Huskers Kick Off 2011 Season, Fall to Florida

Gainesville, Fla. - The tenth-ranked Nebraska women's gymnastics team posted a score of 194.95 Friday night to fall to No. 3 Florida (196.925) at the O'Connell Center. NU featured nine different gymnasts who competed for the Huskers on the night.

Nebraska saw a slew of newcomers perform in the lineups as all three freshmen - Deanna Barmore, Jamie Schleppenbach and Emily Wong - contributed against the Gators. Wong saw action on bars, floor and beam, Schleppenbach aided the Huskers on vault and floor and Barmore contributed on vault and beam.

"The freshman contributed seven routines out of 23, that is pretty good," Head Coach Dan Kendig said. "We had two freshmen in every lineup except bars. I'm proud of them, they're doing a good job and are contributing in a big way right out of the gate and we expect even more from them the rest of the season."

An All-American on bars in 2010, sophomore Janelle Giblin debuted on two new events for the Huskers against Florida as she competed on vault and beam.

Senior Brittnee Habbib tied for second on bars with a score of 9.85. Senior Maddie Steinauer tied her career high score of 9.80 on beam to tie for third in the event and junior Lora Evenstad hit a team-high 9.875 on floor to tie for fourth on the night.

Nebraska opened the meet on bars, whereHabbibled the Huskers with a score of 9.85 to take second in the event and All-AmericanGiblin posted a mark of 9.825. Evenstadand sophomore Brittany Skinner each hit a 9.75 and senior Maria Scaffidi added a 9.70 to round out the rotation. NU finished with an event score of 48.875, behind Florida's first-rotation vault total of 49.25.

"We didn't have major mistake on bars," Kendig said. "Could we have hit handstands, could we have had better landings? Absolutely, but I'm pleased with our start, our goal was (a score of) 49.00 and we were close."

The Huskers moved to vault as Evenstad, who was an All-American on the event in 2010, posted a 9.80 and fellow All-American Skinner hit a 9.775. Schleppenbachmade her Husker debut with a 9.75 on the event. Steinauer also notched a 9.75, while Giblin performed for the first time on vault as a Husker with a mark of 9.70. NU wrapped up the event with a 48.775 and a running score of 97.65 to trail Florida (98.375) at the halfway point of the meet.

"For the most part (vault) was a learning experience for a lot of them," Kendig said. "Vault can be our best event and some things were taken for granted tonight. I think we could have scored better, but we opened the door and just have to work this week to get better."

Nebraska continued on to the third rotation on floor, where Evenstad hit a team-high 9.875 and tied for fourth on the event. Steinauer tied her career-high mark with a 9.825 and Wongreceived a solid mark of 9.80 for her first floor performance as a Husker. Habbib notched a 9.70 and Schleppenbach posted a 9.65 for the Huskers. NU wrapped up floor with a 48.85 and a running score of 146.50 to the Gators' 147.50 heading into the final event.

"I think the girls showed up and answered the call for us on floor," Kendig said. "Brittnee Habbib started us off with a good routine; Jamie (Schleppenbach) had a good routine and Maddie (Steinauer) did a great routine. Emily Wong, considering she had her toe all bandaged up, she had a great routine and Lora (Evenstad) did an outstanding routine".

NU capped the evening on beam with Steinauer leading the team and tying for third on the event by matching her career high score of 9.80. Wong contributed with a mark of 9.775 on the night. Habbib added a 9.65 and Skinner posted a 9.625. Giblin rounded out the event for Nebraska with a 9.60 in her first career beam routine. NU finished with an event score of 48.45 and a final team total of 194.95 to fall to Florida, which totaled a 196.925 on the night.

"I think the girls were excited for the meet," Kendig said. "They know now what they need to work on and are excited to get back and work hard. It's not a bad start, almost a 195.00; our goal was to go 195.00 or higher. Mistakes happen and we'll have to get back in the gym and work harder. We came out of the meet healthy and that's a big thing. Now it's getting back into the gym and get ready for Iowa State next week."

Following their opening weekend, the Huskers open the conference schedule at Iowa State on Friday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.

Name	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	All-Around
Deanna Barmore	9.675	---	8.80	---	---
Erin Davis	---	---	---	---	---
Lora Evenstad	9.80	9.75	---	9.875	---
Janelle Giblin	9.70	9.825	9.60	---	---
Brittnee Habbib	---	9.85	9.65	9.70	---
Kassandra Nathe	---	---	---	---	---
Kaitlin Reid	---	---	---	---	---
Maria Scaffidi	---	9.70	---	---	---
Jamie Schleppenbach	9.75	---	---	9.65	---
Brittany Skinner	9.775	9.75	9.625	---	---
Maddie Steinauer	9.75	---	9.80	9.825	---
Emily Wong	---	9.675	9.775	9.80	---

 

Team	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	Total
Nebraska	48.775	48.875	48.45	48.85	194.95
Florida	49.25	49.15	49.125	49.40	196.925