Huskers Bid Farewell to Successful 2015 SeasonHuskers Bid Farewell to Successful 2015 Season
Women's Gymnastics

Huskers Bid Farewell to Successful 2015 Season

The Nebraska women’s gymnastics team rounded out an impressive 2015 season at the NCAA Championships in Fort Worth, Texas after finishing eighth overall in the team competition, putting together an overall record of 28-9 on the year. Three Huskers earned a combined total of five All-America honors at the national meet as NU made its 23rd overall appearance to the championships. Throughout the season the Huskers combined for 43 individual titles and countless conference and national awards, helping NU to remain as one of the nation’s top programs.

Senior Jessie DeZiel capped off her career as one of Nebraska’s most decorated gymnasts, maintaining her dominance in the all-around on the national scene. Throughout the season DeZiel captured 15 individual titles with four coming in the all-around, boosting her total to a stellar 61 career titles.

In the postseason, DeZiel grabbed two All-America awards at the NCAA Championships to give her nine total honors, tying with Richelle Simpson as the second most in school history. At the semifinal competition, DeZiel delivered a 39.425 performance to place tied for sixth, her highest all-around finish at the championships. On vault, DeZiel captured second-team All-America honors after a solid showing in the semifinals with a 9.90 score. DeZiel also saw success at the conference level after being named to the first-team All-Big Ten list for the fourth straight year.

DeZiel represented NU as a frontrunner in athletics, academics and community outreach as she was selected as Nebraska’s Female Student-Athlete of the Year and Big Ten Medal of Honor award winner. In the classroom DeZiel earned her way on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll for both semesters of the 2014-15 academic year, while also being named to the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team for community service for the second consecutive year.

Fellow senior Desire’ Stephens continued to demonstrate her strength as a solid vault and floor performer for NU, while also contributing quality routines in the all-around. Stephens never missed a meet in the 2015 season, earning career highs in every event and in the all-around as a senior. On vault, she never posted a score lower than a 9.80 and stuck her career high 9.95 against Penn State Jan. 17, helping the Huskers to a vault school record of 49.75. She produced important floor routines, earning her career high of 9.875 at the NCAA Ames Regional April 4. Stephens’ hard work allowed her to break into the bars and beam lineups in her final season, posting a career high score on beam with a 9.85 against Oregon State March 7. Her career best bars score came at the Big Ten Championships March 21, where the senior notched a 9.90. Stephens also made her debut in the all-around twice this season, putting up a career high 39.400 on Senior Night against Oregon State.

Stephens also garnered a fair share of athletic and academic awards in her final season with the Huskers. She captured second-team All-Big Ten honors for her steady vault performances throughout the year, while also earning Nebraska’s Heart and Soul Award for senior student-athletes demonstrating outstanding service in the community over the course of four years.

Classmate Jennifer Lauer continued to play a vital role in 2015 as one of NU’s most talented beam workers. After sitting out for most of last season due to injury, Lauer proved herself as a versatile contender and three-event specialist. On beam, Lauer posted a score of 9.90 or higher four times over the course of the season. She tabbed a season-high 9.925 on the event against Minnesota on Feb. 14 to tie for the title, where she captured Big Ten event-specialist-of-the-week honors for her performance.

A standout in the classroom throughout her Husker career, Lauer was named to the first-ever Nebraska Outstanding Scholar class for maintaining a grade-point average of 3.9 or higher.

Senior Amanda Lauer filled the gaps in some important roles in 2015 after suffering from an injury in the preseason. She competed in an exhibition on beam twice in the season, scoring a 9.875 at home against Oregon State March 7. Like her sister, Lauer demonstrated her leadership in the classroom after earning one of Nebraska’s Outstanding Scholar awards for holding a cumulative GPA of 3.9 or higher.

Junior Hollie Blanske added to her list of All-America awards in 2015, grabbing second-team honors in the all-around and first-team honors on floor at the NCAA Championships. She delivered consistent all-around showings on a weekly basis, proving to be one of NU’s most steady performers.

For the second straight year, Blanske did not miss a meet in the 2015 season, hitting an impressive 51 for 52 routines. She tied her career high on vault at the home Jan. 24 with a 9.95, while also tying her personal best bars mark at the Masters Classic on March 1 with a 9.90. On floor, Blanske didn’t score below a 9.85 throughout the season and scored season-best scores of 9.925 five different times, the last of which came at the NCAA semifinals competition. Her score qualified her to the individual event finals at the championships, where she finished 11th overall with a 9.85 score.

Sophomore Ashley Lambert erupted to a standout year in her 2015 campaign with the Huskers after battling injuries and illnesses as a freshman. She consistently produced high scores on vault and floor while also seeing action in the all-around in the beginning of the season.

At the NCAA Championships, Lambert captured her first career second-team All-America honors on floor for her 9.90 performance, placing sixth overall in the second semifinal. She vaulted to a 9.80 or better in every meet of the season, never missing a meet in 2015. She also broke records in the process after becoming the first Nebraska gymnast to earn back-to-back 10.00 marks on a single event, earning her first Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week honors for the week of Jan. 26. At the conference level, Lambert tabbed her share of awards after earning second-team All-Big Ten honors and Academic All-Big Ten accolades.

Classmate Jennie Laeng gave NU the boost it needed on all four events over the course of the season, especially delivering quality routines on bars. At the 2015 Big Ten Championships, Laeng took home her first conference crown after shining to a career high 9.95 bar routine. Her title named her to the Big-Ten All-Championships Team, the only Husker to achieve such an honor. A strong vaulter, Laeng posted personal bests of 9.90 in the leadoff position two times in 2015, most recently at the Masters Classic on March 1. Laeng continued to provide leadership in the classroom and the community for 2015, earning the Hero Leadership Award for outstanding service.

Freshman Grace Williams made a splash in her first season with the Huskers, performing steadily in the all-around in the latter half of the season. She captured four event titles and earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors in back-to-back weeks, the first Husker freshman to do so since DeZiel in 2012. Williams earned career highs of 9.90 or better on every event this season and notched a career best all-around mark of 39.375 at the Masters Classic. On beam, Williams picked up her career best 9.925 against Penn State on Jan. 17, capturing one of her two beam event titles of the season.

Fellow freshman Kamerin Moore opened up her career as a Husker with flare as a dependable worker on three events. Moore provided valuable depth on vault, bars and floor for NU, scoring career highs of 9.85 or better on all three. A consistent vaulter for the Huskers, she earned her career high of 9.90 twice in the season, most recently at the Rutgers quadrangular on Jan. 24. Moore was a part of the historical vault lineup that earned a 49.75 team score breaking the school record.

Danielle Breen began her Husker debut as a strong two event specialist on bars and beam. She saw action on both events in every meet of the season, setting the tone for the rest of the lineups in the leadoff position. A beautiful beam worker, Breen tallied a career high of 9.85 two times, most recently at the Big Ten Championships March 28. She also posted a personal best 9.875 at the Big Ten Championships, helping the Huskers to its season best bar total of 49.475

Sidelined by an injury suffered in the preseason, sophomore Ariel Martin returned to the vault lineups in the postseason to aid the Huskers’ strong vault squad. Martin scored a 9.875 for her stuck effort at the NCAA semifinals and was just shy of earning All-America honors.

Junior Madison McConkey gave NU important depth for 2015, preparing to break into the lineups for next year. As a three event specialist McConkey saw action against Lindenwood, earning season high marks on all three events.

Head coach Dan Kendig topped off his 22nd season with the Huskers with a record of 514-195-5 and a career mark of 627-307-5. Kendig’s 514 wins are a program record and place him fourth all-time across all sports in Nebraska history. In his time at Nebraska, Kendig has guided the program to 14 conference titles to become the program’s all-time winningest coach.

Success in the Big Ten

  • Nebraska finished tied for second for the Big Ten regular season title with a 6-2 record.
  • The Huskers took third place at the Championship meet with a score of 196.875. Jennie Laeng took home a share of the bars title with a 9.95 and was named to the Big Ten All-Championship Team.
  • Four Huskers earned All-Big Ten honors: Jessie DeZiel (First-Team), Hollie Blanske (First-Team), Ashley Lambert (Second-Team) and Desire’ Stephens (Second-Team).
  • Hollie Blanske (Jan. 19) and Jessie DeZiel (March 9) were selected as the Big Ten Gymnast of the week in 2015. Ashley Lambert (Jan. 26, Feb. 23) and Jennifer Lauer (Feb. 16) were chosen as the Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week, while Grace Williams (Feb. 23, March 2) was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week.

Superior Staff

  • Head Coach Dan Kendig finished his 22nd season at Nebraska with a 627-307-5 career mark and a 514-195-5 NU mark, continuing his impressive career as the winningest coach in NU women’s gymnastics history.

Academic Excellence