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Nebraska Prepares for Home Opener
?Nebraska Head Coach: Dan Kendig (16th Year)
?Current Team Record: 2-1 (2-0 Big 12)
?2009 High Score: 195.75 (vs. Missouri, 1/23/09)
?2008 NCAA Finish: DNQ
The 12th-ranked Nebraska women’s gymnastics team takes on No. 17 Penn State in the Huskers’ first home meet of the season. Competition is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Devaney Center, and Nebraska boasts an all-time record of 24-8 against the Nittany Lions. In their last meeting, the Huskers won 196.00-195.725 on March 21, 2008 in State College, Pa.
NU is 2-1 on the year after a solid win over Big 12 foe Missouri (195.75-194.75) in Columbia.
The Huskers return to the Devaney Center on Sunday, Feb. 8, for a conference meet with Oklahoma. The meet is slated to begin at 2 p.m.
Scouting the Competition: No. 17 Penn State
?Head Coach: Steve Shephard (17th Year)
?2008 Record: 13-8
?2008 High Score: 195.725 (vs. Maryland, Rutgers and Nebraska, 3/21/08)
?Last Meet: Win vs. Michigan State, 1/24/09 (195.875-194.175)
?2008 NCAA Finish: DNQ
A Glance at the Nittany Lions...
?Penn State’s Brandi Personett has started the 2009 season right where she left off in 2008. She captured the all-around title in the Nittany Lion’s first meet of the season (39.35) and took the all-around title last week against Michigan State (39.575). She has 13 all-around crowns in her career.
?Penn State is ranked No. 17 after topping Michigan State in University Park on Saturday. The Nittany Lions are also ranked sixth on vault and 12th on beam.
?Freshman Whitney Bencsko has started her collegiate career with a bang, finishing second in the all-around in her first meet against Pittsburgh (39.125) and in her most recent meet against Michigan State (38.575). Bencsko also finished first on vault (9.90) at Illinois and against Michigan State (9.925).
?Junior co-captain Allie Southard is making a strong comeback after sitting out the 2008 season due to injury. She took first on beam at Illinois, scoring a career-high 9.85.
Nebraska’s Competition Order vs. Penn State
Rotation Nebraska Penn State
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 leads 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.
Woo opened her senior season by tying Jessica Lopez for the beam crown at Denver. She scored a 9.90 on the event and entered the second week of competition ranked No. 1 nationally on beam. She added another strong beam performance at Missouri, scoring a 9.90 again and taking the event crown.
Williams Headlines 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 helped Nebraska to its ninth Super Six Finals appearance and a sixth-place finish for the Huskers.
Despite tweaking her ankle in warm-ups at Iowa State, Williams turned in an inspiring performance on bars to place third with a 9.825 and helped the Huskers top the Cyclones. She received her first event title of her senior season, tying for first on bars (9.875) with Kylie Stone at Missouri.
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 are $30, with all-session 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 returned to the Huskers’ lineup after missing last season due to an injury suffered in preseason training. Stone leads 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.
Stone started the 2009 season by winning the all-around at Denver (38.975) and tying for first on floor (9.825) with Denver’s Amanda Johanson. She took the all-around crown for the second-straight week at Iowa State, scoring a 39.35. She also took every event title except bars in Ames, leading the Huskers to the win. Stone was named Big 12 Co-Gymnast of the Week, sharing the award with Missouri’s Sarah Shire. In a competition where she squared-off with Shire at Missouri, Stone performed big again, tying for first in the all-around (39.35) and bars (9.875). She now ranks 17th in the all-around with an average of 39.225, and is ranked No. 11 on floor, averaging a score of 9.867.
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. Howard took third on beam at Denver, scoring a 9.85. At Missouri, she placed fourth on beam, notching a 9.825.
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 emerged 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.
This season, Habbib posted a strong performance at Iowa State for Nebraska, taking second on floor with a career-high 9.825. In Columbia, Mo., she took fifth on bars, with a 9.775 and on beam (9.80).
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.
She started her second year with Nebraska by placing first on vault (9.825) at Denver and taking second at Iowa State (9.80).
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. Evenstad opened her Husker career by placing fifth on both vault (9.80) and bars (9.75) at Denver and second on floor (9.825) at Iowa State. She continued to perform well as she tied for third on vault at Missouri with a 9.80.
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. Fyffe proved herself as a strong competitor, notching a fifth-place finish on vault (9.725) at Iowa State. With more experience under her belt, Fyffe tied for fifth on beam (9.80) at Missouri.
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. Nathe debuted strong for NU, capturing her second-straight second-place finish in the all-around at Iowa State (39.00). She also took third on bars (9.825) and beam (9.80) in Ames.
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.
All-Arounders Prove Strong for Nebraska
Junior Kylie Stone and freshman Kassandra Nathe starred for the Huskers at Denver and Iowa State, capturing the top two spots in the all-around for two weeks in a row. Both hit the 39-mark in the all-around, Stone scoring a 39.35, and Nathe receiving a 39.00 at ISU. Stone also won every event title except for bars at Iowa State. The dominance continued at Missouri when Stone tied for first in the all-around (39.35) and on bars (9.875).
Stone Leads Huskers in Big 12 Awards
Stone was named the Big 12 Co-Gymnast of the Week in the conference awards on Jan. 20. She shared the award with Missouri’s Sarah Shire after winning her second all-around title at Iowa State and earning a career-high tying mark on beam.
Nebraska swept the weekly awards on Jan. 26, with Stone being named Gymnast of the Week and Woo taking Event Specialist of the Week honors. Stone received the honors after winning the all-around title for the third consecutive week. She also achieved season-bests on bars and floor at Missouri. Woo was honored after posting a 9.90 on beam and taking the event title at Missouri. It was the second time this season that she has posted such a score.