Nebraska Faces Denver in Season Opener

?Nebraska Head Coach: Dan Kendig (16th Year)       

?Current Team Record: 0-0 (0-0 Big 12)

?2008 High Score: 196.675 (vs. Missouri, 1/25/08)

?2008 NCAA Finish: DNQ

The 11th-ranked Nebraska women’s gymnastics team opens its 2009 season at Denver this Saturday, Jan. 10 in Denver, Colo. Competition is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Hamilton Gymnasium, and Nebraska boasts an all-time record of 20-5 over the Pioneers.

 

Following its opening weekend, Nebraska travels to Big 12 Conference rival Iowa State in Ames, Iowa on Friday, Jan. 16 at Hilton Coliseum. The Huskers will look to two returning All-Americans -- Tricia Woo and Kylie Stone -- to lead their lineup in 2009.

 

Scouting the Competition: No. 14 Denver Pioneers

?Head Coach: Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart (11th Year)  

?2008 Record: 16-4

?2008 High Score: 196.575 (vs. Auburn, 3/2/08)

?2008 NCAA Finish: 12th (194.200)

A Glance at the Pioneers...

?Denver’s top returning gymnast is Senior Jessica Lopez, who finished the 2008 regular season ranked No. 4 nationally in the all-around               

?Senior Nikki Brown competed on three events last season and is one of the team’s best balance beam workers

?Denver last met Nebraska at the Devaney Center on Feb. 23, 2008, which NU won with a 195.925. The Pioneers posted a 195.65.

 

Nebraska’s Competition Order with Denver

Rotation                 Denver                Nebraska

1                              Vault                   Uneven Bars

2                              Uneven Bars       Vault

3                              Balance Beam    Floor Exercise

4                              Floor Exercise     Balance Beam

 

Woo Leads Huskers into 2009 Season

Senior Tricia Woo will lead Nebraska in 2009 after earning three All-America awards in her first three seasons at NU. The Milpitas, Calif., native claimed the 2008 beam and floor crowns at the NCAA Southeast Regional. She earned her first Big 12 beam title at the conference championships in 2008.

 

Woo was Nebraska’s final individual to qualify for the NCAA Championships and competed as a floor and beam specialist. She placed ninth (9.825) on beam and 10th (9.85) on floor in the preliminary session of the meet. In a junior season that saw Woo earn an all-conference nod on beam, she was honored as a Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week twice in 2008.

 

Williams Set to Headline Nebraska’s Bars Lineup

After redshirting in 2008 due to an Achilles tear suffered in preseason training, senior Brittney Williams is poised to be a strong force as a bars specialist for the Huskers. Williams proved to be one of NU’s most dependable contributors in 2007, earning All-Big 12 honors on bars at the Big 12 Championships. At the NCAA Championships, Williams contributed to help Nebraska to its ninth Super Six Finals appearance and a sixth-place finish for the Huskers. 

 

Huskers to Host 2009 NCAA Championships

Nebraska, which last hosted the NCAA Championships in 2003, will prepare to hold the 2009 NCAA Championships at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in April. Preliminary competition begins on April 16, followed by the Super Six Finals on April 17 and the individual finals on April 18. Tickets are available through the Nebraska Ticket Office. All-session reserved adult tickets start at $30, general admission tickets just $22 for adults and $18 for youth and seniors. Single-session reserved tickets will be $12 and single-session general admission tickets will be $9, but will only be available the day of competition. All-session tickets can be purchased at Huskers.com or by calling 800-8BIGRED. The Huskers have reached the NCAA Championships nine of the last 10 years.

 

Kendig Builds One of Nation’s Top Programs at Nebraska

Head Coach Dan Kendig is the all-time winningest coach in the 32 years of Nebraska women's gymnastics history. In 15 seasons at Nebraska, Kendig is 355-136-4 overall and 244-52-2 in regular-season meets. Kendig is in his 26th year of coaching and owns a career record of 468-248-5.

 

A seven-time Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year, Kendig has guided the Huskers to nine conference championships and three straight regional championships from 2000 to 2002.

He has also led Nebraska to 11 NCAA Championship appearances in the past 14 seasons, including NCAA Super Six Finals appearances in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007. Kendig was honored as the NCAA Coach of the Year in 1999 and 2003, a year in which the Huskers finished fourth nationally.

 

Under Kendig's guidance in 2008, Nebraska finished with a 13-9 overall record. The Huskers placed third at the NCAA Southeast Regional in their 25th straight NCAA postseason appearance. Two of Kendig’s gymnasts -- Emily Parsons (BB, AA) and Desire’ Sniatynski (UB) -- earned a total of three All-America honors. Additionally, Tricia Woo captured her first Big 12 title on beam at the competition in Norman.

 

Kendig is assisted by associate head coach Danna Durante, who is in her seventh season with Nebraska, and assistant coach Tim Garrison, who is in his third year on the Husker staff.

 

All-American Stone leads Juniors

Junior Kylie Stone returns to the Huskers’ lineup after missing last season due to an injury suffered in preseason training. Stone will lead Nebraska’s all-around rotation and is a strong candidate for conference and national honors as a junior. A native of Calgary, Alberta, she earned second-team All-America honors on vault in 2006. Stone also grabbed All-Big 12 accolades on vault in her sophomore season. Before beginning her career at Nebraska, she competed in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, and finished 14th in the all-around at the 2003 World Championships in Anaheim, Calif., making her the highest finishing Canadian female all-arounder in World Championships history.

 

Maria Scaffidi looks to build upon a strong sophomore campaign. She emerged as a consistent all-around performer in her second year, opening 2008 with the first individual crown of her career at Iowa State. Scaffidi was a key member of Nebraska’s bars lineup and ranked eighth in the South Central regional standings on bars and ninth in the all-around.

 

Kathryn Howard enters the 2009 season as a strong competitor on beam for the Huskers. An All-Big 12 performer on beam as a freshman, she won her first career event title on beam at Oklahoma in 2008.

 

Sophomores Gain Experience, Add Depth

Nebraska’s sophomore class includes key competitors Brittnee Habbib and Erin Davis. Both stepped up as specialists for the Huskers in 2008 and look to be leading candidates in the Husker lineups.

 

Habbib stepped up as a three-event competitor in her inaugural season, consistently contributing on bars, beam and floor, as well as vault earlier in the season. At the conference level, she took the No. 10 spot in the Big 12 beam standings, as well as ranking 14th on bars.

 

Davis will provide experience to Nebraska’s vault and floor lineups in her second year with the Huskers. She stepped into the No. 2 spot in the floor lineup in 2008 and hit a career-best 9.80 on three occasions. At the Big 12 Championships, Davis placed 10th on vault.

 

Looking to the Future: The New Husker Class

Nebraska welcomes five newcomers to its roster this season: freshmen Lora Evenstad, Kristin Fyffe, Kassandra Nathe, Claire Stingley and Kailey Ryan. In addition to the slew of newcomers, the Huskers return redshirt freshman Stephanie Seich to the lineup. She looks to make an impact after redshirting in her first year due to preseason forearm surgery.

 

Evenstad, the 2008 Junior Olympic All-Around Champion, brings NU valuable experience. The Grand Forks, N.D., native and product of Red River Valley Gymnastics also placed third on vault and floor at the 2008 J.O. Championships. In addition, she tied for eighth on bars and beam at the competition.

 

Fyffe is a level 10 product of Queen City Gymnastics in Cincinnati, Ohio. The 2006 Ohio J.O. state vault champion placed sixth on beam and eighth in the all-around at Nationals that same year. She was a four-time national qualifier from 2003 to 2006.

 

A native of Sartell, Minn., Nathe is a level 10 product and the 2007 Region IV all-around and beam champion. She is a four-time National Championships qualifier from 2005 to 2008. At the 2008 J.O. National Championships, she tied for 13th on floor and 15th in the all-around. She took the Region IV beam crown in 2006.

 

Stingley enters her first season with the Huskers as a level 10 product from GymNasti Gymnastics in Villa Park, Ill. She earned the 2006 Gateway Challenge level 10 championship and the level 9 J.O. National floor crown in 2005.

Ryan, a native of Franklin, N.C., is a level 10 product from Woodward Gymnastics Club and Weyandt’s Gymnastics. She was a two-time bar state champion in North Carolina level 9 and 10. She also earned bronze in the AA state competition.