Huskers Earn First Win at Missouri

Columbia, Mo.? The 23rd-ranked Nebraska women’s gymnastics team captured its first win of the season with a 196.800-195.575 victory over Missouri in front of 1,101 fans at the HearnesCenter Friday night.

 

Senior Richelle Simpson and sophomore Kristi Esposito turned in stellar performances to lead the Huskers past the Tigers. Esposito won her second all-around competition of the season with a 38.850, while Simpson took two event titles and scored Nebraska's first perfect 10.0 on the season with a scintilating performance on vault to add a second-place showing in the all-around. 

 

Esposito tied for second on beam, tied for third on floor and finished fifth on the uneven bars. Simpson’s two titles came on the vault and balance beam (9.925), and the Toronto, Ontario, native scored a 38.825 to finish second behind Esposito.

 

Freshman Emily Parsons also starred for the Huskers, taking the floor exercise title with a 9.925, while placing third in the all-around (38.800). NU claimed its fourth event title of the night with freshman Desire Sniatynski's 9.875 on uneven bars.  Sniatynski also tied for fifth on beam.  

 

“Emily and Richelle’s vaults really set the tone tonight,” Head Coach Dan Kendig said. “After vault, the team’s confidence and energy level rose and stayed there for the rest of the meet. All three athletes in the all-around struggled on an event today and still took the top three places in the all-around. That’s just a tribute to them not giving up on themselves and not giving up on their team.”

 

Sophomore Michele Zabawa tied for third on bars, while senior Jamie Saas added a tie for second on beam with a 9.900, while contributing a 9.825 on the floor exercise. Freshman Brittney Williams had a solid meet as well, tying for third on floor, while finishing sixth on vault.

 

NU’s first rotation came on the uneven bars, where Sniatynski led the Huskers with a 9.875 to take the title. Zabawa added a 9.825, tying for third with Kelley Anderson of Missouri, and Esposito added a fifth-place finish with a 9.80. Williams tied for sixth (9.75) with Missouri’s Julie Abaray. Parsons added a 9.55, pushing Nebraska to a 48.80 team total on bars.

 

Simpson highlighted the Huskers’ vault lineup, as she scored her first 10.0 of the season to capture the individual event title. Parsons finished second with a 9.95, and Carter followed with a 9.875 to take fourth. Williams finished sixth with a 9.80. Sniatynski added a 9.75 to propel the Huskers to a 49.375 team total on the vault.  

 

The Huskers shined on floor exercise with a season-high team score of 49.35. Parsons led NU with a 9.925 to take first, while Williams and Esposito each produced a 9.875 to tie for third. Carter scored a 9.85 to tie for fifth with Missouri’s Whitney Crater and Ashley Khedarian. Simpson and Saas tied for eighth with solid scores of 9.825.

 

The Huskers capped the evening on the balance beam, where Simpson received a 9.925 to claim her second event title of the competition. Esposito and Saas tied for second (9.90) with Schwartzman, and Sniatynski matched Missouri’s Andersen with a 9.875 for fifth. Carter finished eighth with a 9.725, while Parsons took 10th with a 9.325 to give the Huskers a 49.275 team total on the beam.  

 

“I was very pleased with our team tonight,” Kendig said. “There were a few times that we struggled early on in an event, but they came back with five straight amazing routines. They picked each other up, and they are really coming to the point where they’re growing up and becoming a true team.”

 

The Huskers will play host to their first home competition of the season when they take on No. 11 Oklahoma on Saturday, Feb. 5 at the BobDevaneySportsCenter.  The dual is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.