Huskers Host Aggies on Senior Day

Nebraska Cornhuskers (10-3, 3-2 Big Ten)
vs. Utah State Aggies (6-6, 3-2 Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference)

Sunday, March 6, 2 p.m. (CT) – Lincoln, Neb. (Bob Devaney Sports Center)
Internet: HuskersNSide Premium (Subscription Required)
Play-By-Play Announcer: Josh Skluzacek; Analyst: Lora Unger
Live Stats: Huskers.com

Huskers Host Aggies on Senior Day
The 15th-ranked Nebraska women’s gymnastics team welcomes Utah State for a non-conference dual meet this Sunday at the Devaney Center in Lincoln. The meet is scheduled to start 2 p.m. (CT). The Cornhuskers will honor seniors Hollie Blanske and Madison McConkey following the meet as part of their Senior Day festivities.

The Huskers (10-3, 3-2 Big Ten) will look to close out the regular season on a high note before beginning postseason play at the B1G Five meet next week. NU comes into the dual with the Aggies on the heels of a win in the 26th-annual Masters Classic, defeating Bridgeport, Northern Illinois and Sacramento State with a team score of 196.400. Following Saturday’s performance, Nebraska’s Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) is up to 196.070.

In her first-career all-around performance, sophomore Danielle Breen scored a 39.475 to take the all-around crown for the Big Red last Saturday. Breen shared the vault title with a score of 9.875 in the first vault of her collegiate career. She also picked up her first title on balance beam with a score of 9.90, which tied her career high.

“Danielle was unbelievable on Sunday,” Nebraska Coach Dan Kendig said. “She’s one of the hardest workers we have on the team, and to see great things happen for her is pretty special.”

NU also received strong performances last Saturday from its two seniors. Blanske won the floor exercise and shared the vault title on the way to finishing second in the all-around with a score of 39.425. Blanske hit a 9.90 on floor and tied season highs with a 9.875 on vault and 9.85 on beam. McConkey posted career highs on both beam and floor, hitting scores of 9.85 and 9.775, respectively.

The Huskers’ final team score of 196.400 and beam score of 49.325 last Saturday were both second-highest this season, and Nebraska’s beam score was third-highest in Masters Classic history.

Nebraska holds a 15-9 advantage in the all-time series against Utah State, but the two programs have not met since the 2000 Masters Classic. The Huskers defeated the Aggies by a score of 196.775-192.750 in their last meeting 16 years ago.

Utah State is 6-6 following a victory in a tri-meet on Friday against BYU and New Hampshire. The Aggies posted their season high score of 196.025 on Friday evening. USU, which is 3-2 in Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference action, ranks 33rd in the country with an RQS of 195.180. McKinzey Martinez leads USU with an RQS of 38.520 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) with Josh Skluzacek and Lora Unger on the call. Live scoring will be available for the meet at Huskers.com.

Notes to Know

Scouting Utah State
Utah State is 6-6 on the season after defeating BYU and New Hampshire with a season-high score of 196.025 in a triangular meet on Friday. The Aggies have a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 195.180, good for 33rd nationally. Following Friday’s tri-meet victory, the Aggies are tied for 22nd in the nation on the uneven bars with an RQS of 48.990 and rank 28th on beam with an RQS of 48.875. Utah State has an RQS of 48.970 on floor, which is 32nd in the nation and an RQS of 48.745 on vault, which ranks 39th in the nation. USU is led by senior McKinzey Martinez, who ranks 63rd in the nation in the all-around with a RQS of 38.520. Martinez also paces the Aggies on bars with an RQS of 9.845. Senior Jillian Chappel leads Utah State on vault with an RQS of 9.765, while freshman Emily Briones paces the Aggies on beam with an RQS of 9.805. Junior Bailey McIntire leads USU on floor with an RQS of 9.825. Utah State went 11-15 last season and finished fourth at the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference championships with a score of 195.125. Utah State is led by third-year head coach Nadalie Walsh, a 2000 graduate of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Huskers Drop to 15th
Road to Nationals rankings began 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 196.070 ranks 15th in the nation for the week of Feb. 29. The score is up from an RQS of 195.955 last week, but drops the Huskers one spot in the rankings. NU was ranked 14th for four consecutive weeks. The Huskers remain second in the Big Ten but drop to fourth in the South Central region, as Missouri claimed the 14th spot this week. Oklahoma maintains the number-one spot for the fourth week in a row with an RQS of 197.705. Florida holds steady in second place with an RQS of 197.440 and Alabama remained third with an RQS of 197.325. LSU jumped three spots to fourth with an RQS of 197.150, while Michigan fell to fifth with an RQS of 197.065.

Noting Hollie Blanske
Senior Hollie Blanske is a three-time All-American and a two-time All-Big Ten performer who has been a consistent force in Nebraska’s lineups for all four years of her career. The all-arounder from Oak Grove, Minn, has won 26 event titles in her career, including 10 in her senior season. She earned first-team All-America honors on balance beam in 2014 and floor exercise in 2015 and was named a second-team All-American in the all-around last season. She has been named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week twice in her career (1/19/15 and 1/25/16) and is a four-time member of the All-Big Ten Championship team. The business management and marketing major was a NACGC/W Scholastic All-American in 2013 and 2014 and she has been named to the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll twice in her career. She has also been recognized for her outstanding work in the community by being named to the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team in both 2014 and 2015.

Noting Madison McConkey
Madison McConkey has taken a step forward and become a major contributor to the Huskers in her senior year. The three-event specialist has competed in seven of Nebraska’s eight meets this year, earning career highs on bars, beam and floor. McConkey, who hails from Lincoln, had her best meet of the season last week at the Masters Classic, setting career highs on beam and floor with scores of 9.85 and 9.775, respectively. The business administration major received academic All-Big Ten honors in 2014 and 2015 and is a five-time member of the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll. She has also been recognized for her outstanding work in the community by being named to the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team in both 2014 and 2015.

Breen Shines at Masters Classic
Sophomore Danielle Breen earned the all-around title at last week’s Masters Classic in her first-career all-around performance, scoring a 39.475. Breen also picked up her first-career event titles on vault and balance beam, while tying for second on both bars and floor exercise. Breen set or tied season highs on each event, while tying two career highs last Saturday.

Television/Internet Stream Schedule
Sunday’s meet against Utah State can be seen live on HuskersNSide Premium, Nebraska’s own online streaming site. To sign up, go to Huskers.com. Next week’s B1G Five meet in Columbus, Ohio, will be shown live on Big Ten Network and streamed on BTN2go.com. The meet begins at 3 p.m. CT. Both sessions of the Big Ten Championships on March 19 in Lincoln will be shown live on BTN and streamed on BTN2go.com.

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 Saturday, March 12, at the B1G Five Meet in Columbus, Ohio. The Huskers will face Illinois, Michigan State, Maryland and hosts Ohio State to determine the seeding for the following week’s Big Ten Championships in Lincoln. The meet is set to begin at 3 p.m. (CT) at St. John Arena. The meet is set to be televised live on Big Ten Network and a live stream can be seen on BTN2go.com. Live stats can be found at Ohiostatebuckeyes.com. Illinois is currently ranked 22nd in the nation with a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 195.710. The Buckeyes are currently ranked 29th with an RQS of 195.335. Michigan State is ranked 35th in the nation with an RQS of 194.980, while Maryland is ranked 37th in the nation with an RQS of 194.960. The other five Big Ten teams, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Rutgers and Penn State, will compete in a B1G Five Meet next Saturday in University Park, Pa., at noon (CT). The top three finishers from each B1G Five Meet will be seeded into the Big Ten Championships evening session, which will begin at 4:05 p.m. (CT) on March 19. The bottom two finishers from each B1G Five Meet will be seeded into the morning session, which will begin at 11:05 (CT).