Huskers Can?t Hold Off Pioneers

Denver, Colo. - Nebraska saw four different gymnasts capture a share of top honors on bars and floor, but it was not enough to overcome No. 19 Denver Saturday evening at Hamilton Gymnasium in Denver, Colo. NU fell to the Pioneers 195.85-195.725, despite hitting a score of 49.00 or better on vault, bars and floor and leading Denver heading into the final rotation. The Huskers are now 4-7 (3-1 Big 12) on the year.

Brittnee Habbib, Emily Wong and Maria Scaffidi all tabbed a 9.825 on bars to tie for first-place, while Lora Evenstad earned her fifth floor crown of the season, tying for first with a 9.90.

"Today was a good step; the next step will be what we're capable of doing," Head Coach Dan Kendig said. "All said and done we come out on the short end of the stick by .125."

Five Huskers added a total of six new career or season high marks on the evening.

"We just need to get a little tougher in competition," Kendigsaid. "We never had to count a major mistake, but we had some handstands, landings and wobbles that need to get corrected."

Nebraska opened the meet on bars where Habbib, Wong and Scaffidi all tied for the event title with scores of 9.825.Giblin tallied a 9.80 for fifth-place, and Evenstad posted a 9.775. NU totaled a 49.05, trailing Denver's first rotation vault score of 49.15.

The Huskers moved to vault, as Maddie Steinauer, Janelle Giblin and Jamie Schleppenbach all notched scores of 9.875 to tie for second-place. The mark was a season-high for Steinauer and tied Schleppenbach's and Giblin's career-high scores for the third time. Erin Davis added a 9.85, and Brittany Skinner received a 9.775 on the event. The Huskers notched a 49.25, pushing ahead of the Pioneers 98.30-97.55 after two rotations.

NU continued to floor where Evenstad led the way, matching her season high of 9.90 and taking a share of the event title. Davis posted a season-high-tying 9.85, and Scaffidi notched a 9.80. Steinauer tabbed a score of 9.775, while Wong received a 9.725 to round out the rotation. Nebraska added a floor total of 49.05, giving them a 98.30-97.55 lead over Denver with one rotation to go.

Nebraska capped the evening on beam, where they hit five out of six routines and Giblin notched a career-high 9.80 on the event to tie for third-place. Skinner hit a 9.725, while Habbib and Scaffidi both received scores of 9.675. Steinauer went 9.50 on the event, giving NU a beam score of 48.375. Nebraska totaled a 195.725 on the night to fall to the Pioneers, who posted a 49.35 floor score and a total of 195.80.

The Huskers host Bowling Green Iowa and Kentucky in the Masters Classic next Sunday, Feb. 27 at 2 p.m.

"The one thing we're excited about is that we're home the next three weekends and were looking forward to competing at the Devaney Center again," Kendig said.

Name	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	All-Around
Deanna Barmore	---	---	---	---	---
Erin Davis	9.85	---	---	9.85	---
Lora Evenstad	9.775	9.775	---	9.90	---
Janelle Giblin	9.875	9.80	9.80	---	---
Brittnee Habbib	---	9.825	9.675	9.375	---
Kassandra Nathe	---	---	---	---	---
Kaitlin Reid	---	---	---	---	---
Maria Scaffidi	---	9.825	9.675	9.80	---
Jamie Schleppenbach	9.875	---	---	---	---
Brittany Skinner	9.775	8.925	9.725	---	---
Maddie Steinauer	9.875	---	9.50	9.775	---
Emily Wong	---	9.825	9.20	9.725	---

 

Team	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	Total
Nebraska	49.25	49.05	48.375	49.05	195.725
Denver	49.15	48.40	48.95	49.35	195.85