No. 6 Huskers Upset by No. 8 Oklahoma

Lincoln ? The No. 6 Nebraska women’s gymnastics team posted a score of 195.05 Friday night at the BobDevaneySportsCenter, but it was not enough to overcome Big 12 conference foe Oklahoma (195.075). In front of a crowd of 4,125 fans, the 6-2 Huskers scored a 49.0 or better on vault and bars while taking four of the five individual event titles.

 

Junior Emily Parsons captured three event titles, taking first place on vault (9.925), beam (9.90) and floor (9.85). Junior Desire’ Sniatynski and sophomore Kylie Stone also tied for first on floor with Parsons, while sophomore Tricia Woo added a share of the top finish on beam. Sophomore Vanessa Meloche grabbed her ninth career bars title with a 9.925 to tie her season best. Sniatynski was NU’s top all-around finisher, notching a 39.25 to finish second, while Stone took fourth-place honors (39.075).

 

“I really like how competitors like Emily (Parsons), Kylie (Stone), Vanessa (Meloche) and Desire’ (Sniatynski) keep stepping up for our team in pressure situations,” head coach Dan Kendig said. “You can see it in their eyes before they perform and in how they’re preparing for their routines. It’s mental toughness, and it’s something I believe our whole team is aiming to improve this year. We had a little trouble tonight, but we had some people who hit very key routines to give us a fighting chance.”

 

Nebraska opened the meet on vault, where Parsons set the pace with a 9.925 to take her first event crown. Sniatynski and senior Stephanie Carter also added matching scores of 9.80 to finish third, and senior Michele Zabawa followed up with a 9.775 to place fifth. Stone added a 9.75 to bring NU to an event score of 49.05, just ahead of Oklahoma’s first-rotation bars total of 48.875.

 

The Huskers then moved on to bars and were led by Meloche’s first-place 9.925. Sniatynski earned a 9.85 to tie for second, and Williams landed in fifth with a 9.80, while Stone posted a 9.775 to finish sixth. Zabawa and freshman Maria Scaffidi added a pair of 9.70 marks. Nebraska finished the rotation with a 49.05 event score and a running score of 98.10 to take a strong lead over the Sooners (97.70) at the halfway point. 

 

NU continued on to the third rotation on beam, where Parsons and Woo led the way with scores of 9.90 to secure the event title. Sniatynski’s performance earned her a 9.75 to finish seventh, while Stone placed just behind in eighth (9.70). In addition, Scaffidi and freshman Kathryn Howard tallied a pair of 9.25 scores. The Huskers finished the rotation with a 48.50, a running score of 146.60 and a close lead over OU (146.50).

 

Nebraska capped the evening on floor, where Parsons, Sniatynski and Stone walked away in a three-way tie for the event title with a trio of 9.85 scores. Scaffidi took a 9.65 for her performance, and Woo added a 9.25. NU finished with an event score of 48.45 and a final team total of 195.05, but it was not enough to seal a win over Oklahoma, which totaled a 195.075 on the night.

 

“I said this was going to be a tough meet coming in,” Kendig said. “We started out pretty well on vault and bars and had a little trouble tonight on our last few events, but I believe that this team is going to go places. This loss was just a little bump in the road, but it does not change my opinion on how this team is progressing toward a championship season by the later parts of the year.

 

“We had a great crowd at the DevaneyCenter tonight. The team loved how many people were hear, and we need to keep the attendance this way for the Masters Classic in three weeks. We have great competition coming in with Stanford, LSU and NC State, and there are a lot more positive things that fans can expect to see from our team.”

 

Nebraska returns to the road for a triangular at No. 9 Michigan with Illinois on Friday, Feb. 9 at UM’s Crisler Arena. The competition is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.