Huskers Host 26th-Annual Masters Classic

2016 Masters Classic
Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-3, 3-2 Big Ten)
vs. Bridgeport Purple Knights (13-6), Northern Illinois Huskies (6-6) and Sacramento State Hornets (7-4)

Saturday, February 27, 6 p.m. (CT) – Lincoln, Neb. (Bob Devaney Sports Center)
Internet: HuskersNSide Premium (Subscription Required)
Live Stats: Huskers.com

Huskers Host 26th-Annual Masters Classic
The 14th-ranked Nebraska women’s gymnastics team returns home for the 26th-annual Masters Classic on Saturday, facing Bridgeport, Northern Illinois and Sacramento State in a quadrangular meet at the Devaney Center. The meet is scheduled to start 6 p.m. (CT). The Huskers will be wearing pink leotards to promote cancer awareness.

The Cornhuskers (7-3, 3-2 Big Ten) will compete in a quad meet for the second time in six days, after finishing second at the Iowa State quad last Sunday. NU scored a solid 195.350 to pick up wins over host Iowa State and Wisconsin-La Crosse, but fell by just a tenth of a point to North Carolina State. Hollie Blanske, a senior from Oak Grove, Minn., won her third all-around title of the season, finishing with a 39.475 at Iowa State. Blanske also picked up her first event titles of the season in both vault and uneven bars, finishing with scores of 9.875 in both events. Both scores were season highs for Blanske. She also finished second on floor exercise with a score of 9.90 and tied for third on balance beam with a score of 9.825.

“I am so proud of Hollie,” said Nebraska Coach Dan Kendig. “She had a great day. Some people really stepped up and did a great job on Sunday and Hollie was one of them.”

NU also received strong performances last week from Danielle Breen, who finished second on beam with a 9.85, and Grace Williams, who finished second on bars with a 9.85. Freshman Megan Schweihofer finished tied for third on beam with a 9.825, while Sienna Crouse set a career high on floor exercise with a 9.85.

Nebraska has won 22 of the 25 Masters Classics, including each of the last 20. NU defeated Illinois and San Jose State with a score of 197.100 at last year’s edition. Nebraska saw both Bridgeport and Sacramento State last season at a quad meet at UCLA. The Huskers defeated both teams with a score of 196.650. NU holds a 2-0 series advantage over both Bridgeport and Sac State. The Huskers also hold a 2-0 advantage in the all-time series against Northern Illinois, with the two teams last meeting in the 2014 season opener, a 196.625-192.525 Husker victory.

Bridgeport, the top ranked school in Division II, is 13-6 this season with a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 194.125, which ranks 39th in the country. Kelsey Campbell leads the Purple Knights with an RQS of 38.650 in the all-around. Northern Illinois sports a 6-6 record on the season with a RQS of 194.325, good for 38th in the nation. The Huskies, winners of two consecutive meets, are led by junior Jamyra Carter and senior Lauren Africano, the top bars performers in the Mid-American Conference. Carter has a RQS on bars of 9.85, while Africano has a score of 9.845. Sacramento State is 7-4 on the season with an RQS of 194.440, 36th in the nation. The Hornets are led by senior Kalliah McCartney, who is 26th nationally with an RQS of 38.970 in the all-around.

NU will begin the meet on vault before moving to uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise. The meet will be streamed live on HuskersNSide Premium (subscription required). Live scoring will be available for the meet at Huskers.com. Fans are encouraged to join the Huskers in wearing pink on Saturday to promote cancer awareness.

Notes to Know

Scouting Bridgeport
Bridgeport, a Division II school located in Bridgeport, Conn., is 13-6 on the season with a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 194.125, good for 39th nationally and first in Division II. UB’s season-high score of 194.825 came two weeks ago in a dual meet at Brown. The Purple Knights are led by sophomore Kelsey Campbell, who ranks 41st in the nation in the all-around with a RQS of 38.650. Junior Kimberly Stewart leads Bridgeport on vault with an RQS of 9.740, while Christine Liautaud paces UB on bars with an RQS of 9.815. Sophomore Carol Chiles leads Bridgeport on beam with a RQS of 9.785, and senior Randi Cutolo leads the Purple Knights on floor with a RQS of 9.805. UB went 27-10 last season and finished second overall at the 2015 USAG National Championships. Bridgeport is led by 12th-year head coach Byron Knox, a 1982 graduate of Southern Connecticut State.

Scouting Northern Illinois
Northern Illinois is 6-6 on the season with a RQS of 194.325, which ranks 38th nationally. The Huskies possess a season-high score of 195.000, which came two weeks ago against Western Michigan. NIU is led by sophomore Andie Van Voorhis with an average of 9.785 on vault. The Huskies feature the top two bars performers in the Mid-American Conference, junior Jamyra Carter, who has an RQS of 9.850, and senior Lauren Africano, who has an RQS of 9.845. Junior Megan Greenfield paces NIU on beam with an RQS of 9.795, while freshman Anna Martucci tops the Huskies’ floor lineup with a 9.805 RQS. Northern Illinois went 11-9-1 last season and finished tied for sixth at the MAC championships with a team score of 195.800. NIU is led by fifth-year head coach Sam Morreale, a 1987 graduate of Northern Illinois.

Scouting Sacramento State
Sacramento State is currently 7-4 on the season with an RQS of 194.440, good for 36th nationally. Sac State’s season-high score of 196.475 came last week against San Jose State. The Hornets, who compete in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, are led by senior Kalliah McCartney, who ranks 26th in the nation with an RQS of 38.970 in the all-around. McCartney also paces Sac State with a 9.815 RQS on vault, a 9.795 RQS on beam and a 9.830 RQS on floor. Sophomore Lauren Rice leads the Hornets with an RQS of 9.770 on bars. The Hornets finished 3rd at the MPSF Championships in 2015, scoring a 196.000. Sac State is led by first-year head coach Randy Solorio, a 1994 graduate of Sacramento State.

Huskers Remain 14th
Road to Nationals rankings started being ordered by Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) on Feb. 22. Qualification for regional competition is based on a team’s and an all-around competitor’s six best regular-season-meet scores, of which three must be away. To obtain the RQS, the high score is eliminated and the remaining five scores are averaged. Nebraska’s RQS of 195.995 is good for 14th in the country for the fourth straight week. The Huskers remain second in the Big Ten and third in the South Central region. Oklahoma maintains the number-one spot for the third week in a row with an RQS of 197.595. Florida holds steady in second place with an RQS of 197.355. Alabama jumped one spot to third with an RQS of 197.195, while Michigan dropped to fourth with a score of 196.920. Utah remains fifth with an RQS of 196.850.

Blanske Shines at Iowa State
Hollie Blanske earned her third all-around title of the season, scoring a 39.475 last Sunday at Iowa State. The senior from Oak Grove, Minn. also won all-around titles at Penn State (1/16) and against Rutgers (1/23). Blanske also won her first vault and uneven bars titles of the season, with scores of 9.875 on both events at ISU. She now has eight event titles for the Big Red this season. Blanske also finished second on floor with a score of 9.90 and tied for third on beam with a 9.825. She ranks 27th in the nation in the all-around with an RQS of 38.960 and tied for 32nd on floor with an RQS of 9.865.

Williams Ranks Among National Leaders
Sophomore Grace Williams leads the Huskers with an all-around RQS of 39.065, which ranks 20th nationally. Williams is also a top-ten performer on balance beam, as she ranks tied for seventh with an RQS of 9.880. She ranks 27th in the nation on bars with an RQS of 9.885. Williams is tied for second on the team with eight event titles this season.

Masters Classic History
This year’s edition of the Masters Classic will be the 26th in its history. Nebraska has won the event 22 times, including the each of the last 20. Nebraska owns the record team score at the Masters Classic, a 198.025 in 2003. Nebraska’s Richelle Simpson owns the all-around record at the Masters Classic, scoring a 39.800 in 2003. For a complete list of Masters Classic records, please see pg. 27 in this week’s meet notes or pg. 69 in the 2016 Nebraska Women’s Gymnastics Media Guide.

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. The first session will start at 11:05 a.m. (CT) and the second session will follow at 4:05 p.m. For more information, go to huskers.com/tickets.

Looking Ahead
Nebraska returns to action next Sunday, March 6, at home against Utah State. The Huskers will honor seniors Hollie Blanske and Madison McConkey prior to the meet as part of their Senior Day festivities. The meet is set to begin at 2 p.m. (CT) at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. A live stream can be seen on HuskersNSide Premium (subscription required) and live scoring will be available on Huskers.com. Utah State is currently ranked 30th in the nation with a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 194.960. The Aggies are currently 4-5 on the season and have a season-high score of 195.475, which came last week in a win at BYU. USU is led by junior Bailey McIntire, who owns an average of 38.867 on the all-around. Utah State competes this Friday against Boise State and again next Friday in a home triangular meet with BYU and New Hampshire.