No. 11 Nebraska Gears Up for No. 9 Utah

• Nebraska Head Coach: Dan Kendig (17th Year)
• Current Team Record: 13-2 (1-1 Big 12)
• 2010 High Score: 196.475 (at IGI Chicago Style Invite, 2/12/10)
• 2009 NCAA Finish: DNQ 

The 11th-ranked Nebraska women's gymnastics team heads to Salt Lake City, Utah to take on No. 9 Utah on Friday, March 5. Competition is scheduled for 8 p.m. at the Huntsman Center. Utah holds an all-time record of 37-9-2 over Nebraska. In their last meeting in 2009, the Huskers lost to the Utes, 196.525-195.725 in Lincoln.

NU is 13-2 on the year after winning its 17th Masters Classic title (196.425) last Sunday at the Devaney Center. The Huskers scored a 49.0 or better on vault, beam and floor, and won or tied all individual event titles. NU finished ahead of Arizona (194.75), Denver (194.175) and West Virginia (192.975).  Nebraska saw Maddie Steinauer take her first event crown, as she tied with Lora Evenstad for the vault title (9.85). Brittnee Habbib added her second bars crown of the year, tying for the title with a 9.85. Kathryn Howard won her fourth beam crown of the year, posting a score of 9.85. Evenstad also took the floor crown with a mark of 9.90. Maria Scaffidi won her third all-around title of the year, hitting a score of 39.30. In addition, first time all-around competitor Brittany Skinner received an all-around score of 39.125 to come in third.  

Nebraska returns home for its final regular season meet with Iowa State on Sunday, March 14. Competition is set to begin at 2 p.m. at the Devaney Center.

Nebraska's Competition Order at Utah

Rotation            Utah                             Nebraska

1                      Vault                             Uneven Bars

2                      Uneven Bars                 Vault

3                      Balance Beam               Floor Exercise

4                      Floor Exercise               Balance Beam

Scouting the Competition: No. 9 Utah Utes

• Co-Head Coaches: Greg and Megan Marsden (26/25th Year)
• 2010 Record: 6-2
• 2010 High Score: 196.55 (vs. Georgia, 1/22/10)
• Last Meet: Win, at Brigham Young, 2/26/10 (195.925-194.375)
• 2009 NCAA Finish: DNQ

A Glance at the Utes...

• Utah sits at the No. 9 spot nationally. The Utes also occupy the No. 5 spot on vault, the No. 11 spot on bars, the No. 8 spot on beam and the No. 9 spot on floor.
• Junior Kyndal Robarts has won the last seven vault competitions and ranks third in the nation on the event (9.92). Senior Annie DiLuzio has five wins on floor, where she is currently tied for fifth in the nation with a 9.895.
• Utah has five all-arounders ranked in the top 20: Daria Bijak is tied for 12th, Jamie Deetscreek is No. 15 and Robarts ranks 19th.

Huskers in the National Ranks

After winning its 17th Masters Classic title last Sunday, the Nebraska women's gymnastics team is ranked 11th in the latest GymInfo poll released Monday. The poll, which is calculated by regional qualifying score, also ranks NU third in the South Central region and second in the Big 12 Conference. In addition, the Huskers are seventh nationally in team vault scoring (49.185), 17th on bars (48.88), tied for 12th on beam (48.845) and seventh on floor (49.135).

Individually, junior Erin Davis is tied for seventh in the vault rankings (9.90). Sophomore Lora Evenstad comes in tied at eighth on floor (9.89). Senior Kathryn Howard is tied for 17th on beam (9.85), and junior Maria Scaffidi is tied at 16th on floor (9.875) and is ranked 24th in the all-around (39.05).

Howard Set to Headline Nebraska's Beam Lineup

Senior Kathryn Howard returned to the Husker lineup ready to lead a young squad on bars and beam. She entered her senior season bringing considerable experience and clutch performances over her Husker career. Howard posted a 9.85 on beam against Washington to tie teammates Kylie Stone and Brittnee Habbib for the event title. She earned her second beam title in a row with a 9.85 against Minnesota and Illinois. Howard also hit a season-high 9.775 on bars against Michigan on Jan. 24. She took second on beam (9.775) against Missouri on Jan. 30.  She tied her season-high on beam (9.85) against Oklahoma and TWU. She shared the beam title at the IGI Chicago Style Invite, tying her season-high for the fourth time (9.85). Howard hit a new season-high at the Sweetheart Invite (9.875). At the Masters Classic Howard won the beam title with a score of 9.85.

A clean gymnast, Howard performs with long lines and will be an asset to Nebraska's success this season. An All-Big 12 performer on beam, she is also a leader in the classroom for NU, as a two-time first-team academic All-Big 12 selection.

Huskers to Host 2010 Big 12 Championships

Nebraska, which last hosted the Big 12 Championships in 2006, will prepare to hold the 2010 conference meet at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on March 27 at 2 p.m. Tickets are available through the Nebraska Ticket Office at Huskers.com or by calling 800-8BIGRED. The Huskers have been crowned Big 12 champions eight times.

Kendig Builds One of Nation's Top Programs at Nebraska

Head Coach Dan Kendig is the all-time winningest coach in the 33 years of Nebraska women's gymnastics history. In 17 seasons at Nebraska, Kendig is 371-143-4 overall and 260-57-2 in regular-season meets. Kendig is in his 27th year of coaching and owns a career record of 484-255-5.

An eight-time Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year, Kendig has guided the Huskers to 11 conference championships and three straight regional championships from 2000 to 2002. He was most recently named the 2009 Big 12 Coach of the Year.

He has also led Nebraska to 11 NCAA Championship appearances in the past 15 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 2009, Nebraska finished with a 16-7 overall record. The Huskers placed third at the NCAA Southeast Regional in their 26th straight NCAA postseason appearance. One of Kendig's gymnasts -- Kylie Stone (UB) -- earned an All-America honor. Additionally, Britney Williams captured her first Big 12 title on bars at the competition in Ames, Iowa.

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

Stone Provides Leadership for Husker Squad

Senior Kylie Stone has led Nebraska in 2010 after earning her second All-America award in 2009. She experienced an injury in the Masters Classic on Feb. 28, which has sidelined her from the sport.

Prior to her injury, Stone captured the first event title of her senior season against Washington, with a 9.85 on beam. The mark tied her career-high score. She posted a new season-high of 9.85 on bars against Minnesota and Illinois on Jan. 15 and took the event crown. Stone posted a season-high 9.85 on bars, and came in second on vault (9.80) against Michigan. She earned her second bars crown of the season with a 9.825 on the event against Missouri on Jan. 30 and was named Big 12 Event Specialist-of-the-Week for her performance. She posted a season-high 9.875 on vault at the IGI Chicago Style Invite and tied for second in the event. At the Sweetheart Invite on Feb. 20, Stone tied her season-high on vault (9.85) and hit a new season-high on bars (9.875), where she also tied for first on the event.

The Calgary, Alberta, native was named the 2009 Co-Big 12 Gymnast of the Year after winning 18 individual titles, including five in the all-around and seven on floor. She was named Big 12 Gymnast of the Week four times as well as being named All-Big 12 and to the All-Big 12 Championship Team.

Stone was Nebraska's lone competitor at the 2009 NCAA Championships. She took fourth in the all-around at the NCAA Southeast Regional to advance to the NCAA Championships. At nationals, Stone again proved her will and determination. After suffering an injury in practice the week before the meet, she turned in a solid bars performance to score a 9.85 and earn second-team All-America honors.

Scaffidi Leads Juniors as All-Arounder

Maria Scaffidi returned to NU's lineup after missing the 2009 season due to an injury suffered in preseason training. A consistent all-around performer for the Huskers in 2008, she brings a strong and explosive style of gymnastics back to Nebraska's lineup.  Scaffidi opened the 2010 season as if she hadn't missed a beat, earning the second all-around title of her career, after posting a solid 39.00 as she starred for the Huskers. She also took top honors on floor, tying her career-high mark of 9.875. Scaffidi hit a career-high 9.90 on floor against Minnesota and Illinois to take the event title. She also improved her all-around score to 39.25. Scaffidi tied her season-high mark on floor (9.80) to take third in the event against Michigan. She took first in the all-around (39.225), tied her season-high on vault (9.85) and her career-high on beam (9.85) against Oklahoma and TWU on Feb. 5. She took second on floor at the IGI Chicago Style Invite, receiving a score of 9.875. Scaffidi posted a season-high 9.825 on bars at the Sweetheart Invite. She added a career-high all-around score of 39.30 at the Masters Classic on Feb. 28.

Erin Davis gained experience on vault and floor as a sophomore and proved to be one of the Huskers' clutch performers on both events. In opening her junior season, she helped the Huskers to a team vault score of 49.00 against Washington by posting a mark of 9.825. She was named Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week after posting a perfect 10.0 on the vault against Minnesota and Illinois, the first of her career. She is the first Husker to receive a perfect score on the event since 2007. Davis is tied nationally at No. 4 on vault.  In addition, she also posted a 9.75 on floor on Jan. 15. Against Michigan, Davis hit a career-high 9.90 on floor to tie for the event crown with Lora Evenstad. It was the first floor title of her career. Davis also earned top vault honors with a mark of 9.875. She tied for first on vault (9.90) against Oklahoma and TWU. She earned top honors on vault on Feb. 12 with a stellar mark of 9.95. Davis showed her knack for consistency at the Sweetheart Invite, as she hit a 9.95 to lead the Huskers and take the event title for the third-straight week.

Davis took home All-Big 12 honors on vault as a sophomore and serves as a solid veteran competitor on the event. She started 2009 by winning the first event crown of her career, taking top honors on vault at Denver. She also tallied season highs on vault and floor and won her second vault crown of the season at Michigan.

Brittnee Habbib returned to Nebraska's lineup in 2009 as an experienced performer. She kicked-off her junior campaign in stellar form, earning the first event titles of her career against Washington. Habbib took first on bars (9.85), and tied for first on beam (9.85). Her mark on beam tied her career-high score set in 2008. She earned season-high marks of 9.85 and 9.80 on bars and floor against Michigan. She took third on floor (9.775) against Missouri on Jan. 30. Habbib posted a season-high 9.85 on floor against Oklahoma and TWU. She came in third on beam at the IGI Chicago Style Invite (9.80). She won her second bars crown of the year at the Masters Classic, tying her season-high score of 9.85.

Habbib consistently contributed on bars, beam and floor throughout her sophomore campaign and is poised to do so again this year, with a big demand for her elegant style of gymnastics. She posted a strong performance for Nebraska at Iowa State in 2009, taking second on floor. She tied her career high of 9.875 on bars against Michigan, as she took second in the event.

Transfer Maddie Steinauer came to the Huskers from Cal State Fullerton, where she was a solid contributor on vault for the Titans. She performed well in her Husker debut, competing on vault (9.75), beam (9.775) and floor (9.675) for Nebraska. Steinauer hit a career-high of 9.775 on floor against Minnesota and Illinois on Jan. 15, and also posted a season-high 9.825 on vault.  She tied her career high of 9.775 on beam and posted a new career-high of 9.825 on floor against Michigan on Jan. 24. Steinauer tied for third on beam (9.725) and floor (9.775) against Missouri. She posted a career-high 9.80 on beam against Oklahoma and TWU on Feb. 5. She tied her career-high score of 9.80 on beam at the IGI Chicago Style Invite on Feb. 12. Steinauer notched the first event title of her junior season at the Masters Classic, hitting a career-high 9.85 on vault to tie for first in the event. She also tied her season-high floor score (9.825).

Sophomores Provide Spark

Lora Evenstad, Kristin Fyffe and Kassandra Nathe have returned as sophomores to add depth to the NU squad. Evenstad, the 2009 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, began her sophomore campaign as a leading candidate for the Huskers' floor lineup. She looks to continue an impressive start to her Nebraska career in 2010. Evenstad took second on bars and vault at Washington with a 9.825 on each event. She continued her solid night with a 9.85 on floor. She tied her season highs on vault (9.85), bars (9.825) and floor (9.85) against Minnesota and Illinois on Jan. 15. She posted a career-high of 9.875 on bars against Michigan, while also hitting a season-high 9.90 on floor. Her score on floor earned her a tie for first in the event with teammate Erin Davis. Evenstad took second on bars (9.775) and on floor (9.80) as the Huskers took on Missouri on Jan. 30. She tied her season-high floor score (9.90) on Feb. 5 against Oklahoma and TWU. She took first on floor at the IGI Chicago Style Invite, matching her season-best score (9.90) for the third time this season. At the Sweetheart Invite, Evenstad took the event crown and tied her season-high mark of 9.90 for the fourth time this season. She tied for the vault crown at the Masters Classic (9.85) and won the floor title (9.90).

Evenstad kicked off her Husker career in smashing form, proving to be a stellar performer on floor and a solid contributor on vault and bars in 2009. At the Big 12 Championships she earned a spot on the All-Big 12 Championship team after finishing second on floor (9.90).

Nathe provides invaluable experience for NU, after competing in every meet as an all-arounder in 2009. While her hard work is helping the Huskers in 2010, she only competed on bars against Washington. She improved her season-best score on bars to 9.825 against Minnesota and Illinois. Nathe competed on beam for the first time all season against Michigan, earning a score of 9.725. She hit a career-high 9.875 on beam on Feb. 5 against Oklahoma and TWU. Nathe posted a season-high 9.85 on bars at the IGI Chicago Style Invite. The score put her in a tie for first place on the event.

At the Big 12 Championships, Nathe hit a career-high 9.85 on vault to take third and was named to the All-Big 12 Championship team for her performance. She placed ninth in the all-around (38.85), 15th on vault (9.825) and 11th on bars (9.80) at the 2009 NCAA Southeast Regional.

Fyffe was a solid contributor on vault and beam for NU and looks to do the same in 2010. With a set of new skills, she is aiming to make a greater impact for NU. She saw action on beam for the Huskers at Washington. Fyffe posted a season-high 9.70 on beam as the Huskers took on Minnesota and Illinois on Jan. 15. She competed on vault for the first time this season on Jan. 30, receiving a score of 9.75. She added a season-high vault score of 9.80 at the Masters Classic.

In 2009 Fyffe posted a score of 9.80 on vault against Oklahoma and tied her career-high mark of 9.80 on beam at the Masters Classic. Fyffe continually improved over the course of the season, wrapping up the regular season with a career-high 9.825 on vault at Arizona State.

Looking to the Future: The New Husker Class

Nebraska welcomes three freshmen to its roster: Hannah Bower, Janelle Giblin and Brittany Skinner.

Bower, a native of Loveland, Colo., was the first three-time 5A Colorado all-around champion. In addition to etching her name in Colorado gymnastics history, she was inducted into the Colorado Sports Women's Hall of Fame.

Giblin comes to Lincoln from Airborne Gymnastics in Santa Clara, Calif. A level 10 competitor, she was the 2008 state bars, beam, floor and all-around champion en route to taking the 2008 regional level 10 bars, beam, floor and all-around crowns.

Skinner is also a level 10 product from Airborne Gymnastics. She made her Husker debut at Washington, where she posted a 9.725 on vault and a 9.10 on floor. Skinner improved in her second week of competition for NU, hitting a 9.825 on vault and a 9.625 on floor. Skinner showed her knack for performing as she hit a season-high 9.85 on floor when the Huskers took on Michigan on Jan. 24. She hit a career-high 9.85 on beam against Oklahoma and TWU on Feb. 5. Skinner matched her career-high score of 9.875 on vault and 9.85 on floor at the IGI Chicago Style Invite. She came in tied at second on vault and third on floor as a result of her efforts. In a last minute decision, Skinner was placed in the all-around lineup for the first time at the Masters Classic. In her first collegiate beam performance outside of exhibition routines, she hit a 9.825 to take second in the event. She totaled an all-around score of 39.125.

Skinner was a three-time level 10 national qualifier and four-time level 10 regional qualifier. In 2009 she made the NorCal State Team while taking second on bars and placing third in the all-around at the state meet. She was also the 2009 Regional vault and all-around champion, while taking second on beam.