No. 11 Nebraska Plays Host to No. 20 Arkansas

The 11th-ranked <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska women’s gymnastics team returns home for the first of its final two home meets of 2006 this Sunday, March 19, playing host to No. 20 Arkansas at the BobDevaneySportsCenter at 2 p.m.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

With last Saturday’s 194.775 first-place finish in the Alaska Triangular with Alaska-Anchorage and Seattle Pacific, the Huskers improved to 13-5-1 on the season. Nebraska swept the individual event titles, as sophomore Emily Parsons captured her sixth all-around crown of the year with a 39.325. The four-time All-American also won the balance beam (9.90) and floor exercise (9.925) titles, while adding a fifth-place finish on the uneven bars. Junior Stephanie Carter added her own top finish, scoring a 9.775 for the vault crown, while junior Michele Zabawa placed first on bars with a 9.90.

 

NU will move into postseason action next Saturday, March 26, with the Big 12 Championships at the DevaneyCenter at 7 p.m. In what could be the most closely contested conference meet in the 10 years of Big 12 competition, four of the nation’s top teams -- No. 4 Iowa State, No. 6 Oklahoma, the No. 11 Huskers and No. 13 Missouri -- will battle for a team championship. Nebraska has won a league-leading seven Big 12 titles, while IowaState and Oklahoma have each earned one.

 

Scouting the Competition: Arkansas Razorbacks

*Co-Head Coaches: Mark and Rene Cook (Fourth Year)

 *2006 Record: 6-9

*2006 High Score: 196.35 (vs. Washington, 3/12/06)

*2005 NCAA Finish: Did Not Qualify

*Last Meet: vs. Washington, 3/12/06 (W, 196.35-193.025)

Quick Facts about the Razorbacks...

*Nebraska and Arkansas last clashed in 2005 in Fayetteville, where the Huskers finished first (196.625) in a quadrangular with UCLA (196.85), the Razorbacks (195.625) and OregonState (195.55). NU leads the all-time series 2-0.

*Senior Dana McQuillin is Arkansas’ top all-arounder, as she holds the school record with a score of 39.50 set at Denver in 2005.

*McQuillin is also the first and only Razorback to qualify for the NCAA Championships, which she accomplished as a junior last year.

*Co-Head Coaches Mark and Rene Cook are in their fourth year with Arkansas, having established the program in 2003. Before bringing gymnastics to Fayetteville, the duo guided Stanford’s first NCAA champion, Larissa Fontaine, to a national vault title in 1997. The Cardinal also earned its first Pac-10 Conference team championship in 1998.

 

Reviewing the Weekend: Nebraska at the Alaska Triangular

*NU swept the individual event titles, with sophomore Emily Parsons grabbing first-place finishes in the all-around (39.325), balance beam (9.90) and floor exercise (9.925).

*Junior Stephanie Carter won her second career individual event title, as she was the top finisher on vault (9.775).

*Two-time All-American junior Michele Zabawa captured the uneven bars title by tying her season high 9.90.

*Freshman Kylie Stone tied two career best scores on Saturday night with a 9.80 for second on bars, as well as a 9.80 on beam that left her in third place.

 

Parsons Featured in Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd

Sophomore Emily Parsons was featured in the Feb. 6 issue of Sports Illustrated in “Faces in the Crowd” for her career-high all-around performance (39.625) against Michigan on Jan. 13. One of six athletes chosen nationally for the weekly feature, Parsons is also recognized for her Big-12-Gymnast-of-the-Week accolades. The St. Charles, Mo., native earned her fourth Big 12 Gymnast-of-the-Week honors of the year on Feb. 7 and was also named for the weeks of Jan. 10, Jan. 17 and Jan. 31. She has earned a total of six gymnast-of-the-week honors in less than two seasons at Nebraska.

 

The award is the most recent addition to a growing list of conference, regional and national accolades. Parsons’ Feb. 7 recognition also makes her the first gymnast to be named the Big 12’s top weekly performer four times in one season since former Husker Richelle Simpson accomplished the feat in 2003 on her way to the NCAA all-around and floor exercise titles.

 

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 298-109-4 overall and 214-41-2 in regular-season meets. Kendig is in his 23rd year of coaching and owns a career record of 411-221-4.

 

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 in 2006 Season

Sophomore Emily Parsons is leading the Huskers in 2006, after earning four All-America awards as a freshman in 2005. 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, Jan. 17, Jan. 31 and Feb. 7.

 

After finishing first in the all-around, balance beam and floor exercise at Alaska on Saturday, Parsons now owns 41 overall individual event crowns in less than two full seasons at Nebraska.

 

Stone Gives Rock-Solid Performance in All-Around at PennState

The Huskers’ meet at PennState on Feb. 10 marked a solid beginning for freshman Kylie Stone, as she captured her first career all-around title (39.25) and tied for the floor exercise crown with sophomore Emily Parsons (9.90). The Calgary, Alberta, native added a third-place finish on the uneven bars (9.80) and a fourth-place showing on balance beam (9.75), while also finishing 11th on vault (9.80).

 

Before her three appearances this season, Stone last competed as an all-arounder in her senior elite days at the 2005 Canadian National Championships in Vancouver, British Columbia, in May. Stone finished second in the all-around (36.15) behind Alabama’s Melanie Banville. At the next day’s event finals, Stone captured the silver medal on floor (9.60) and bronze on vault (8.825). She also finished fifth on bars (8.70) and beam (8.55).

 

Husker All-Arounders Produce Career Bests

Nebraska has found its core in its all-around competitors this season, as junior Stephanie Carter and sophomores Emily Parsons and Desire’ Sniatynski all produced career-high cumulative scores against Michigan on Jan. 13. 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.

 

Freshman Kylie Stone is the latest addition to NU’s four-event competitors, as she won her first all-around title at PennState with a score of 39.25.

 

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

Four of Nebraska’s five freshman gymnasts have competed in the first half of the 2006 season -- redshirt freshman Vanessa Meloche and true freshmen Sabrina Long, Kylie Stone 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, she added a 9.925 against Missouri to nab a second bars title. She added a third bars crown against Oklahoma, scoring a 9.875, and most recently too home her fourth title at the Masters Classic with a career-best 9.95.

 

Woo has been crucial to NU’s balance beam and floor exercise lineups in her own right. The native of Milpitas, Calif., had a spectacular showing in the Huskers’ first home meet against Michigan, 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). Woo won her first career individual event title at Oklahoma, tying with Parsons for the floor crown (9.90).

 

Long has competed on vault, beam and floor throughout the year as well. A native of Tulsa, Okla., and a product of Krafft Academy of Gymnastics -- the same program that produced NU assistant coach Danna Durante -- Long has shown steady improvement on vault in her first seven appearances. After opening her collegiate career with a 9.60 at the Super Six Challenge, she increased her score almost every week, highlighted by her career-best vault score to a 9.85 at PennState. The 2003 Level 10 Junior Olympic national vault champion, Long also posted a season-high 9.775 on floor against the Sooners in early February.

 

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, entered 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. She most recently established a new career high on bars with a scintillating 9.95 at the Masters Classic on Feb. 26.

 

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 finished 14th in the all-around standings at the 2003 World Championships in Anaheim, Calif., making her the highest-finishing Canadian female all-arounder in World Championships history. 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’s first competition at the DevaneyCenter produced a solid performance for the freshman, as she notched a score of 9.80 on bars and a 9.75 on beam. She most recently showcased her top performances an all-arounder at PennState on Feb. 10, finishing first with a career-best mark of 39.25 while claiming top honors on floor (9.90) with sophomore Emily Parsons. Stone also contributed a 9.80 for 11th on vault, a third-place 9.80 on bars, a 9.75 for fourth.

 

Big 12 to Name 10th Anniversary Gymnastics Team in March

The Big 12 Conference is selecting 10th anniversary teams for its sports in 2005-06 in celebration of its 10th season of athletic competition. The women’s gymnastics team will be selected by the league’s head coaches and will be announced on March 22. In order to be eligible for the ballot, gymnasts must have won an event title at a conference championship in the last 10 seasons.