Huskers Qualify for NCAA Championships

Lincoln? The No. 6 Nebraska women’s gymnastics team posted a score of 196.300 Saturday night to earn a runner-up finish at the NCAA South Central Regional Championships and a trip to the NCAA Championships. A crowd of 2,108 fans at the BobDevaneySportsCenter watched the Huskers score 49.0 or better on the uneven bars, balance beam and vault, while two Huskers earned four individual event titles. Nebraska finished second only to No. 8 Michigan (196.600).

 

Missouri finished third with 195.100, while Arizona took fourth at 194.700.  ArizonaState added a fifth-place showing with a 194.500, while Illinois rounded out the six-team field with a 193.825.

 

The Huskers experienced an exciting ending to their home season at the DevaneyCenter by qualifying for nationals, but will have to wait to see if their senior star Richelle Simpson will be able to join them in competition at the NCAA Championships.  Simpson, the 2005 NCAA South Central Region Co-Gymnast of the Year and the 2003 NCAA All-Around champion, suffered a leg injury on her final tumbling pass on floor exercise, but the extent of her injury was not known by the end of the competition.

 

“Obviously, we’re excited about going to nationals,” Nebraska Head Coach Dan Kendig said. “This is something that we’ve worked for and we are there now.  This team needs to know that there are good things on the horizon in front of them.  We have something to prove.  Richelle has meant so much to our program and sacrificed so much for this team this year to really help it grow up to the way it is now.”

 

In Simpson’s absence from the all-around competition, Big 12 Newcomer-of-the-Year Emily Parsons came through in a big way for the Huskers.  The freshman from St. Charles, Mo., won her first all-around title of the year with a career-high 39.525, while also winning titles on vault (9.925) and floor exercise (9.95). She also placed second on balance beam (9.875) and 23rd on the uneven bars (9.775).

 

“Emily not only won the all-around she set the tone for this entire meet tonight,” Kendig said.  “She really put together four great events.  What a competitor to be able to perform so well in a meet that counted the most.”

 

Simpson did supply the Huskers with her usual stellar routines before suffering the injury, including a title on the balance beam with a score of 9.90.

 

Nebraska began the competition on the uneven bars, where Simpson shined with a season-high tying 9.875 to earn fifth-place honors. Freshmen Michele Zabawa and Desire’ Sniatynski tied for seventh with a 9.85, and freshman Brittney Williams added a 9.825 for 12th. Sophomore Kristi Esposito scored a 9.80 to finish 16th, and Parsons’ 9.75 left her in 23rd place. NU finished the event with a score of 49.20, continuing into the second rotation as the team competition leader.

 

The Huskers moved on to the balance beam, where Simpson starred again by scoring a 9.90 to win the event and her fifth beam title of the season. Parsons, and Esposito followed with a 9.875 each for second, and senior Jamie Saas added a solid 9.825 to finish fourth. Zabawa posted a 9.675 for 24th place, while sophomore Stephanie Carter scored a 9.125 for place, leaving Nebraska with a strong lead in the team competition after a 49.15 on beam.

 

NU continued to the floor exercise, where the Huskers turned in a team performance that scored a 48.725. Parsons won the regional floor title with a 9.95 to tie her season high, and Carter followed with a 9.85 for seventh. Williams scored a 9.80 for 15th, and Esposito finished in 21st place with a 9.775. Saas suffered a fall on the event to score a 9.25, which the left the Huskers needing a solid routine from Simpson, NU’s final competitor.

 

Simpson turned in a terrific routine until her final tumbling pass where her leg buckled on the landing and she fell to the floor.  The fall left the Huskers counting Simpson’s 9.35 on the floor exercise and took Simpson out of NU’s final rotation on the vault.

 

But the Huskers came through without their senior leader on vault to hold on to a No. 2 finish and a trip to nationals. Parsons won the event with a 9.925, while Carter finished in a tie for second with a 9.90. Zabawa tied for fourth (9.85) and Sniatynski scored a 9.825 for eighth.  Sniatynski led off the rotation with a solid 9.725 to finish 14th. NU finished vault with a 49.225.

 

The Huskers’ solid performance earned them a spot in the 12-team NCAA Championships at Auburn, Ala., April 21-23. Tickets are available through the AuburnUniversity ticket office at 1-800-282-1957 or at www.auburntigers.com.