Brittney Williams Season 2008-09

• 2009 Big 12 Bars Champion
• All-Big 12 (2009: UB; 2007: UB)
• All-Big 12 Championship Team (2009: UB)
• 2001 Junior Olympic National Floor Exercise Champion<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

2009? Senior Season

Senior Brittney Williams closed her Husker career in solid form as she entered the 2009 season set to lead NU’s bars lineup after suffering an Achilles tear in early 2008. The All-Big 12 performer on bars claimed the first conference crown of her career at the 2009 Big 12 Championships (9.90). She garnered her second All-Big 12 accolades on bars and was named to the All-Big 12 Championship team for her performance in Ames.

 

At the 2009 NCAA Southeast Regional, Williams was set to qualify as an event competitor on bars for the NCAA Championships until Georgia’s Courtney Kupets posted a score of 9.925 on the event. Kupets, who is widely considered to be one of the greatest NCAA Gymnasts of all time, took first in the event as Williams fell to second with her career-high-tying mark of 9.90.

 

Williams earned the first event title of her senior season, tying for first on bars (9.875) at Missouri. She had a stellar weekend on the road at Arizona State and UCLA, capturing both bars crowns with a 9.875 at ASU and a 9.90 at UCLA. Williams notched scores of 9.875 or better five times in 2009. Her intangibles and leadership qualities strengthened an inexperienced NU team. Even after tweaking her ankle in warm-ups at Iowa State, she turned in an inspiring performance on bars as she took third in the conference dual (9.875).

 

2008 ? Redshirt Season

Brittney Williams did not compete in 2008 due to an Achilles tear suffered in preseason training in January. She will be a fifth-year senior in 2009.

 

2007 ? Junior Season

Williams emerged as a bars specialist in 2007 after competing on vault, bars and floor for her first two years as a Husker. One of NU’s most dependable contributors, she won her first-ever bars title with a career-best 9.90 in <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska’s final regular-season meet with Kentucky. At the Big 12 Championships, Williams earned All-Big 12 honors on bars for the first time in her career.

 

Williams was strong in Nebraska’s season opener at the Super Six Challenge in Fayetteville, Ark., where she notched a score of 9.875. In the following weeks, she tallied a pair of 9.80 scores one week apart at Missouri and against Oklahoma. At the Masters Classic, Williams placed third (9.875), then finished sixth against Utah (9.80) and seventh against IowaState (9.85).

 

Williams earned the first All-Big 12 award of her career with a fourth-place finish on bars (9.85) at the Big 12 Championships. In a last-minute decision by Coach Dan Kendig, Williams filled in for an injured Tricia Woo in the floor lineup with a clutch 9.575 performance to save Nebraska three-tenths on its team score. She tied for fourth on bars at the NCAA West Regional, matching teammates Kylie Stone and Michele Zabawa with a trio of 9.85 scores.

 

At the afternoon preliminary session of the NCAA Championships, Williams contributed a 9.725 mark to help Nebraska to its ninth Super Six Finals appearance. In team finals the following night, Williams closed her third season with a 9.675 and a sixth-place national finish for the Huskers.

 

2006 ? Sophomore Season

Williams served as a three-event competitor for Nebraska in her sophomore year, occupying the leadoff spot on vault and floor and a mid-lineup position on bars. Slowed by an ankle injury suffered in the Huskers’ first meet of the season, Williams worked her way back to consistent form in time for the second half of 2006.

 

Williams competed on all three events at the Super Six Challenge, beginning with a 9.675 on vault and a 9.80 on bars. In NU’s first home meet against Michigan, she was limited to competing only bars, but contributed a 9.775 to aid the Huskers in their tie with UM. Williams then set her season high on bars two weeks later against Missouri, notching a career-best-tying 9.85 to finish fourth, which she followed with a 9.825 for another set of fourth-place honors at Oklahoma.

 

Upon traveling to her home state of Pennsylvania for a meet at PennState, Williams contributed a score of 9.75 on bars. Just one week later at Iowa State, she was back in the lineup on all three of her events, adding marks of 9.675 on vault, 9.725 on bars and 9.575 on floor. At the Masters Classic, Williams earned a 9.80 on bars and a 9.75 on floor, helping NU to its 12th consecutive Masters Classic team title.

 

After a 9.70 bars and 9.725 floor showing against ISU, Williams and the Huskers traveled northward for the Alaska Triangular with Alaska-Anchorage and Seattle Pacific. Williams was strong in a second-place finish on bars (9.80), while adding a 9.665 on floor. She closed the regular season against Arkansas with a 9.70 on vault, a 9.825 for fourth on bars and a 9.675 on floor.

 

At the Big 12 Championships, Williams contributed on vault (9.65), bars (9.725) and floor (9.70), followed by another three-event performance at the NCAA Southeast Regional, where she earned season highs on vault (9.725) and floor (9.775), as well as a 9.775 on bars.

 

Williams’ contributions were crucial in the afternoon preliminary session of the NCAA Championships, helping NU finish first on its opening day of competition. She totaled a 9.80 on bars and tied her season best on vault (9.725), which helped seal NU’s top spot to qualify for the Super Six Finals. Williams closed the season the following night at team finals with another season-high-matching 9.725 on vault, as well as a 9.65 on bars and a 9.675 on floor.

 

2005 ? Freshman Season

Williams showed tremendous consistency on vault, bars and floor, and scored a 9.70 or better in 42 of 45 performances in 2005. A key part of NU’s trio of influential freshmen that included All-Americans Emily Parsons and Desir? Sniatynski, Williams helped the Huskers to a Big 12 title and a trip to the NCAA Super Six Finals.

 

Williams shined in the postseason, beginning with a career-high 9.85 on vault, a tie for sixth place (9.80) on bars with Sniatynski and a 9.85 on floor at the Big 12 Championships. Williams added a 9.725 on vault at the NCAA South Central Regional, while contributing a 9.825 on bars and a 9.80 performance on floor. In the preliminaries of the NCAA Championships, Williams scored a 9.85 on floor, 9.80 on bars and a 9.725 on vault to propel NU to the Super Six Finals the following night. Williams capped a solid freshman year, posting a 9.825 on floor, 9.75 on bars and a 9.75 on vault in the last night of team competition.

 

Before Nebraska

A junior international elite gymnast in 1999 and 2000, Williams competed at Ricochets for Coaches Troy Miller and Janet Hamvas with former Husker Stephanie Carter. Her Ricochets team captured the 1998 Pennsylvania state championship and took second-place finishes at state in 2001 and 2003.

 

Williams was crowned the 2001 Junior Olympic National floor exercise champion while also finishing third in the all-around. In qualifying to the 2001 national meet, Williams finished first in the all-around at the J.O. Region 7 Championships. At the 2003 J.O. Nationals, Williams earned seventh place in the all-around.

 

Williams chose the Huskers over offers from Georgia, Florida and Arizona.

 

Personal

Brittney Williams was born Aug. 9, 1986 in Doylestown, Pa., and is the daughter of Kenneth and Lydia Williams. She has one sister, Brandie. A 2004 graduate of UpperMorelandHigh School, Williams was a member of the honor roll, and is now pursuing a degree in psychology at Nebraska.

 

 

Williams' Career/Season Highs at Nebraska

Career Highs

  Vault: 9.85 (at Big 12 Championships, 3/26/05)

   Bars: 9.90 (3 times, last at NCAA Southeast Regional, 4/4/09)

   Floor: 9.875 (at Missouri, 1/28/05)

2009 Season Highs

   Bars: 9.90 (2 times, last at NCAA Southeast Regional, 4/4/09)

2007 Season Highs

   Bars: 9.90 (vs. Kentucky, 3/23/07)

   Floor: 9.775 (at Michigan, 2/9/07)

2006 Season Highs

  Vault: 9.70 (vs. Arkansas, 3/19/06)

  Bars: 9.85 (vs. Missouri, 1/29/06)

  Floor: 9.75 (2 times, vs. Arkansas, 3/19/06)

2005 Season Highs

  Vault: 9.85 (at Big 12 Championships, 3/26/05)

  Bars: 9.85 (vs. IowaState, 3/13/05)

   Floor: 9.875 (at Missouri, 1/28/05)