Huskers Take on Gophers at Tumble N Rumble

Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-1, 3-1 Big Ten)
vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers (5-0, 4-0 Big Ten)

Friday, February 12, 8 p.m. CT – Lincoln, Neb. (Devaney Center)

Huskers Take on Gophers at Tumble N Rumble

Lincoln - The 14th-ranked Nebraska women’s gymnastics team looks to return to its winning ways this Friday against 18th-ranked Minnesota at the Devaney Center in Lincoln. The meet is a part of the annual Tumble N Rumble, as the 11th-ranked Nebraska wrestling team will take on Northwestern simultaneously at the Devaney Center. Action is set to begin at 8 p.m. CT.

The Cornhuskers (5-1, 3-1 Big Ten) suffered their first loss of the season last Saturday at Iowa by a score of 196.650-196.350. Grace Williams, a sophomore from Linden, Mich., finished second in the all-around for the second consecutive week after she posted a strong 39.400, just a tenth of a point off her career high. Williams won her first floor exercise title this season, hitting a career-high 9.925. Williams also finished tied for second on uneven bars and tied for third on balance beam, finishing with 9.85s on both events.

Jennie Laeng continued to show her consistency for the Huskers, picking up her third vault title of the season, scoring a season-high 9.875. Laeng also finished tied for second on uneven bars with a 9.85. Seven Huskers, including Williams and Laeng, set career or season highs against the Hawkeyes last Saturday. Danielle Breen set a career high on floor with a 9.875, while Ashley Lambert tied her career high and set a new season high with a score of 9.85 on bars. Hollie Blanske tied her season high with a 9.85 on vault. A pair of freshmen set career highs on beam last Saturday, as Megan Schweihofer scored a 9.85 and Catelyn Orel hit a 9.775.

Despite the result, Nebraska Coach Dan Kendig was encouraged by the performance of the team.

“Those improvements show that we’re getting better, but we need to be able to put all the pieces together,” Kendig said. “Iowa had a very good meet and we weren’t able to overcome that. I’m not disappointed in our team. We stuck together and our goals haven’t changed.”

Friday’s matchup will be the 39th all-time meeting between the two programs, with NU holding a 27-10-1 edge. The Huskers won both matchups between the teams a season ago, recording a 197.075-196.675 victory in the regular season in Minneapolis and a 196.875-196.450 victory at the Big Ten Championships.

Minnesota (5-0, 4-0 Big Ten) comes into the meet ranked 18th in the country with an average score of 195.530 and a high score of 196.075. The Golden Gophers opened the season with a victory over Iowa State and followed with four consecutive Big Ten victories to jump to the top of the conference standings. UM owns Big Ten wins over Maryland, Michigan State, Ohio State and Illinois. The Gophers are led by 2015 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year Lindsay Mable who is currently ranked 29th in the nation in the all-around with an average of 39.180. Mable was named Big Ten Co-Gymnast of the Week on Feb. 9.

The Huskers will begin the meet on vault before rotating to uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise. Live scoring will be available for the meet at Huskers.com. The Husker wrestlers (10-5, 4-4 Big Ten) will honor their four seniors as a part of their Senior Night festivities. Wrestling action also begins at 8 p.m. CT and will be televised live on BTN as well as streamed on BTN2Go.

Notes to Know

Scouting Minnesota
Minnesota is currently 5-0 on the season and ranked 18th in the nation with an average score of 195.530. The Golden Gophers opened the season with a win over Iowa State and have followed with four straight Big Ten victories. Minnesota is 4-0 in Big Ten action with wins over Maryland, Michigan State, Ohio State and Illinois. The Gophers earned their season-high team score of 196.075 two weeks ago against Ohio State. Minnesota is ranked 12th nationally on beam with an average of 48.965. The Gophers are tied for 22nd in the country on both vault and floor with averages of 48.805 and 48.950, respectively. Minnesota is 25th nationally on bars with an average of 48.810. Lindsay Mable, the 2015 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year, leads the Gophers in the all-around with an average of 39.180, good for 29th in the country. Mable, this week’s Big Ten Co-Gymnast of the Week, ranks fifth in the nation on beam with an average of 9.895. Mable also leads Minnesota on vault with an average of 9.815 and floor with an average of 9.825. Junior Bailie Holst paces the Gophers on bars with an average of 9.865. Minnesota was picked 20th in the NACGC/W Preseason Coaches Poll and was picked to finish sixth in the Big Ten by the conference’s coaches. The Gophers went 14-17 last season and finished sixth at the Big Ten Championships with a score of 196.450. Minnesota is led by second-year head coach Jenny Hansen, a 2004 graduate of Minnesota.

Huskers Remain 14th
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 195.830 is good for 14th in the country the week of Feb. 8. The Huskers hold steady from their ranking last week when they held an average of 195.700. The score is second-highest in the Big Ten and third-highest in the South Central region. Oklahoma took over the top spot in the nation with an average of 197.393, while Florida dropped to second with an average of 197.220. Michigan remains third with an average of 196.954. Alabama holds steady at fourth with an average of 196.842, while LSU has moved into the top five with an average of 196.705.

Williams Leads the Way Against Iowa
Grace Williams continued to shine for Nebraska, finishing second in the all-around at Iowa with a score of 39.400, just a tenth of a point off her career high. Williams also picked up her first floor title of the season and second of her career, scoring a career-high 9.925. Williams now has seven event titles on the season. She also finished tied for second on bars and tied for third on beam with a pair of 9.85 routines last Saturday. Following her performance against Iowa, Williams ranks in the top-25 in the nation in three events, including tied for sixth on beam with an average of 9.89, 17th in the all-around (39.300) and tied for 23rd on bars (9.855).

Laeng Adds Another Title
Jennie Laeng added her team-leading ninth event title of the season last Saturday at Iowa, winning vault with a score of 9.875, a new season high. The vault title was her third of the season (at Arizona State, vs. Michigan). Laeng also finished tied for second on bars with a 9.85.

Seven Huskers Post High Marks
Seven Nebraska gymnasts posted career- or season-high scores last Saturday at Iowa. Grace Williams scored a career-high 9.925 on floor exercise, while Danielle Breen posted a career-high 9.875 on floor. Ashley Lambert tied her career high and set a new season high with a score of 9.85 on bars. Jennie Laeng scored a season-high of 9.875 on bars, while Hollie Blanske tied her career high with a 9.85 on bars. Freshmen Megan Schweihofer and Catelyn Orel also set career highs on beam on Saturday, with Schweihofer scoring a 9.85 and Orel scoring a 9.775. 

Season Highs Against Michigan
Nebraska’s win against third-ranked Michigan was its first win over a top-five team since Feb. 3, 2012, when the Huskers defeated No. 5 Oklahoma by a score of 196.750-196.475. It was Nebraska’s first win over a top-three opponent since Feb. 22, 2009, when the Huskers took down No. 3 UCLA at the Masters Classic. The Huskers also set a season high with a team score of 196.775, as well as season-high scores of 49.200 on bars and 49.300 on balance beam.

Television/Internet Stream Schedule
Nebraska’s Feb. 21 triangular meet at Iowa State will be streamed live on Cyclones.TV (subscription required). Nebraska’s Feb. 27 Masters Classic can be seen on HuskersNSide Premium (subscription required). The Utah State dual on March 6 will also be shown on HuskersNSide Premium. The B1G Five meet on March 12 in Columbus, Ohio will be shown on BTN on a delay. The Big Ten Championships, held in Lincoln on March 19, will be shown live on BTN.

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 $1 admission. For more information, go to huskers.com/tickets.

Nebraska Wrestling Notes
The Nebraska wrestling team is ranked 11th in the latest USA Today/NWCA Division 1 Coaches poll. The Huskers are 10-5 on the season in duals. NU is led by a trio of seniors, who each bring NCAA Championships experience. Jake Sueflohn (149 lbs) sports a 23-4 record, while Anthony Abidin (141) is currently 16-9 on the season. Austin Wilson (165) has a record of 18-6. Junior TJ Dudley leads the Huskers with five pins. Nebraska split its two duals last weekend, defeating Illinois by a score of 30-10 last Friday before dropping a 19-15 decision to undefeated NC State on Saturday. The Huskers will host a team still to be determined for the NWCA National Duals next Sunday, Feb. 21, as eight Big Ten teams will take on eight non-Big Ten teams in a series.

Looking Ahead
The Huskers will hit the road next Sunday, Feb. 21 for the Iowa State Quad in Ames, Iowa. NU will face Iowa State, NC State and Wisconsin-La Crosse at the meet, taking place at the Hilton Coliseum. The meet is set to begin at 2 p.m. CT and will be streamed live on Cyclones.TV (subscription required). Iowa State is currently ranked 35th in the nation with an average of 194.605, while NC State is 37th with an average of 194.425. Wisconsin-La Crosse, a Division III school competing in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is ranked 70th with an average of 186.845.