NU Finishes Second at Michigan Triangular

Women's GymnasticsFebruary 09, 2007

NU Finishes Second at Michigan Triangular

Name: Nebraska at Michigan and Illinois
Start: 2007-02-10T01:30:00.000000Z
Location: Ann Arbor, Mich.

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Ann Arbor, Mich. ? The sixth-ranked Nebraska women’s gymnastics team posted a score of 195.35, but it was not enough to top No. 8 Michigan at UM's Crisler Arena on Friday night. The Wolverines scored a 195.825 to take first in the triangular, while Illinois earned a 192.525 to finish third. Nebraska, which is 7-3 on the season, scored a 49.0 or better on vault, bars and floor.

Sophomore Kylie Stone won her third career event title with a first-place finish on floor (9.925), while junior Emily Parsons captured the vault crown with a 9.925. Junior Desire’ Sniatynski was Nebraska’s top finisher in the all-around with a 39.175 for third-place honors.

Nebraska opened the meet on bars, where sophomore Vanessa Meloche and Sniatynski set the pace with matching scores of 9.875 to tie for second-place honors. Stone posted a 9.825 to finish fourth, and sophomore Brittney Williams and freshman Maria Scaffidi followed up with a pair of 9.80 marks to place sixth. Parsons also competed in the bars lineup for the first time this season, contributing a 9.775 and bringing NU to an event score of 49.175, just ahead of Michigan’s first-rotation vault total of 49.075 and a 48.025 floor showing by Illinois.

Despite a solid showing on bars, the rotation was overshadowed by the potential loss of Meloche to the event lineup. The All-American bars specialist and defending Big 12 bars co-champion suffered an injury on her landing after a stellar 9.875 routine, but the extent of her injury was not known by the end of the competition.

“We won’t know anything certain on Vanessa’s injury or her status for the rest of the season until we return to Lincoln and evaluate it,” head coach Dan Kendig said. “She has worked harder than anyone I’ve seen in a long time, and this just doesn't seem right to see her deal with another possible injury. She has been dealt a bad hand already with her knee being repaired twice, an ankle injury and having her leg reconstructed, but we are hopeful that some good news will come her way in the next few days. Vanessa is a major part of our bars lineup, and it will be tough to supplement the impact her dependable scores have for our team.”

The Huskers then moved on to beam and were led by freshman Kathryn Howard’s second-place 9.80. Sophomore Tricia Woo and Sniatynski landed in a tie for fourth with their marks of 9.775, while Parsons earned a 9.35. Senior Stephanie Carter added a 9.00, giving Nebraska a rotation total of 47.70 and second-place standing (96.875) behind Michigan (98.10) and ahead of Illinois (96.45) at the halfway point.

NU rallied back in the third rotation on floor, where Stone was the team’s event leader with a career-high-tying 9.925 that secured her the individual crown. Carter’s performance earned her a second-place 9.875 to tie her career best as well, and Scaffidi notched a season-high 9.85 to finish fifth. Woo then scored a 9.80, Sniatynski and Williams posted two scores of 9.775. The Huskers finished floor with a 49.225, a running score of 146.10 and second-place standing.

Nebraska capped the evening on vault, and Parsons walked away with the event title with a 9.925. Stone tallied an outstanding 9.90 to set a career high and place second, while Carter followed up with a 9.825 for seventh. Scaffidi and senior Michele Zabawa added a pair of 9.80 scores for ninth, and the Huskers finished the rotation with a 49.25 event score and a 195.35 final team score to finish second in the triangular.

“We did a good job tonight, but there are still a lot of things to work on here and there,” Kendig said. “We need to work on our confidence. We seemed to get a little rattled in our touch warmups, but it didn’t overly affect our performance. We had great starts on bars and beam, and I was very pleased with the way our floor and vault teams came back strong in the last half of the meet."

Nebraska continues on to a five-team meet at North CarolinaState next Saturday, Feb. 17 at NCSU’s Reynolds Coliseum. The Huskers will face NC State, West Virginia, William & Mary and George Washington at 6 p.m. (CST).

Name Vault Bars Beam Floor All-Around

Stephanie Carter 9.825 9.00 9.875

Kathryn Howard 9.80

Sabrina Long

Vanessa Meloche 9.875

Molly Ohnoutka

Emily Parsons 9.925 9.775 9.35

Maria Scaffidi 9.80 9.80 8.80 9.85 38.25

Desire’ Sniatynski 9.75 9.875 9.775 9.775 39.175

Kylie Stone 9.90 9.825 9.925

Brittney Williams 9.80 9.775

Tricia Woo 9.775 9.80