Huskers Expand Championship Tradition in 2006-07

Lincoln - University of Nebraska athletic teams continued to grow their championship tradition in 2006-07, highlighted by 15 NCAA Tournament appearances by Cornhusker teams, including a third NCAA title for the NU volleyball program, and a New Year’s Day bowl game for the football team.

The Huskers also re-established themselves as the dominant athletic program in the Big 12 North. Along with conference championships won by the volleyball, women’s gymnastics and men’s indoor track and field teams, the Nebraska football team won the Big 12 North Division title. The women’s basketball, women’s indoor and outdoor track, men’s and women’s golf and men’s tennis teams were also the best North Division teams in the Big 12. Overall, Nebraska teams finished first or second among the Big 12 North schools in 18 of NU’s 23 sports.

Coach John Cook’s Nebraska volleyball team enjoyed the greatest success, winning the program’s third national championship in the last 12 seasons. The Huskers advanced to the NCAA title match for the sixth time in school history and rolled to a victory over Stanford in front a record crowd at the Qwest Center Omaha. NU also stretched its streak of consecutive home sellouts at the Coliseum to 90 and won the Big 12 Conference title. The national title made Nebraska one of just 28 Division I schools across the country to capture at least one of the NCAA’s 36 championships in 2006-07.

The volleyball team’s amazing success came despite losing 2005 AVCA National Player-of-the-Year Christina Houghtelling to injury before the start of the 2006 campaign. The returning Huskers more than picked up the slack, as Sarah Pavan captured 2006 AVCA National Player-of-the-Year honors, while also being named the CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year. Nebraska will return both Houghtelling and Pavan along with All-Americans Jordan Larson, Tracy Stalls and Rachel Holloway to make a run at back-to-back national titles in 2007.

The Nebraska volleyball team was not alone in producing its second straight National Player-of-the-Year, as Coach Bill Straub’s Husker bowling team featured 2007 National Player of the Year Amanda Burgoyne and 2006 National Player-of-the-Year Lindsay Baker. Burgoyne and Baker, along with 2007 National Rookie-of-the-Year Cassandra Leuthold, helped the Huskers to a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships.

Individually, 28 Nebraska student-athletes captured 37 All-America awards in their respective sports, including NCAA 125-pound wrestling champion Paul Donahoe. The sophomore from Davison, Mich., will return to lead Coach Mark Manning’s wrestling team in the years to come.

Across the board, the future looks bright for Nebraska’s athletic programs. Among NU’s 28 All-Americans, 19 were underclassmen who will return in 2007-08, including five freshmen, six sophomores and eight juniors that combined to claim 25 All-America certificates in 2006-07.

The Nebraska rifle program added a top-five NCAA finish in 2006-07, by finishing fifth at the NCAA Championships. The Nebraska women’s gymnastics team led by Coach Dan Kendig continued its outstanding tradition by adding a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Championships after advancing to the NCAA Super Six Finals for the eighth time in the past 10 years. The women’s gymnastics team also reclaimed the Big 12 Conference crown, while featuring one of the best gymnasts in school history - Emily Parsons. The Big 12 Co-Gymnast of the Year, Parsons smashed the school record for individual event titles in her career while claiming her ninth career All-America award at the NCAA Championships. The junior from St. Charles, Mo., will return to lead the Huskers again next year.

The Husker men’s gymnastics team earned its fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships and finished 10th overall to give Nebraska’s its fifth top-10 national team finish across all sports in 2006-07. Junior Stephen Tetrault and sophomore T.J. Schmidt combined for three All-America awards to lead Coach Francis Allen’s young squad that featured 11 newcomers.

Coach Gary Pepin’s Nebraska track and field programs added to their remarkable tradition of success with the men claiming the Big 12 Conference title indoors. Men’s and women’s track and field athletes combined to capture 13 All-America awards during the indoor and outdoor seasons, including an NCAA runner-up finish from Dusty Jonas in the indoor high jump.

The Nebraska football team added to the Huskers’ Big 12 hardware haul in 2006-07 by winning the Big 12 North Division title to earn a bid in the Big 12 Championship Game. Nebraska finished the season with nine victories and earned a New Year’s Day bowl bid to the Cotton Bowl in Coach Bill Callahan’s third season at the helm. Nebraska also stretched its NCAA-record consecutive home sellout streak to 282 games, while Memorial Stadium’s capacity expanded beyond 80,000 for the first time in school history. Quarterback Zac Taylor rewrote Nebraska’s career passing record book and was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. Four Huskers were chosen in the NFL Draft, including first-round pick Adam Carriker who became the 32nd Husker in history to be drafted in the first round. Carriker was also named the Big 12’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Coach Connie Yori’s Nebraska women’s basketball team continued its progress by earning its fourth consecutive postseason tournament berth by advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2000. Honorable-mention All-American Kiera Hardy was chosen in the third round of the WNBA Draft, while sophomore Kelsey Griffin joined Hardy as a first-team All-Big 12 selection.

On the men’s side, first-year coach Doc Sadler jump-started the Nebraska basketball program, leading the Huskers to a win over No. 20 Creighton and a regular-season sweep of Missouri, along with a road win at Texas Tech and a home win over Oklahoma State in NU’s regular-season finale. Sadler will hope to lead the Huskers to increased success in the future after signing one of the nation’s top 20 recruiting classes for 2007-08.

Coach Mike Anderson’s Nebraska baseball team earned an NCAA Regional berth for the eighth time in nine years and advanced to the championship round of the Tempe Regional. Following the season, eight Huskers were chosen in the top 35 rounds of the Major League Draft.

The Nebraska softball team led by Coach Rhonda Revelle advanced to its 13th straight NCAA Tournament appearance and played host to an NCAA Regional at Bowlin Stadium for the fourth time in the past five years. NU finished with a 37-20 record, as the Huskers posted at least 35 wins for the 10th straight season.

The Nebraska men’s and women’s golf teams both advanced to NCAA Regional competition for the second straight seasons.

Nebraska's 2006-07 All-Americans
(28 Athletes/37 Total Awards/25 First-Team Awards)

• Epley Bullock, Fr., Allen, Texas, Women’s Track & Field (1st Team - Indoor High Jump)
• Lindsay Baker, Jr., Amherst, N.Y., Bowling (3rd Team)
• Amanda Burgoyne, Sr., Newport, Minn., Bowling (1st Team, National Player of the Year)
• Daniel Christensen, So., Omaha, Neb., Men’s Track & Field (1st Team, 4x400 Relay)
• Paul Donahoe, So., Davison, Mich., Wrestling, (1st Team, NCAA Champion, 125 Pounds)
• Kristina Fehlings, Sr., Fairfax, Va., Rifle (2nd Team, Air Rifle; 2nd Team, Smallbore)
• Kiera Hardy, Sr., Kansas City, Mo., Women’s Basketball (Honorable-Mention)
• Rachel Holloway, RFr., Franklin, Tenn., Volleyball (3rd Team, Setter)
• Lukas Hulett, Fr., Bellevue, Neb., Men’s Track & Field (1st Team, Indoor 400, Indoor 4x400 Relay)
• Dusty Jonas, Jr., La Vernia, Texas, Men’s Track & Field (1st Team, Indoor and Outdoor High Jump)
• Jordan Larson, So., Hooper, Neb., Volleyball (1st Team, Outside Hitter)
• Cassandra Leuthold, RFr., Black Hawk, S.D., Bowling (2nd Team, National Rookie of the Year)
• Adrienne Miller, Sr., Albuquerque, N.M., Bowling (2nd Team)
• Emily Parsons, Jr., St. Charles, Mo., Women’s Gymnastics (1st Team, Floor Exercise, Vault)
• Sarah Pavan, Jr., Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, Volleyball (1st Team, Right-Side Hitter, National Player of the Year)
• Nate Probasco, Sr., Scribner, Neb., Men’s Track & Field (1st Team, Indoor 4x400 Relay)
• Dace Ruskule, Sr., Vecumnieku Pagasts, Latvia, Women’s Track & Field (1st Team, Outdoor Discus)
• T.J. Schmidt, So., Blair, Neb., Men’s Gymnastics (1st Team, Pommel Horse)
• Ashley Selig, Sr., Lincoln, Neb., Women’s Track & Field (1st Team, Outdoor Heptathlon)
• Desire’ Sniatynski, Jr., Kenosha, Wis., Women’s Gymnastics (2nd Team, Uneven Bars)
• Tracy Stalls, Jr., Denver, Colo., Volleyball (2nd Team, Middle Blocker)
• Brysun Stately, So., Citrus Heights, Calif., Women’s Track & Field (1st Team, Indoor and Outdoor Pole Vault)
• Stephen Tetrault, Jr., Lincoln, Neb., Men’s Gymnastics (1st Team, Pommel Horse, All-Around)
• Stacy Underwood, Sr., Anaheim, Calif., Rifle (2nd Team, Air Rifle, 2nd Team, Smallbore)
• Kirsten Weiss, Jr., Cornwall, Pa., Rifle (1st Team, Smallbore)
• Scott Wims, Fr., Ft. Wayne, Ind., Men’s Track & Field (1st Team, Indoor 4x400 Relay, Outdoor 200)
• Tricia Woo, So., Milpitas, Calif., Women’s Gymnastics (1st Team, Balance Beam)
• Michelle Zabawa, Sr., Omaha, Neb., Women’s Gymnastics (1st Team, Vault, 2nd Team, Uneven Bars)