Huskers Post Season-High Score, Come in Second at Metroplex Challenge

Fort Worth, Texas - The 10th-ranked Nebraska women's gymnastics team posted a season-high 195.60 to take second Friday night at the Metroplex Challenge against No. 6 Alabama (196.825), No. 25 LSU (195.55) and Missouri (193.40). NU posted a score of 49.00 or better on vault and tied for top honors on the event. Nebraska also posted a season-high event score on beam.

The Huskers produced an impressive comeback in the last rotation after trailing Alabama and LSU heading to the final event. Nebraska bounced back on beam with a season-high total, clinching the second-place finish for NU at the meet.   

"The story of the night was coming back on beam, all six girls stayed on," Head Coach Dan Kendig said. "That is step one of what we feel our beam team can do. I am proud of them, I am proud of the fight that they showed. We fought hard and stayed together and what we did tonight will pay dividends next weekend."

NU boasted two all-arounders in the competition as junior Lora Evenstad made her all-around debut as a Husker. She hit a season-high score on vault and bars and posted a career-high mark on beam, en route to hitting an impressive 39.25 for the first all-around score of her career. In addition, sophomore Janelle Giblin performed as an all-arounder for the second time in her career. She tallied career-high marks on bars, beam and floor, giving her an all-time high in the all-around of 39.125.

Senior Erin Davis posted a 9.925 on tie for first on vault, earning a share of the event crown for the second-straight week. Davis is currently tied for second in the nation on the event.

Nebraska opened the meet on floor where Lora Evenstad led the team with a 9.825 and GiblinandDaviseach posted a score of 9.80. The mark was a career high for Giblin and a season high for Davis, who performed on floor for just the second time this season. Maddie Steinauer hit a 9.725, and Maria Scaffidi notched a season-high 9.675. NU totaled a 48.825 on the event, while Alabama finished the first rotation with a 49.15 on beam, LSU posted a 48.975 on vault and Missouri tied the Huskers with a 48.80 on bars.

The Huskers moved to vault where Davis proved why she is tied for second on the event nationally as she led the way and matched her season-high score of 9.925. Evenstad tied her season high of 9.875 and Brittany Skinner added a 9.85. Steinauer posted a 9.80 and Giblin received a mark of 9.75. NU posted an event score of 49.20, its second-highest vault total of the season. Nebraska finished the second rotation with a total of 98.00, behind Alabama's 98.25. LSU came in third with a 97.875 and Missouri was fourth with a 96.65.

Nebraska continued on to the third rotation on bars as Giblin hit a career-high 9.875. Evenstad posted a season-high 9.85, while Wong added a 9.775. Skinner posted a score of 9.675, while Kaitlin Reid made her Husker debut with a mark of 9.60 for NU. Nebraska finished the event with a 48.775 and a total of 146.775 for third-place in the standings. Alabama maintained its first-place spot with a total of 147.50, LSU came in second with a 146.825 and Missouri entered the final rotation with a 145.00 for fourth.  

The Huskers showed their comeback ability in the final rotation as Scaffidi capped the evening on beam with a career-high-tying performance, hitting a 9.85 for the third time of her career. Steinauer posted a 9.775, while Wong added a 9.75. Evenstad performed on beam for the first time in her Husker career, tallying a 9.725 as she completed her all-around debut as a Husker. Giblin finished her all-around performance on the night with a 9.70 on beam. Nebraska posted a season-high event total of 48.80 and an overall total of 195.60 to edge LSU (195.55) for second place in the meet. Alabama finished the night in first (196.825) and Missouri came in fourth (193.40).

"I thought overall we did a good job," Head Coach Dan Kendig said. "We had one major mistake out of 24 routines. I feel like there are a lot of things we did today that were good, we learned some things. We still made mistakes that we need to get better up. Some people stepped up."

Nebraska travels to Missouri on Friday, Feb. 4 for a conference dual with the Tigers at 6:30 p.m. in Columbia, Mo. NU immediately returns home on Sunday, Feb. 6 to face Big 12 foe Oklahoma at 2 p.m. at the Devaney Center.

Name	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	All-Around
Deanna Barmore	9.675	---	---	---	---
Erin Davis	9.925	---	---	9.80	---
Lora Evenstad	9.875	9.85	9.725	9.825	39.275
Janelle Giblin	9.75	9.875	9.70	9.80	39.125
Brittnee Habbib	---	---	---	---	---
Kassandra Nathe	---	---	---	---	---
Kaitlin Reid	---	9.60	---	---	---
Maria Scaffidi	---	9.125	9.85	9.675	---
Jamie Schleppenbach	---	---	---	---	---
Brittany Skinner	9.85	9.675	9.675	---	---
Maddie Steinauer	9.80	---	9.775	9.725	---
Emily Wong	---	9.775	9.75	9.55	---

 

Team	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	Total
Nebraska	49.20	48.775	48.80	48.825	195.60
Alabama	49.25	49.325	49.15	49.10	196.825
LSU	48.975	48.90	48.95	48.725	195.55
Missouri	48.40	48.80	48.80	48.35	194.35