No. 8 Huskers Open Season at Super Six Challenge

The eighth-ranked Nebraska women’s gymnastics team will open its season at the Super Six Challenge in Baton Rouge, La., this Friday, Jan. 6 at 6 p.m. The meet, held at LSU’s PeteMaravichCenter, will feature the Huskers against SEC challengers No. 4 Alabama, No. 6 LSU and No. 15 Auburn, as well Big 12 powers No. 11 Iowa State and No. 16 Missouri.

 

The Huskers return to competition after finishing sixth (196.425) at the NCAA Championships in Auburn, Ala., last April. NU returns three of its four All-Americans from the 2005 season, including four-time honoree Emily Parsons, who earned first-team recognition on floor exercise and was named to the second team on vault, balance beam and the all-around. Defending Big 12 Conference uneven bars champion Michele Zabawa is also a key member of the Nebraska lineup, having received second-team All-America status on vault (2004) and bars (2005), as well as second-team uneven bars honoree Desire’ Sniatynski.

 

Leading with Experience: The Returning Letterwinners

In addition to the return of All-Americans Emily Parsons, Michele Zabawa and Desire’ Sniatynski, Nebraska will look to returning letterwinners Stephanie Carter and Brittney Williams for their powerful tumbling abilities and previous experience as three-event competitors. Carter, a junior from Bryn Athyn, Pa., competed in nearly every meet on vault, balance beam and floor exercise, and her career-high 9.95 on vault in 2005 keeps her in contention for one of the Huskers’ top vault spots. Williams, hailing from Hatboro, Pa., was a vault, beam and floor worker last year, showing incredible consistency on each event. The sophomore was one of NU’s most dependable competitors in her freshman campaign, scoring a 9.725 or better each time in postseason competition.

 

Junior Dani Millis and sophomore Kylee Johnson round out the mix of NU’s returning letterwinners. Millis competed as a valuable reserve on vault and floor in her freshman and sophomore seasons, including an appearance on floor at IowaState last year. The Frisco, Texas, native, who primarily trained floor and vault in the offseason, could contend for time in the Huskers’ lineup in 2006.

 

Like Millis, Johnson saw limited action in 2005, but came through at the NCAA Championships by taking the place of the injured Richelle Simpson in the uneven bars lineup. The only Lincoln native on the roster, Johnson will miss the 2006 season due to injury.

 

A Bright Future: The New Husker Class

Five Nebraska gymnasts will make their collegiate debuts in Louisiana on Friday, including a pair of Canadian National Team members in redshirt freshman Vanessa Meloche and freshman Kylie Stone. Meloche, who missed the 2005 season due to foot and knee injuries that kept her out of gymnastics for the past two years, enters the new season fully recovered and poised to contribute on the uneven bars and balance beam. A seven-year Canadian National Team member, Meloche has excelled on the two events, as evidenced by her 2002 national bars title and the bars crown at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England, that same year.

 

Headlining the heralded freshman class is Stone, who joined the Huskers after the fall semester. Stone, who competed in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, could contribute as an all-arounder, as she finished 14th in the all-around standings at the 2004 World Championships in Anaheim, Calif. A native of Calgary, Alberta, Stone was the 2004 Canadian National all-around, beam and floor exercise champion, as well as a national titleholder on beam in 2003.

 

Joining Stone are Sabrina Long of Tulsa, Okla., and Tricia Woo of Milpitas, Calif. Long, a former Junior Olympic vault champion from 2003, shined on all four events in preseason practices and could compete as an all-arounder in selected meets. A strong tumbler, Long has the ability to perform a double pike on floor right away and is considered to be an exceptionally aggressive gymnast by the Nebraska coaching staff.

 

Woo is described by the Husker coaches as having a unique style on her events and is a contender for NU’s lineup on vault, beam and floor in 2006. With a solid combination of twisting and power, she has strong jumps on beam and executes a one-armed flip-flop layout stepout with a half-turning switch leap.

 

Alise Cecchini is the final member of the freshman class. A walk-on competitor from Albuquerque, N.M., she has found her niche on beam, where she presents a front aerial back handspring layout stepout. Cecchini is considered an athlete who could make significant contributions to the Husker program in the coming years of her career.

 

Kendig Builds One of Nation’s Top Programs at Nebraska

Head Coach Dan Kendig is the all-time winningest coach in the 30 years of Nebraska women's gymnastics history. In 13 seasons at Nebraska, Kendig is 286-104-3 overall and 204-36-1 in regular-season meets. Kendig enters his 23rd year of coaching and owns a career record of 399-216-3.

 

A six-time Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year, Kendig has guided the Huskers to eight conference championships and three straight regional championships in 2000, 2001 and 2002.

He has also led Nebraska to 10 NCAA Championships appearances in the past 12 seasons, including NCAA Super Six Finals appearances in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005. Kendig was honored as the NCAA Coach of the Year in 1999 and 2003, a year in which the Huskers finished with a final ranking of fourth in the nation.

 

Under Kendig's tenure in 2005, Nebraska finished with a 21-13 overall record. The Huskers placed second (196.30) in the NCAA South Central regional behind Michigan and also placed sixth (196.425) in its seventh consecutive NCAA Championships appearance. Four of Kendig's gymnasts -- Emily Parsons (AA, V, BB, FX), Kristi Esposito (BB), Michele Zabawa (UB) and Desire’ Sniatynski (UB) -- earned a total of seven All-America honors.

 

Kendig is assisted by Danna Durante, who is in her fourth season with Nebraska, and Adrian Burde, who enters his fifth year on the Husker staff.

 

Super Sophomore Parsons Leads NU into 2006 Season

Sophomore Emily Parsons is expected to lead the Huskers in 2006, as she was a four-time All-American as a freshman. The St. Charles, Mo., native finished third on floor exercise in the individual event finals at the NCAA Championships to garner first-team All-America honors, while also grabbing second-team accolades on vault, balance beam and in the all-around.

 

In 2005, Parsons was also named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and shared the conference beam title with former Husker All-American Richelle Simpson. In a season that saw Parsons earn two All-Big 12 nods (vault and beam), she went on to claim NCAA South Central regional titles on vault and floor, as well as the all-around crown over 2000 Olympian Elise Ray of Michigan.

 

How the Huskers Fared in Last Year’s Season Opener

at Michigan, Jan. 7, 2005 (Ann, Arbor, Mich.) No. 7 UM 195.90 - No. 10 NU 194.20

 

Name                           Vault    Bars     Beam   Floor    All-Around

Stephanie Carter             9.750   ---         9.950    9.700     ---

Kristi Esposito               9.625   9.800    9.850    9.800    39.075

Kylee Johnson               ---        9.625   ---         ---          ---

Emily Parsons                ---        9.700    9.825    9.850     ---

Jamie Saas                    ---        ---        9.200    9.750    ---

Richelle Simpson           9.725   9.800    9.800    9.325    38.650

Desire’ Sniatynski          9.325   9.750    9.825    ---          ---

Brittney Williams            9.700   9.750    ---         9.525    ---

Team Totals                   48.125 48.800 48.650 48.625     194.200