Huskers Fall To Hawkeyes

Iowa City, Iowa - Jennie Laeng and Grace Williams led the way for the Huskers picking up a pair of event titles, but it was not enough as the 14th-ranked Nebraska women's gymnastics team fell to Iowa by a score of 196.650-196.350 Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. 

Laeng, last week’s Big Ten Event Specialist-of-the-Week, picked up her ninth event title of the season, winning vault with a 9.875, giving her a new season high on the event. The title was her third vault crown of the season. Williams was also a major contributor, winning floor exercise with a career-high 9.925. The win was Williams' seventh event title this season and first on floor. Williams finished second in the all-around with a score of 39.400. In all, seven Huskers (5-1, 3-1 Big Ten) set career or season highs on Saturday.

“Those improvements show that we're getting better, but we need to be able to put all the pieces together," Nebraska Coach Dan Kendig said. “We had some landing and rhythm issues throughout the meet and just weren’t able to come out on top.”

Danielle Breen was a strong performer throughout the day, helping the Huskers on uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise. Breen set a new career high on floor, producing a 9.875. Freshman Megan Schweihofer also set a new season high on the balance beam, hitting a 9.85. Ashley Lambert returned to the lineups Saturday, tying her career high with a 9.85 on bars.

Although unable to come away with the win the Huskers did produce solid scores throughout the meet scoring 49.000 and above on all four events.

“Iowa had a very good meet and we weren’t able to overcome that," said Kendig. "I'm not disappointed in our team. We stuck together and our goals haven’t changed.”

Rotation One: Nebraska began the competition on the uneven bars. The trio of Laeng, Lambert, and Williams each put up a solid 9.85 to lead the Huskers to a 49.000. Danielle Breen and freshman Catelyn Orel both scored 9.725s to help the Big Red.

The Hawkeyes (5-3, 4-0 Big Ten) started the meet on vault, scoring a 49.025 to edge the Huskers after the first rotation. Iowa was led by junior Mollie Drenth who scored a 9.85 on the event.  

Rotation Two: NU moved to vault for its second rotation and scored a 49.125. Laeng led the way with a 9.875, followed by a pair of 9.85s from Schweihofer’s and Blanske. Sienna Crouse and Williams both chipped in 9.775s to round out the Husker scoring. 

The Hawkeyes headed to the uneven bars, scoring a 49.200. Iowa was led by senior Johanny Sotillo with a 9.875.

After two rotations Iowa led 98.225-98.125.

Rotation Three: NU’s third rotation came on floor exercise as the Huskers put up a 49.125 on the event. Williams led the way with a new career high of 9.925. Breen also produced a new career high of 9.875 to help the Huskers. Schweihofer chipped in a 9.825 for the Big Red, while both Laeng and Orel added a 9.75 to help the Huskers. 

Iowa’s third rotation came on balance beam, scoring a 49.150. Drenth led the way with a 9.925. 

 After three rotations, Iowa clung to a 147.375-147.225 lead.

Rotation Four: The Huskers moved to beam for their final event. NU produced a total of 49.100 on the apparatus. With a couple of stuck landings, both Schweihofer and Williams led the way with a pair of 9.85s. Blanske chipped in a strong 9.825 and Breen helped the Big Red with a 9.800. Orel put up a career-best 9.775 to round out the scoring. 

The Hawkeyes' final rotation was on floor, scoring a 49.275 to seal the victory. Angel Metcalf led the way with a 9.90. Drenth came away with the all-around title, scoring a 39.475.

The Huskers will return home next Friday, Feb. 12, for the Tumble N' Rumble meet against Minnesota. The meet is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. at the Devaney Center, and will be streamed on HuskersNSide Premium. The 11th-ranked Nebraska wrestling team will take on Northwestern simulatneously at the Devaney Center. The wrestling action will be televised live on Big Ten Network. For tickets, log on to huskers.com/tickets or call 1-800-8-BIG-RED.

 Notes:

• Nebraska falls to 22-4 all-time against Iowa
• Senior Hollie Blanske tied her season high on vault with a 9.85
• Danielle Breen set a career high on floor exercise with a 9.875
• Jennie Laeng set a new season high on vault with a 9.875
• Laeng won her third vault title of the season (at Arizona State, vs. Michigan)
• Ashley Lambert set a season high and tied her career high on uneven bars with a score of 9.85
• Catelyn Orel set a career high with a 9.775 on balance beam
• Megan Schweihofer set a new career high on balance beam with a 9.850
• Grace Williams set a new career high on floor exercise with a 9.925 
• Williams won her first floor title of the season and the second of her career (at Rutgers, Jan. 24, 2015)

Name	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	All-Around
Hollie Blanske	9.85	9.70	9.825	--	--
Danielle Breen	--	9.725	9.80	9.875	--
Sienna Crouse	9.775	--	--	9.100	--
Jennie Laeng	9.875	9.85	--	9.750	--
Ashley Lambert	--	9.85	--	--	--
Madison McConkey	--	--	9.200	--	--
Catelyn Orel	9.775	9.725	9.775	9.75	39.025
Megan Schweihofer	9.85	--	9.85	9.825	--
Grace Williams	9.775	9.850	9.85	9.925	39.400
Team	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	Total
Nebraska	49.125	49.000	49.100	49.125	196.350
Iowa	49.025	49.200	49.150	49.275	196.650