Huskers Visit Penn State To Open Big Ten Slate

Nebraska Cornhuskers (2-0, 0-0)
@ Penn State Nittany Lions (0-1, 0-0)

Saturday, January 16, 3 p.m. CT – Rec Hall (University Park, Pa.)

Huskers Visit Penn State To Open Big Ten Slate

Lincoln - The preseason No. 11 Nebraska women’s gymnastics team travels to University Park, Pa., this Saturday to take on preseason No. 17 Penn State at 3 p.m. CT at Rec Hall. The meet will be the first Big Ten meet for both teams.

The Huskers (2-0, 0-0) began their season with a victory in a triangular meet at Arizona State, defeating the Sun Devils and Bowling Green with a score of 194.050 last Friday. Jennie Laeng, this week’s Big Ten Co-Gymnast of the Week, earned her first-career all-around victory for the Huskers, scoring a career-high 39.350. Laeng was a champion or co-champion on each event, earning her fourth individual title on uneven bars (9.85), along with her first event titles on vault (9.825), balance beam (9.825) and floor exercise (9.85). Her Gymnast of the Week honor is the first of her career, as well as Nebraska’s first of the season.

Sophomore Grace Williams came in second in the all-around at Arizona State, finishing with a score of 39.025. She picked up the first bars title of her career with a 9.80 routine. Freshman Megan Schweihofer also picked up an individual event title for the Huskers in the first meet of her collegiate career, hitting a 9.825 on the balance beam. 

Nebraska Coach Dan Kendig was happy with the team’s performances last Friday, but understands there is room for improvement.

“We’re excited to get the win and come away healthy,” Kendig said. “I know we can do better and they know they can do better, but we’re excited to get back in the gym and take the next step.”

Saturday’s matchup will be the 42nd all-time meeting between the two schools, with Nebraska holding a 32-9 edge. The Huskers defeated Penn State in both the regular season and at the Big Ten Championships in 2015. NU set a program record with its team vault score of 49.75, led by Ashley Lambert’s perfect 10.00, helping the Huskers to a 197.125-196.025 victory on Jan. 17, 2015. The Huskers also edged Penn State, 196.875-196.725, at the 2015 Big Ten Championships.

The Nittany Lions fell to No. 27 North Carolina State in a season-opening dual on Saturday, 194.700-194.125. Briannah Tsang (vault - 9.825), Kiera Brown (bars - 9.95) and Jessica Jones (floor - 9.85) picked up individual event titles for PSU. Penn State was picked to finish fourth in the Big Ten in the preseason coaches poll. The Nittany Lions squad consists of 10 underclassmen, while just five gymnasts return from last year’s team.

The Huskers will begin the meet on uneven bars before rotating to vault, floor exercise and balance beam. The meet will be streamed live on BTN Plus. Live scoring will be available for the meet at gopsusports.com.

Notes To Know

Scouting Penn State
Penn State fell in its season-opening dual meet against NC State, 194.700-194.125. The Nittany Lions were led by Briannah Tsang, Kiera Brown and Jessica Jones, who each picked up an individual event title. Tsang won the vault with a score of 9.825, Brown won bars with a 9.95 and Jones won floor with a 9.85 routine. Penn State was ranked 17th in the NACGC/W Preseason Coaches Poll and was picked to finish fourth in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions return just five gymnasts from a team that went 14-3 last season and finished fourth at the Big Ten Championships with a team score of 196.725. The Nittany Lions have 10 gymnasts on their roster who are underclassmen. Penn State does not have a senior on its roster, but sophomore Tsang was named the 2015 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and Brown, a transfer from Georgia, was an All-SEC performer with the Bulldogs in 2014. Tsang, a sophomore, and Brown, a junior were named to the 2016 Big Ten Women’s Gymnasts to Watch List. PSU is led by sixth-year head coach Jeff Thompson, a 1985 graduate of Kentucky.

Huskers 31st After First Week
2016 Road to Nationals rankings will be determined by season average until February 21st. On February 22nd, the rankings will transition to RQS (regional qualifying score). Nebraska’s season-opening 194.050 is good for 31st in the country in the initial poll. The score is seventh-highest in the Big Ten, and sixth-highest in the South Central region. Michigan is tied with LSU for the top spot in the nation, with a 196.975 average. Florida (196.825), preseason No. 1 Oklahoma (196.725) and UCLA (196.550) round out the top five. Penn State is ranked 29th with a score of 194.125.

Laeng Named Big Ten Co-Gymnast of the Week
Nebraska junior Jennie Laeng was named Big Ten Co-Gymnast of the Week for the week of Jan. 11 after winning the all-around title at Nebraska’s season-opening triangular meet victory at Arizona State. She registered her first career all-around victory last week with a score of 39.350, a career-high. She was a champion or co-champion in each event, winning the fourth uneven bars title of her career (9.850) as well as her first career vault (9.825), balance beam (9.825) and floor exercise (9.825) titles. She shared the honor with Michigan junior Nicole Artz, who won the all-around with a score of 39.450 against Georgia. Artz also won Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honors last week (Jan. 4).This is the first weekly honor of the season for Nebraska and the first weekly honor of Laeng’s career.

Schweihofer’s Impressive Debut
Freshman Megan Schweihofer contributed in a big way towards securing victories last week against Arizona State and Bowling Green. In her first collegiate meet, the three-event specialist picked up an event title as well as a pair of top ten finishes. She tied for first place with teammates Jennie Laeng and Grace Williams on the balance beam, finishing with a score of 9.825. She finished tied for fifth on vault with a 9.725, the second highest Nebraska score on the apparatus behind Laeng’s 9.825. She also finished tied for sixth on floor exercise with a 9.775.

Williams Shines in Season Opener
Sophomore Grace Williams picked up right where she left off to begin 2016 after a strong freshman campaign in 2015. Williams finished second in the all-around with a score of 39.025, just behind teammate Jennie Laeng’s 39.350. Laeng and Williams were the only two competitors in the meet to finish with scores above 39.000. Williams also picked up the fifth individual event title of her career with a 9.85 on the uneven bars. The title was the first bars title of her career.

All-Americans Return in 2016
Senior Hollie Blanske and junior Ashley Lambert were named All-Americans in 2015. Blanske was named to the first-team on floor exercise, while earning second team honors in the all-around. Lambert earned second-team honors in the floor exercise. Blanske also earned second-team NACGC/W All-America honors in the all-around. In addition, Blanske was named a first-team All-American in 2014 on the balance beam.

Nebraska Picked Second in Big Ten Preseason Poll
The Huskers were picked to finish second by the Big Ten coaches in the conference’s preseason poll. Hollie Blanske and Ashley Lambert were named to the 20-member preseason Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch List. Blanske is a three-time All-American and a two-time All-Big Ten performer, while Lambert was a second-team All-American and a second-team All-Big Ten performer in 2015.

2016 Television Schedule Announced
The Nebraska women’s gymnastics team will make at least four television appearances in 2016. The Huskers are officially set to make three national TV appearances and one local TV appearance. Nebraska will appear on the Big Ten Network at the B1G Five Meet in Columbus, Ohio (March 12), and at the Big Ten Championships at the Devaney Center in Lincoln, Neb. (March 19) The Feb. 12 home dual against Minnesota is included in this year’s Tumble ‘n Rumble, as the Husker wrestling team will take on Northwestern simultaneously at the Devaney Center. The event is a part of BTN’s 2016 wrestling coverage. Nebraska’s home dual against Michigan on Jan. 29 will be carried locally on NET Television on a one-hour delay starting at 7 p.m. (the meet starts at 6 p.m.) The dual against Michigan will also be shown on delay on BTN, Monday, Feb. 1 at 8 p.m.

Reviewing 2015
Nebraska went 28-9 in 2015, finishing eighth in the team competition at the NCAA Championships in Fort Worth, Texas. Three Huskers combined for four All-America Awards at the national meet, as NU made its 23rd overall appearance at the championships. The Huskers combined for 43 individual titles and numerous conference and national awards on the season, helping NU remain one of the nation’s top programs.

Senior Jessie DeZiel capped her career as one of Nebraska’s most decorated gymnasts, grabbing two All-America awards to give her nine total for her career. She was named Nebraska’s Female Student-Athlete of the Year.

Hollie Blanske and Ashley Lambert also captured All-America honors for the Huskers. DeZiel, Blanske, Lambert and Desire’ Stephens each captured All-Big Ten honors, while Jennie Laeng was the Big Ten co-champion on uneven bars. Nebraska continued its strong work in the classroom, as nine Huskers were named academic All-Big Ten and six were named NACGC/W Scholastic All-Americans.

Looking Ahead
The Huskers will compete in their home opener on Saturday, Jan. 23, continuing Big Ten competition against Rutgers for the Double Dual. The meet is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. CT. The Nebraska men’s gymnastics team will compete simultaneously at the Devaney Center against Air Force. Rutgers is currently 0-2 on the season after finishing third at the Little Boston Invitational with George Washington and New Hampshire. The Scarlet Knights return 13 gymnasts from last year’s squad which finished 12-17. Rutgers was picked to finish 10th in the preseason Big Ten Coaches poll. The Scarlet Knights are led by junior April Baker and sophomore Libby Groden, both of whom were named to the preseason big Ten Gymnasts to Watch List. Baker finished tied for second in vault with a 9.90 at the Little Boston Invitational. Rutgers competes at home against Illinois Saturday at 12 p.m. Promotional activities for next Saturday’s meet include Pepsi Pack the House, where fans can get $1 admission as well as $1 Pepsi products.