Huskers Welcome Michigan for Big Ten Showdown

Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-0, 2-0 Big Ten)
vs. Michigan Wolverines (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten)

Friday, January 29, 6 p.m. CT – Lincoln, Neb. (Devaney Center)
TV: NET (1 hour delay – Play-by-Play Announcer: Larry Punteney; Analyst: Desire’ Stephens)

Huskers Welcome Michigan for Big Ten Showdown

The 17th-ranked Nebraska women’s gymnastics team gears up for a Big Ten clash with third-ranked Michigan Friday at 6 p.m. at the Devaney Center.

The Huskers (4-0, 2-0 Big Ten) opened their home schedule with a win over Rutgers, defeating the Scarlet Knights by a score of 195.825-193.075 last Saturday. Hollie Blanske, a senior from Oak Grove, Minn., picked up her second individual event titles in the all-around and floor exercise, earning Big Ten Gymnast-of-the-Week honors for the week of Jan. 25. Blanske tied her career high with a 9.95 on floor exercise and set a season high with a score of 39.500 in the all-around.

NU also received strong routines last Saturday from sophomore Grace Williams, who picked up her third balance beam title in three meets with a score of 9.90. Her beam score moved her into a tie for sixth nationally on the apparatus with an average of 9.883. Williams also won her second uneven bars title of the season with a score of 9.875. Freshman Megan Schweihofer won her first vault title of the season with a score of 9.90, the highest vault score by a Nebraska gymnast this season. The Huskers scored their highest team vault score of the year with a score of 49.200.

Friday’s matchup will be the 46th all-time meeting between the two programs, with the series tied at 22-22-1. The Wolverines won both matchups between the teams a season ago, a 197.300-195.875 victory in the regular season in Ann Arbor, Mich., and a 197.825-196.875 victory at the Big Ten Championships, held at the Crisler Center on Michigan’s campus. Nebraska’s last victory over Michigan came at the 2013 Big Ten Championships, a 197.800-197.225 victory.

Michigan (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) opened the season by finishing first at the Cancun Classic with Arkansas and Iowa, and has since added victories over Georgia, Ohio State and Illinois. The Wolverines are led by junior Nicole Artz, a two-time Big Ten Gymnast of the Week this season. Artz is currently ranked fifth in the nation in the all-around, averaging a score of 39.444. Talia Chiarelli has been named Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week three times this season, while Olivia Karas is a four-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week and is ranked No. 3 in the nation on vault, averaging a score of 9.912.

The Huskers will begin the meet on vault before rotating to uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise. The meet will be televised on a one-hour delay on NET with Larry Punteney and Desire’ Stephens on the call. The meet can be seen in its entirety starting at 7 p.m. CT. Big Ten Network is also showing the meet on Monday, Feb. 1 at 9 p.m. CT.  Live scoring will be available for the meet at huskers.com. Promotional activities for Saturday’s meet include Light Up the Night, as 1,500 LED bracelets are being given away at entrances to the Devaney Center.

Notes to Know

Scouting Michigan
Michigan has started its season with four straight victories, including three over ranked teams. The Wolverines are ranked No. 3 in the country with an average of 196.938. UM opened the year with a first-place finish at the Cancun Classic with No. 13 Arkansas and Iowa and followed with wins over ninth-ranked Georgia, Ohio State and No. 17 Illinois. Michigan is ranked third in the country in floor (49.338), fourth in beam (49.225) and fifth in vault (49.169) and bars (49.206). Michigan is led by junior Nicole Artz, a five-time All-American and two-time Big Ten Gymnast of the Week this season. Artz owns a 39.444 average in the all-around, fifth in the nation. Artz leads the Wolverines on bars (9.875), beam (9.881) and floor (9.906), good for 10th, eighth and 12th in the nation, respectively. Michigan is paced by Olivia Karas on vault with a 9.912 average, which is good for third in the nation. Karas is a four-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week. Talia Chiarelli, a two-time All-American, has been named Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week three times this season. Michigan was picked seventh in the NACGC/W Preseason Coaches Poll and was picked to win the Big Ten by the conference’s coaches. The Wolverines went 27-6 last season and won the Big Ten championship with a score of 197.825. UM is led by 27th-year head coach Bev Plocki, a 1987 graduate of West Virginia.

Huskers Up To 17th
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 average of 195.342 is good for 17th in the country the week of Jan. 25, up one spot from an average of 195.100 and a No. 18 ranking last week. The score is second-highest in the Big Ten, and fourth-highest in the South Central region. Florida holds on to the top spot in the nation for a second consecutive week with a 197.192 average, while Oklahoma (197.094) and Michigan (196.938) remain close behind. UCLA is up one spot to fourth with a 196.758 average, while Alabama fell one place to fifth with a 196.688 average.

Blanske Hits Her Stride
Senior Hollie Blanske has been Nebraska’s top all-arounder in its last two meets, winning a total of four event titles including all-around titles against Penn State and Rutgers. For her efforts last week against the Scarlet Knights, Blanske was honored as the Big Ten Gymnast of the Week for the week of Jan. 25. She contributed a season-high all-around score of 39.500 last Saturday, helping to lead the Huskers to their second consecutive Big Ten victory. Blanske also won floor exercise for the second straight week, tying her career high with a 9.95 routine against Rutgers. The score is the highest individual score by a Husker this season. She finished no lower than second on each event and she posted scores of 9.85 and above on each apparatus. The weekly honor was the second of her career (Gymnast of the Week, Jan. 19, 2015) and the second for the Huskers this season (Jennie Laeng, Co-Gymnast of the Week, Jan. 11).

Williams Continues to Impress
Sophomore Grace Williams won two event titles against Rutgers, picking up her third beam and second bars wins of the season. Her beam title was the fifth of her career. Against Rutgers, Williams hit season highs on vault (9.85) bars (9.875) and the all-around (39.275). Her performance came on the heels of an impressive meet at Penn State, in which she produced a beam score of 9.925, the Huskers’ highest beam score of the season.

Freshmen Contribute Right Away
A trio of talented freshmen have seen action and contributed for the Big Red this season. Megan Schweihofer picked up a title on vault (9.90) against Rutgers to add to her title on balance beam (9.825) at Arizona State. Her vault score against Rutgers was the Huskers’ first vault of 9.90 or above this season. Schweihofer also led the way for the Huskers on vault at Penn State, scoring a 9.80 to finish second overall. Catelyn Orel has been in the lineup for all three meets this season, and hit a season-best 9.725 on bars at Penn State two weeks ago. Sienna Crouse has been steady for the Big Red, finishing tied for second on floor exercise against Rutgers with a 9.825 routine. She also tied for fourth on vault, hitting a 9.80 in the first vault of her collegiate career.

McConkey Steps Up
Senior Madison McConkey was re-inserted into the Husker lineups against Rutgers, and posted two career highs as a result. She finished tied for third on bars with a score of 9.80 and tied for sixth on beam with a score of 9.60 in helping the Huskers to victory.

Big Ten Championships Ticket Information
The University of Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office has begun to sell tickets for the 2016 Big Ten Championships, hosted by Nebraska on March 19. General admission tickets for an all-day, two-session pass are $7 for adults and $5 for youth, seniors and UNL students. Children six years and younger are allowed free admission. For more information, go to huskers.com/tickets.

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 hit the road to take on Big Ten rival Iowa on Saturday, Feb. 6 in Iowa City, Iowa. The meet is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. CT and is set to be televised live on Big Ten Network. Iowa is currently 3-3 on the season but 2-0 in Big Ten competition with wins over Michigan State and Ohio State. The Hawkeyes finished third at the season-opening Cancun Classic with Michigan and Arkansas. Iowa has defeated Northern Illinois and lost to Denver in non-conference action. The Hawkeyes are ranked 29th in the nation with an average of 194.595. UI is led by junior Mollie Drenth, who scored a team-best 39.300 in the all-around and 9.90 on balance beam last week against Ohio State. Maria Ortiz scored a team high 9.85 on vault last week against the Buckeyes. Melissa Zurawski and Allie Glover also posted team highs last week against OSU, with Zurawski scoring a 9.875 on uneven bars and Glover hitting a 9.90 on floor exercise. Drenth and Angel Metcalf were named to the Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch list for the Hawkeyes. Iowa takes on Maryland in Big Ten competition this Sunday in College Park, Md.