Nebraska Falls to No. 3 Utah

Salt Lake City, Utah ? The No. 11 Nebraska women’s gymnastics team fell to third-ranked Utah, 196.425-194.575 Friday night at the HuntsmanCenter. In front of a crowd of 12,906 fans, the Huskers dropped to 2-1 on the year.

 

Senior Emily Parsons won her third consecutive vault title with a season-best 9.95 and tied with defending NCAA beam champion Ashley Postell of Utah with a 9.90 for first on beam. Parsons and Postell also tied for the all-around crown (39.325), while senior Desire’ Sniatynski followed in third with a 39.25.

 

“Winning the all-around here is an incredible feat,” Head Coach Dan Kendig said. “I was impressed with Emily from our first warm-up on bars before the meet. She had a grip that snapped in the middle of her warm-up, and although it could have affected her, she didn’t let it. She competed with grips she hadn’t worn in a long time, and in turn stepped up and hit on bars. She was one of the brightest spots of our bars lineup tonight and also did a fantastic job on beam.”

 

Nebraska opened the meet on bars, where Sniatynski led the way with a 9.85 to take runner-up honors. Parsons followed with a fourth-place score of 9.775, and Scaffidi was close behind at 9.725. Sophomore Kathryn Howard added a 9.675, and Habbib’s 9.25 brought NU to an event score of 48.275, behind Utah’s first-rotation vault total of 49.25.

 

The Huskers bounced back with a stronger showing on vault, where Parsons set the pace with a season-high 9.95 to take her first event title of the night. Sniatynski and freshman Erin Davis tied for seventh (9.80), while junior Tricia Woo’s performance earned her a 9.775. Sophomore Maria Scaffidi contributed a 9.625, and NU wrapped up vault with a 48.95 and a running score of 97.225 behind Utah’s one-point lead at 98.225.

 

Nebraska continued on to the third rotation on floor, and Sniatynski and Woo were the team’s top performers with matching marks of 9.80 for fourth place. Scaffidi followed with a 9.75, and Parsons and freshman Brittnee Habbib put up scores of 9.70 and 9.65, respectively. NU finished floor with a 48.70 and a running score of 145.925 to the Utes’ 147.375 heading into the final event.

 

The Huskers capped the evening on beam, where Parsons finished first with a season-high 9.90. Sniatynski place sixth with a 9.80, and Scaffidi added a 9.725. Habbib also scored a 9.70, and Howard scored a 9.425 for her routine. NU finished with an event score of 48.65 and a final team total of 194.575.

 

“Utah is a tough team to compete against at home,” Kendig said. “They’re a good team. They’re deep on every event. But we could have easily been sharper from the beginning, and it could have made a difference in the outcome. We’ve had three meets in a short period of time, which is asking a lot of this group. We’re looking to get back to the gym with a good week of practice this week, and Friday could be a totally different story for our team.”

 

Nebraska returns to action next Friday, Jan. 25, for a conference dual with No. 12 Missouri. Competition is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at the DevaneyCenter.

 

Name                                     Vault      Bars       Beam     Floor       All-Around

Erin Davis                             9.80        ---            ---            ---            ---

Brittnee Habbib                    9.55        9.25        9.70        9.65        38.25

Kathryn Howard                   ---            9.675      9.425      9.475      ---

Sabrina Long                       ---            ---            ---            ---            ---

Vanessa Meloche               ---            1.00        ---            ---            ---

Emily Parsons                     9.95        9.775      9.90        9.70        39.325

Maria Scaffidi                       9.625      9.725      9.725      9.75        38.825

Stephanie Seich                  ---            ---            ---            ---            ---

Desire’ Sniatynski               9.80        9.85       9.80        9.80        39.25

Kylie Stone                            ---            ---            ---            ---            ---

Brittney Williams                  ---            ---            ---            ---            ---

Tricia Woo                             9.775      ---            9.35        9.80        ---

 

Team Scores                       Vault      Bars       Beam     Floor       Total

Nebraska                       48.95      48.275   48.65      48.70      194.575

Utah                              49.25      48.975   49.15      49.05      196.425

 

All-Around: 1. Emily Parsons, NU (39.325), Ashley Postell, Utah (39.325); 3. Desire’ Sniatynski, NU (39.25); 4. Maria Scaffidi, NU (38.825); 5. Brittnee Habbib, NU (38.25)

 

Vault: 1. Emily Parsons, NU (9.95); 2. Kristina Baskett, Utah (9.875), Nina Kim, Utah (9.875); 4. Ashley Postell, Utah (9.85); 5. Daria Bijak, Utah (9.825), Kyndal Robarts, Utah (9.825)

 

Bars: 1. Ashley Postell, Utah (9.875); 2. Desire’ Sniatynski, NU (9.85); 3. Kristina Baskett, Utah (9.825); 4. Emily Parsons, NU (9.775), Daria Bijak, Utah (9.775)

 

Beam: 1. Emily Parsons, NU (9.90), Ashley Postell, Utah (9.90); 3. Jamie Deetscreek, Utah (9.825), Kyndal Robarts, Utah (9.825), Daria Bijak, Utah (9.825)

 

Floor: 1. Annie DiLuzio, Utah (9.875); 2. JessicaDuke, Utah (9.825), Stephanie Neff, Utah (9.825); 4. Tricia Woo, NU (9.80), Desire’ Sniatynski, NU (9.80), Katie Kivisto, Utah (9.80)