Huskers Host 22nd Masters Classic, Ask Fans to Wear Pink

-Nebraska Head Coach: Dan Kendig (19th Year)
-Current Team Record: 5-1 (1-0 Big Ten)
-2012 High Score: 197.375 (Denver, 1/13/12)
-2011 NCAA Finish: 4th (196.725)

The No. 8 Nebraska women's gymnastics team returns to action this weekend when they host the 22nd Masters Classic at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. The Huskers, who have won the past 16 Masters Classic titles,  will compete against No. 20 Washington, No. 22 Michigan and Southern Utah.

Live video will be provided on Huskers.com, but a subscription is required. Live stats will also be provided at Huskers.com

The Huskers are 5-1 on the season after their first-place finish in Norman, Okla., defeating No. 5 Oklahoma, No. 25 Minnesota and Centenary last weekend. NU tallied its second-highest score of the season with a 196.750 and were led by true freshman Jessie DeZiel, who won her third all-around competition of the year with a 39.50.

Fans Encouraged to Wear Pink
Fans are encouraged to wear pink to Saturday's meet as the Huskers host their "Think Pink" meet to help spread support of breast cancer awareness. Pink prizes will be handed out throughout the meet, while supplies last.

Saturday's meet is also Student Appreciation Night at the Devaney Center. The first 100 students will receive a free slice of  Valentino's pizza, while all students who are wearing pink will receive a special "Think Pink" prize.

Scouting the Competition: No. 20 Washington
-Head Coach: Joanne Bowers (sixth season)
-2012 Record: 2-3 (1-2 Pac-12)
-2012 High Score: 195.725 (at Stanford, 1/22/12)
-2011 NCAA Finish: N/A

A Glance at the Huskies...
-No. 20 Washington is 2-3 on the year after falling to No. 8 Oregon State on Feb. 3. Before their loss to the Beavers, UW upset the No. 1 team in the country the week before in UCLA, 195.350-194.600, in Seattle, Wash.

-Senior Ruby Engreitz won the all-around against the Bruins with an overall score of 39.325 and took the floor title with a career-high 9.875 on the floor.

-The Huskies feature three events ranked inside the top 25 nationally, including the No. 12 beam average in the nation at 48.710. UW is ranked at No. 17 on the bars with a 48.730 average and No. 25 on the vault with a 48.795

-The Huskies and Huskers last faced off on Jan. 8, 2010 in Seattle, Wash., where the Huskers came out on top, 195.70-193.45.

Scouting the Competition: No. 22 Michigan
-Head Coach: Bev Plocki (23rd season)
-2012 Record: 4-0 (3-0 Big Ten)
-2012 High Score: 195.500 (Ohio State, 1/13/12)
-2011 NCAA Finish: 6th (196.425)

A Glance at the Wolverines...
-Sporting a perfect 4-0 record, the No. 22 Michigan Wolverines will enter Saturday's meet after defeating West Virginia, 195.650-194.050, their last time out.

-The Wolverines have had three different gymnasts finish first in the all-around this season, including sophomore Joanna Sampson, who scored a 39.30 against the Mountaineers.

-Michigan is ranked inside the top 25 nationally in two events, checking in at No. 11 on the vault with an average of 49.475 and No. 16 on the bars with a 48.744 average.

-The Huskers own a 19-17-1 record in the all-time series with Michigan. The last time the two schools met, NU edged the Wolverines, 196.725-196.425, at the NCAA Super Six Finals in 2011.

Scouting the Competition: Southern Utah
-Head Coach: Scott Bauman (21st year)
-2012 Record: 2-4 (1-2 WAC)
-2012 High Score: 194.525 (at Utah State with Boise State, 1/27/12)
-2011 NCAA Finish: N/A

A Glance at the Thunderbirds...
-The Thunderbirds have 2-4 overall record, with wins over Utah State and Boise State on Jan. 27, when they scored a season-high 194.525 as a team.

-Junior Alyssa Click leads the Southern Utah Thunderbirds, checking in at No. 13 in the nation on the balance beam with an average of 9.844.

-Junior Michaela Chernoch earned Western Athletic Conference Specialist of the Week on Jan. 31 after posting a 9.90 against Utah State.

-The Huskers hold a 6-0-0 advantage in the all-time series against the Thunderbirds. NU defeated Southern Utah at last year's NCAA Regionals in Corvallis, Ore., 196.55-193.775.

Competition Order at Masters Classic
Rotation                        Nebraska          Michigan           Washington       Southern Utah
1                                  Vault                 Floor                Beam                Bars
2                                  Bars                 Vault                 Floor                Beam
3                                  Beam                Bars                 Vault                 Floor
4                                  Floor                Beam                Bars                 Vault

Last Time Out: Huskers Upset 5th-Ranked Sooners
The Nebraska women's gymnastics team captured three individual event titles and won two events as a team to finish in first place in their quad meet in Norman, Okla., scoring a 196.750. The Huskers topped No. 5 Oklahoma, who finished second with a 196.475, No. 25 Minnesota (194.55) and Centenary (188.60).

Senior Lora Evenstad won one event title on the night by capturing the floor title, while juniors Emily Wong and Jamie Schleppenbach captured titles on the beam and vault, respectively. True freshman Jessie DeZiel won her third all-around competition of the season after scoring a 39.50.

The Huskers started on the bars where they scored a 49.225, which tied them with the Sooners for the lead after one rotation. All five Huskers scored above a 9.8, including Evenstad who scored a season-high 9.9 in the Huskers' final spot in the rotation. Wong led the meet off with a 9.825 and was followed by a 9.85 from DeZiel and a Janelle Giblin, while Brittany Skinner recorded a 9.80.

Nebraska recorded two career-high marks on the balance beam from senior Katelyn Busacker and Wong. Wong captured NU's first event title of the night with her 9.925, while Busacker tied her career-mark by scoring a 9.825. Busacker set her career high in 2010 when she was with Ball State. DeZiel posted her second consecutive 9.85 of the night, while Giblin scored a 9.75 and Evenstad posted a 9.725 to give the Huskers a 49.075 total.

Evenstad continued her impressive night in the Huskers next rotation on the floor. The Grand Forks, N.D., native tied a career-high of 9.925 to win her third floor title of the season. True freshman Jennifer Lauer continued to improve during her young career, posting a career high 9.725. DeZiel scored a 9.875, while Schleppenbach and Wong posted a 9.825.

The Huskers posted their highest score of the evening in their final rotation on the vault. Three Huskers set career marks on the event, including Schleppenbach who posted a 9.95 to capture the title. DeZiel set her career high with a 9.925, and Wong scored a 9.875 to tie her career mark en route to a 49.275 total.

DeZiel Sets Big Ten Weekly Award Record
For the fourth consecutive week, Nebraska gymnast Jessie DeZiel was honored with the Big Ten Freshman of the Week award, which was announced by the league on Monday, Feb. 6. DeZiel's four consecutive awards mark the longest streak in the award's history.

DeZiel led the Huskers in their first-place finish against No. 5 Oklahoma, No. 25 Minnesota and Centenary last Friday in Norman, Okla. The Rogers, Minn., native won the all-around for the third time this season after scoring a 39.50 and placed in the top five of all four events. DeZiel placed second on both the vault and floor, scoring a career high 9.925 on the vault and a 9.875 on the floor. DeZiel posted a pair of 9.85s on the bars and beam to finish in fourth and fifth on the individual events, respectively.

Huskers in the Rankings
After their first-place showing in Norman last weekend, the Huskers have all four events ranked inside the top 20 nationally, including being tied for No. 2 on the floor with a team average of 49.144. Nebraska is one of only three Big Ten teams to have all four events ranked inside the top 20. The other two schools are Penn State and Ohio State.

Individually, Jessie DeZiel is ranked inside the top 25 on all four events, while checking in at No. 9 on the balance beam with an average of 9.856. Lora Evenstad's 9.906 average on the floor places her at No. 3 nationally. Janelle Giblin is ranked at No. 2 in the nation in both the vault and the bars,  averaging a 9.925 and a 9.888 on the events, respectively.

Huskers Show Versatility
The Nebraska women's gymnastics team has shown great versatility in its first half of its season, posting 16 all-around scores through the first five meets. The five all-around competitors against Denver in the season-opener were the most for a Husker team since at least 2000. The Huskers placed the top four all-arounders of the competition against the Pioneers, including Jessie DeZiel who finished first. Against Iowa State, four Huskers competed in the all-around, including Lora Evenstad, who scored the highest in the meet with a 39.450. Against Missouri, NU had three all-arounders, including DeZiel, who finished first in the all-around for the second time this season with a 39.375. DeZiel also captured the all-around in the Huskers' last meet against Oklahoma, Minnesota and Centenary, posting a 39.50.

The Huskers own three of the top 10 spots in the all-around rankings nationally, with Giblin ranked at No. 3 with an average of 39.50. DeZiel sits at No. 6 with a 39.446 average, and Evenstad is ranked at No. 9 with an average of 39.417.

Nebraska at the Masters Classic
The Huskers have dominated the Masters Classic, capturing the last 16 titles and finishing in first place 18 out of the 21 total competitions.  The Huskers hold the top five team scores ever recorded at the Masters Classic, with the 2003 squad holding the top spot with an overall score of 198.025. Last season, the Huskers defeated Iowa, Kentucky and Bowling Green after posting a 196.50.

Giblin Dominating on Bars
Junior Janelle Giblin has been dominant on the uneven bars so far this season, scoring a 9.85 or above in all four meets this season. Giblin began the year by posting three straight 9.90s en route to three consecutive event titles.  Entering this season, Giblin's career high was 9.875 on the bars.

Big Ten Network to Feature Two Husker Meets
The Nebraska women's gymnastics team will be featured twice on the Big Ten Network on tape delay basis this season. The Huskers road meet with Minnesota on Saturday, Feb. 18, will air on BTN on Friday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. (CT), while the Huskers meet with Iowa State in Lincoln on Friday, March 16, will air on Saturday, March 17 at 11 a.m. (CT).

The first session of this year's Big Ten Championships on March 24 will be televised on the same day at 6 p.m., and the second session will air live. The championships are being held in Iowa City, Iowa.

Kendig Builds One of Nation's Top Programs at Nebraska
Head Coach Dan Kendig is the all-time winningest coach in the 35 years of Nebraska women's gymnastics history. In 18 seasons at Nebraska, Kendig is 421-164-4 overall and 284-67-2 in regular-season meets. Kendig is in his 29th year of coaching and owns a career record of 531-276-5.

An eight-time Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year, Kendig has guided the Huskers to 12 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 14 NCAA Championship appearances in the past 17 seasons, including NCAA Super Six Finals appearances in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2011. 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 2011, Nebraska finished with a 22-12 overall record. The Huskers took fourth at the 2011 NCAA Championships in Cleveland, Ohio, in their 28th straight NCAA postseason appearance, which tied for the highest finish in school history. Five of Kendig's gymnasts --Lora Evenstad (FX), Brittany Skinner (BB), Janelle Giblin (V, AA), Jamie Schleppenbach (V) and Emily Wong (UB) -- earned All-America honors.