No. 12 Huskers Begin Big 12 Action with No. 10 Missouri

Lincoln -- The 12th-ranked Nebraska women’s gymnastics team will return to Lincoln for its second home meet of the season, facing No. 10 Missouri at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Sunday, Jan. 29, at 2 p.m.

 

Despite last Friday’s loss to No. 2 Utah, the Huskers produced several highlights in Salt Lake City, including a season-high 49.225 on vault. Sophomore Emily  Parsons led the way for the Huskers, capturing the vault title by tying her career best with a 9.95, as well as the balance beam crown (9.875). Parsons also finished fourth in the all-around while tying for second on floor exercise (9.85) with Utah’s Ashley Postell. Junior Stephanie Carter earned fifth-place honors with a mark of 38.775, and sophomore Desire’ Sniatynski (38.425) finished sixth.

 

NU returns to road competition Saturday, Feb. 4, taking on Big 12 Conference rival Oklahoma at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla. The meet is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

 

Nebraska-Missouri Meet to Promote Breast Cancer Awareness

When Nebraska and Missouri take the competition floor Sunday afternoon, fans are sure to notice a major difference: both teams will be wearing pink. In honor of the meet’s theme to promote breast cancer awareness, the Huskers and the Tigers are opting to put aside their school colors to instead wear pink leotards.

 

In addition, members of the Nebraska women’s golf and rifle teams will hand out breast cancer detection information to fans attending the competition, and local breast cancer survivors will present post-meet awards to the Missouri and Nebraska gymnasts.

 

“The bottom line is that we’re trying to create awareness in the community,” Head Coach Dan Kendig said. “What I gather is that early detection is the key to treating breast cancer, being aware and reacting to that. This meet will be a first for our program, and it’s something we’re really looking forward to as a team.”

 

Scouting the Competition: Missouri Tigers

*Head Coach: Rob Drass (Sixth Year)      *2006 Record: 3-5

*2006 High Score: 195.575                         

*2005 NCAA Finish: Did Not Qualify

*Last Meet: at Centenary with Air Force, 1/20/06 (1st, 195.575)

Quick Facts about the Tigers...

*Missouri is ranked No. 10 nationally this week, which ties the program’s highest-ever ranking set twice in 2004.

*MU looks to its top returner, Lauren Schwartzman, for leadership in 2006. The senior finished second on floor (9.90) and fourth on beam (9.825) at the 2005 NCAA South Central Regional in Lincoln.

*The Tigers placed third at the NCAA South Central Regional last year, finishing just                                                        behind Michigan (196.60) and Nebraska (196.30).

 

The Last Time NU and Missouri Met...

Nebraska and Missouri last met at the Super Six Challenge in Baton Rouge, La., earlier this month, where NU finished second with a score of 194.10 ahead of the sixth-place Tigers, who posted a 192.70.

 

Sophomore Emily Parsons earned the vault title with a score of 9.95 to tie her career high, while junior Michele Zabawa and redshirt freshman Vanessa Meloche shared the crown on the uneven bars. Parsons also finished second in the all-around (39.225) to LSU’s April Burkholder (39.375), and Stephanie Carter earned sixth-place honors (38.775). Sophomore Desire’ Sniatynski came in 10th (38.55).

 

In 2005, the Huskers met Missouri at the Hearnes Center, earning their first win of the season (196.80-195.575) after an 0-3 start. NU swept the individual event titles as well, as former Husker Kristi Esposito won the all-around (38.85) and Richelle Simpson captured the vault crown with her first 10.0 of the season in addition to a first-place finish on beam (9.925). Parsons also starred for Nebraska, earning the floor title with a score of 9.925, while Sniatynski was the bars champion with a 9.875.

 

At the Big 12 Championships, Nebraska won the Big 12 title with a score of 196.65 over fourth-place MU’s 194.875. Four Huskers won conference event titles, as Simpson captured the all-around and floor crowns and tied with Parsons for the first-place honors on beam. Michele Zabawa earned the Big 12 bars title, while Missouri’s Alisha Robinson took home the top award on vault.

 

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 289-106-4 overall and 205-38-2 in regular-season meets. Kendig enters his 23rd year of coaching and owns a career record of 402-218-4.

 

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.

 

The beginning of Parsons’ sophomore season has been just as impressive as her freshman campaign, as she captured the all-around crown against Michigan with a career-high 39.625. Parsons also tied for the vault title with fellow Husker Stephanie Carter (9.90), and added first-place finishes on beam with a career-best score of 9.925 and floor, where she tied her best-ever mark of 9.95. Just one week earlier at the Super Six Challenge in Baton Rouge, La., Parsons earned the vault crown by tying her career high of 9.95, landing in a tie for first place with two-time NCAA vault champion Ashley Miles of Alabama. Parsons’ achievements have garnered her Big-12-Gymnast-of-the-Week honors for the weeks of Jan. 10 and Jan. 17.

 

After finishing first on vault (9.95) and beam (9.875) at Utah, she now owns nine vault titles and 22 overall individual event crowns in her time at Nebraska.

 

Husker All-Arounders Produce Three Career Bests

Nebraska has found its core in three all-around competitors this season: junior Stephanie Carter and sophomores Emily Parsons and Desire’ Sniatynski, all of whom produced career-high cumulative scores against Michigan last Friday. Parsons bettered her old career mark of 39.55 set at the 2005 NCAA Super Six Finals by scoring a nation-leading 39.625 in the Huskers’ last meet, while Sniatynski improved her best to 39.20 to finish second. Carter, who was a mainstay in the team’s vault, beam and floor lineups in her first two seasons, has emerged as a strong four-event competitor in 2006, scoring a 39.10 in just her second career all-around appearance at Nebraska.

 

A Bright Future: The New Husker Class Contributes to NU Lineup

Three of Nebraska’s five freshman gymnasts have competed in the first two meets of 2006 -- redshirt freshman Vanessa Meloche and true freshmen Sabrina Long and Tricia Woo. While Meloche made her collegiate debut by tying for the uneven bars crown at the Super Six Challenge with a score of 9.875, Woo has been crucial to NU’s balance beam and floor exercise lineups. The native of Milpitas, Calif., had a spectacular showing in the Huskers’ first home meet against Michigan last Friday, earning a 9.875 on beam to finish third and a thundering 9.925 on floor to place second behind event champion Emily Parsons (9.95).

Long has competed on vault, beam and floor as well, scoring a 9.675 and 9.70 on vault and floor, respectively. She added a 9.625 on floor at the Super Six Challenge at LSU on Jan. 6.

 

Canadian Duo Headlines Freshman Class

Nebraska’s youngest class includes a pair of Canadian National Team members in redshirt freshman Vanessa Meloche and true 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 a third-place finish on vault and bars at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England, that same year.

 

Meloche’s first competition as a Husker was nothing short of the NU coaching staff’s expectation, as she finished in a four-way tie for first on bars with junior Michele Zabawa (9.875) at the Super Six Challenge.

 

Headlining the heralded freshman class is Stone, who joined the Huskers after the fall semester. Stone competed in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, and 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, she was the 2004 Canadian National all-around, beam and floor exercise champion, as well as a national titleholder on beam in 2003.

 

Stone made her competitive debut at Utah last Friday, working her way into the bars and beam lineups. She contributed scores of 8.90 and 9.325, respectively.

 

ESPN2 to Air NCAA Honors Celebration Featuring Simpson

ESPN announced this month its intention to air the NCAA Honors Celebration throughout the month of January. The ceremony includes former Husker gymnast Richelle Simpson receiving the prestigious 2005 NCAA Top Eight Award. Simpson, who was a nine-time All-American at Nebraska, recently became NU’s NCAA-leading 15th Top Eight Award winner. The presentation will be shown Jan. 31 at 2 p.m. on ESPN2 in a one-hour slot.