NU Travels to Top-Ranked Oklahoma for Quad Meet

No. 20 Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-1, 2-1 Big Ten)
at No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners (4-0, 2-0 Big 12) with No. 8 Denver Pioneers (8-2, 0-1 Big 12) and Texas Woman’s Pioneers (1-6, 0-0 MIC)

Friday, Feb. 3, 6:45 p.m. (CT) – Norman, Okla. (Lloyd Noble Center)

TV: FOX Sports Oklahoma Plus/FOX College Sports Central (Channel Listing: http://www.soonersports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=31000&ATCLID=209226355)
Talent: Bill Doleman (Play-by-Play), Kelly Garrison-Funderburk (Analyst), Megan McDonald (Sideline)
Live Stream: FOXSportsGo.com
Live Scores: ­SoonerSports.com

NU Travels to Top-Ranked Oklahoma for Quad Meet
The 20th-ranked Nebraska women’s gymnastics team is back in action this Friday in a quad meet at top-ranked Oklahoma with No. 8 Denver and Texas Woman’s at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., at 6:45 p.m. The meet will be televised on FOX Sports Oklahoma Plus and FOX College Sports Central, with a live stream available to subscribers on FOXSportsGo.com.

The Cornhuskers (4-1, 2-1 Big Ten) suffered their first loss of the season last week in a dual meet at No. 10 Michigan by a score of 197.225-194.800. Taylor Houchin led the way for NU, finishing second in the all-around with a career-high 39.300. Houchin also posted a career-high 9.825 on beam and tied a career high with a 9.825 on bars.

NU comes into the meet with a season average of 195.517. The Huskers rank in the top-15 on three events, including 10th on vault with an average of 49.092, 11th on bars with an average of 49.042 and 15th on floor with an average of 48.975. Sienna Crouse is ranked 11th in the nation with a 9.883 average on bars, while Ashley Lambert is tied for 12th on floor with an average of 9.90.

The top-ranked team in the nation with an average of 197.781, Oklahoma is 4-0 on the season after taking down Iowa State 197.425-195.275 last Friday. The defending NCAA champions are led by Maggie Nichols, a member of the 2015 U.S. Women’s World Championships team that claimed the gold medal. Nichols ranks first or tied for the lead in each event and the all-around. Denver is 8-2 on the year with an average of 196.250, good for eighth in the nation, while Texas Woman’s is 1-6 with an average of 192.225.

The Huskers will begin the meet on beam, before rotating to floor, vault and bars. Live scores for the meet will be available at SoonerSports.com

Last Time Out
The Huskers fell to Michigan by a score of 197.225-194.800 last Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich. Taylor Houchin led the Huskers with a 39.300 in the all-around, good for second-place overall. Houchin and Ashley Lambert led the way for the Big Red with scores of 9.85 on vault, while Sienna Crouse posted a 9.875 to lead the Huskers on bars. Houchin and Breen scored 9.825s on beam to lead Nebraska, and Houchin’s 9.80 was the Huskers’ top floor score.

Scouting Oklahoma
Top-ranked Oklahoma enters the meet with a record of 4-0 after defeating Iowa State, 197.425-195.275, last Friday. The defending NCAA champions have an average of 197.781 through four meets this season. Freshman Maggie Nichols leads the way for OU with an average of 39.769 in the all-around, tops in the nation. Nichols ranks first or tied for first on each event through the first four weeks of the season. She has recorded a perfect 10.0 on vault, and has hit scores of 9.975 on bars, beam and floor so far this season. Her 39.875 all-around score against West Virginia on Jan. 21 was an Oklahoma record. Senior Chayse Capps is ninth in the nation in the all-around with an average of 39.469. Junior AJ Jackson ranks eighth in the nation on vault with an average of 9.906 and 10th on floor with an average of 9.912, while sophomore Nicole Lehrmann is tied for sixth on bars with an average of 9.894. The Sooners are coached by K.J. Kindler, who is in her 11th season at the helm of the program.

Scouting Denver
Denver enters the meet with a record of 8-2 after finishing second in a quad meet at West Virginia with Temple and Towson with a score of 195.900 last Sunday. The Pioneers have an average of 196.250 through four meets this season, which ranks eighth in the nation. Freshman Maddie Karr leads the way for DU with an average of 39.313 in the all-around, tied for 20th in the nation. Karr is also tied for 17th on vault with an average of 9.881. Freshman Sam Ogden is tied for 14th with an average of 9.875 on bars, while junior Nikole Addison is tied for 17th on floor with an average of 9.888. Senior Julia Ross leads Denver with an average of 9.838 on beam. The Pioneers are coached by Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart, who is in her 18th season.

Scouting Texas Woman’s
Texas Woman’s comes into Friday's meet with a record of 1-6 on the season after falling to Iowa State, 196.125-194.750, last Sunday. The Pioneers have an average of 192.225 through the first four weeks of the season, which ranks 55th in the nation. Junior Schyler Jones leads TWU with an average of 38.588 in the all-around. Jones is also tops on the team on vault, with an average of 9.737. Sophomore Jenna Cashmore leads the team on bars with an average of 9.706. Freshman Bria Northrop leads the Pioneers on beam with an average of 9.675, while sophomore Erin Alderman leads TWU with an average of 9.812 on floor. TWU is coached by Lisa Bowerman, who is in her sixth season.

Last Year Against the Sooners
Nebraska faced Oklahoma last season at both the NCAA Iowa City Regional and the second NCAA Semifinal session, with Oklahoma finishing first each time. At the regional, Oklahoma led the way with a score of 197.575, while Nebraska finished second with a score of 196.550. A Sooner or a Husker won each of the event titles at the regional, with Grace Williams winning the beam title with a 9.90 and Hollie Blanske sharing the floor title with a 9.90. At the NCAA Semifinal, Oklahoma again finished first with an average of 197.7875, while Nebraska took fifth in the session with a 195.775. Oklahoma went on to win the NCAA championship the next night with a score of 197.675.

Series History
Nebraska leads the all-time series with its former Big Eight rival Oklahoma, 62-30. OU has gotten the best of the Huskers in each of the last four meetings, with Nebraska’s last win over the Sooners a 196.750-196.475 victory on Feb. 3, 2012, five years to the date of Friday’s matchup. Nebraska leads the all-time series with Denver, 25-7, including a 196.950-195.950 victory at the 2015 NCAA Ames Regional. NU leads the all-time series with Texas Woman’s, 5-0. The Huskers have not faced TWU since 2010, a 196.225-192.575 Big Red victory.

Three Events Ranked in Top-15
Nebraska’s vault, bars and floor squads have been strong through the first three meets of the season, as each rank among the top-15 teams in the nation. NU is averaging 49.092 on vault, good for 10th in the nation. The Huskers also have an average of 49.042 on bars, which ranks 11th, and 48.975 on floor, which ranks 15th.

NCAA Regional Tickets Now Available
Tickets for the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Lincoln Regional on Saturday, April 1 are now available at the Nebraska Athletics Ticketing and Engagement Office. The meet is set to begin at 4 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Tickets are $9 for reserved (B Level) seats, $7 for adult general admission (C Level) seats and $5 for general admission (C Level) seats for youth (high school and younger), seniors (age 60+) and college students with I.D. Children under the age of 2 (23 months and younger) will get in free.

Up Next
The Huskers will return home to host No. 22 Iowa on Sunday, with the meet set for 1 p.m. at the Devaney Center. The meet is the annual Power of Pink Meet for Breast Cancer Awareness, and fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of cancer awareness. The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive pink Nebraska women’s gymnastics t-shirts. As part of the Pepsi Pack the House promotion, fans can enjoy $1 admission and $1 24 oz. Pepsi drinks for the meet against Iowa.