Eighth-Ranked Huskers Fall to No. 10 Iowa State

Ames, Iowa ? The eighth-ranked Nebraska women’s gymnastics team suffered a close defeat at No. 10 Iowa State, 196.925-196.775, Friday night at Hilton Coliseum. Despite the narrow loss to the conference rival Cyclones, the Huskers scored above a 49.0 in every event, captured all four individual event titles and tied or set eight season-high scores.

 

Senior Richelle Simpson and freshman Emily Parsons tied for fourth in the all-around with identical scores of 39.325. Simpson captured the vault (9.975) and floor exercise (9.90) titles, while Parsons scored a season-high 9.85 on beam and tied her season high on vault with a 9.95.

 

Sophomore Stephanie Carter matched Parsons’ score on vault, setting her own career high on the event, and freshman Desire Sniatynski grabbed the uneven bars title, her third of the season, with a solid 9.875. Sophomore Kristi Esposito earned the balance beam crown with a 9.875.

 

Despite the setback to the Cyclones, Nebraska Head Coach Dan Kendig was pleased with his team’s performance.

 

“We had a solid meet again tonight,” Kendig said. “This is four weeks in a row that we’ve scored mid-to-high 196.00, and our consistency is really getting there in every event. I am extremely proud of this team after the way they competed here tonight. If we keep doing our job and stay healthy, everything will fall into place. We lost a Big 12 meet, but we still feel very confident about our chances in the conference championship next month.”

 

The Huskers began the competition on the uneven bars, where Sniatynski claimed her third individual bars title of the year, tying ISU’s Erin Dethloff for first with a 9.875. Esposito tied for third with three Cyclones, scoring a 9.825. Freshman Brittney Williams placed seventh with a 9.80, and Simpson’s 9.775 left her in a tie for eighth place, as the Huskers totaled 49.025 on the event.

 

Nebraska then moved on to vault, where Simpson led the team by taking in the individual title with a 9.975, her third first-place finish on the event this season. Carter scored a career-high 9.95 to tie for second on vault with Parsons, who also matched her season best, as the Huskers scored a 49.475 on the event, its best performance of the season.

 

The Huskers’ third even of the evening was the floor exercise, where Simpson earned her second title of the night by tying her season high with a 9.90. Williams and Esposito scored a 9.85 each to tie for fifth-place, and Parsons tied for seventh with a 9.825. Senior Jamie Saas added a 9.775 to give the team an event total of 49.20.

 

NU’s balance beam lineup was led by Esposito, who placed first with a 9.875 in helping the Huskers to a score of 49.075. Saas followed with a 9.85 to tie for second with Parsons, whose 9.85 was a season high, as well as the Cyclones’ Laura-Kay Powell.

 

“IowaState is a good team, and they competed well,” Kendig said. “The chips just didn’t go our way today. I hope that this will make us hungrier to work harder, eliminate some of the deductions we had today and make a difference down the road.”

 

The 2-4 Huskers return home for a dual against No. 1 Utah next Sunday, Feb. 20 at the BobDevaneySportsCenter. The meet is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. and will also feature the Husker men taking on Oklahoma. Tickets can be purchased by calling the NU Ticket Office at 800-8-BIGRED.