nine conference titles and four straight regional titles in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003.

He has also led the Huskers to eight NCAA Championships appearances in the past 10 seasons, including NCAA Super Six Finals appearances in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. He was selected as the NCAA Coach of the Year in 1999 and 2003, and earned 2000 Region 3 Coach-of-the-Year honors, after guiding the Huskers to a 25-5 regular-season record and a No. 5 national ranking.

Kendig is assisted by Danna Durante, who is in her second season with Nebraska, and Adrian Burde, who is in his third season on the Husker staff.

Huskers Home Streak at 50

With its victory over Michigan on Jan. 16, Nebraska extened its regular-season home meet winning streak to 50, including 49 under coach Dan Kendig. In that stretch Nebraska has faced 70 opponents, many ranked in the top 20 in the nation. The Huskers have not lost a regular-season home meet since the 1993 Masters Classic.

The only times Nebraska has not taken first at home under Kendig were the 1995 Midwest Regional, when Nebraska finished second to NCAA champion Utah, and the 1999 Region 3 Championships when the Huskers finished second to NCAA runner-up Michigan, and the 2003 NCAA Super Six Finals when the Huskers finished in fourth place.