Huskers Head to Minneapolis For Dual with Gophers

No. 15 Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-2, 3-1 Big Ten) at No. 8 Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-1, 4-0 Big Ten)
Sunday, Feb. 16, 6:30 p.m. CT -- Minneapolis, Minn. (Maturi Pavilion)
Live Scores: gophersports.com
TV: BTN

Lincoln, Neb. -- The No. 15 Nebraska women's gymnastics team heads to Minneapolis Minn. for for a top-15 Big Ten Conference dual with the No. 8 Minnesota Golden Gophers. The meet will take place on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 6:30 p.m. and will be broadcast live on BTN.

Nebraska is coming off of its third Big Ten Conference victory of the season on Feb. 8 against Maryland. The Huskers posted a score of 196.175, as NU improved its record to 4-2 on the season and 3-1 in conference competition. Nebraska won at least a share of all five event titles against Maryland. Senior Taylor Houchin won the vault, balance beam and all-around titles and sophomore Adnerys De Jesus won the floor exercise and uneven bars titles. 

NU enters this meet ranked No. 15 in the Road To Nationals poll, as well as No. 6 on vault, No. 8 on floor exercise, No. 20 on balance beam and No. 23 on uneven bars. Nebraska is the third-highest ranked Big Ten program behind No. 7 Michigan and No. 8 Minnesota. Nebraska also sits in third in the Big Ten with a conference record of 3-1, behind Michigan and Minnesota who are tied at first with conference records of 4-0.

Minnesota looks to defend the Maturi Pavilion as the No. 8 ranked program in the country and holds a 6-1 record with a 4-0 conference record. The Gophers are coming off a 196.825-196.175 victory at home against Iowa on Feb. 8. Minnesota will enter Sunday on a four meet win streak.

Houchin ranks No. 4 in the country on vault with an average score of 9.908 and a season-high of 9.975 on the event. She is also ranked No. 25 in the nation on uneven bars with an average score of 9.862 and a high of 9.90. Hassel also ranks in the top 25 on an event, as she is ranked No. 14 on floor exercise with an average score of 9.90 with a high of 9.95 this season.

Following Nebraska's matchup with Minnesota, the Huskers will head to Toledo, Ohio to participate in the Big Five meet. The meet will take place on Friday, Feb. 21 at 6 p.m. and will be streamed live on FloGymnastics.com.

NOTES:

SCOUTING MINNESOTA
Minnesota looks to defend the Maturi Pavilion as the No. 8 ranked program in the country and holds a 6-1 record with a 4-0 conference record. The Gophers are coming off a 196.825-196.175 victory at home against Iowa on Feb. 8. Minnesota will enter Sunday on a four meet win streak. Minnesota holds conference wins over Iowa, Rutgers, Ohio State and Illinois so far this season. They are led by 5th year head coach Jenny Hansen. 

NU RANKED NO. 15 IN THE NATION
Nebraska is currently ranked No. 15 in the Road To Nationals poll, as well as No. 6 on vault and No. 8 on floor exercise. NU's No. 15 ranking and 196.229 average team score is third in the Big Ten Conference, behind No. 7 Michigan and No. 8 Minnesota.

HUSKERS RANKED IN THE TOP-25 ON ALL EVENTS
Nebraska is ranked No. 6 on vault, No. 8 on floor exercise, No. 20 on balance beam and No. 23 on uneven bars. The Huskers hold averages of 49.154 on vault, 49.288 on floor, 48.892 on beam and 48.896 on bars.

HOUCHIN & HASSEL RANKED ON INDIVIDUAL EVENTS
Senior Taylor Houchin ranks No. 4 in the country on vault with an average score of 9.908 and a season-high of 9.975 on the event. She is also ranked No. 25 in the nation on uneven bars with an average score of 9.862 and a high of 9.90. Senior Sierra Hassel also ranks in the top 25 on an event, as she is ranked No. 14 on floor exercise with an average score of 9.90 with a high of 9.95 this season.

HUSKERS PICKED THIRD IN BIG TEN PRESEASON POLL
Nebraska was selected third in the Big Ten preseason coaches' poll ahead of the 2020 season. In 2019, NU finished third in the Big Ten regular season standings behind Michigan and Minnesota, who place above NU in the preseason poll. Ohio State and Iowa round out the top five. 

STRONG SCHEDULE IN 2020
NU will face seven teams ranked in the national preseason coaches' poll top 25 in 2020, including meets with No. 6 Michigan, No. 7 Denver, No. 14 Minnesota, No. 16 Missouri, No. 23 BYU, No. 24 Ohio State and No. 25 Penn State.

HOUCHIN, DE JESUS NAMED GYMNASTS TO WATCH
The conference announced that senior Taylor Houchin and sophomore Adnerys De Jesus were selected as Big Ten Women's Gymnasts to watch for the 2020 season. Houchin was named a NACGC/W regular reason second-team All-American on uneven bars and was selected as a first-team All-Big Ten honoree in 2019. De Jesus was named a second-team All-Big Ten pick after an impressive freshman season in 2019. 

UP NEXT
Following Nebraska's matchup with Minnesota, the Huskers will head to Toledo, Ohio to participate in the Big Five meet. The meet will take place on Friday, Feb. 21 at 6 p.m. and will be streamed live on FloGymnastics.com.

STRONG SENIOR CLASS LEADS HUSKERS
The Huskers welcome back two standout seniors, All-American and WCGA Academic All-American Taylor Houchin and First-Team All-Big Ten and WCGA Academic All-American Sierra Hassel. Houchin concluded the 2019 campaign with solo competition at the NCAA Nationals in Fort Worth, Texas after tying her career high on vault with a 9.975 at the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional. Hassel is coming off a career high year as well where she posted career highs on balance beam and floor exercise with scores of 9.975 and 9.925, respectively. NU will rely heavily on their two veteran seniors throughout the 2020 season.

HUSKERS INTRODUCE TRIO OF 2020 SIGNEES
Head Coach Heather Brink announced the signing of three future Husker gymnasts to the 2020 women's gymnastics signing class. Caroline Williams (Roswell, GA), Chloe Lorange (Laval, Quebec) and Kinsey Davis (Cornelius, NC) have signed their letters of intent and will join the roster for Nebraska women's gymnastics' 2021 season.

CORNHUSKERS GROW ACROSS UNITED STATES AND BEYOND
Nebraska features gymnasts from 10 states: California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey and Texas. The Huskers also welcome their first international gymnast since 2011, Clara Colombo of Italy. Colombo will become the first Italian-born gymnast to compete in NCAA competition.

NEBRASKA BOARD OF REGENTS APPROVE NEW GYMNASTICS TRAINING FACILITY
The University of Nebraska Board of Regents approved a proposal to build a new gymnastics training facility. The current plan calls for construction of the facility that will be used by Nebraska's men's and women's programs as an addition to the northwest side of the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The facility will include training stations, coaches' offices and locker rooms for both teams. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on September 28, 2018 with the project projected to be completed in February of 2020.