Nebraska Cruises to Title at the Bermuda Triangle Challenge

Paget, Bermuda - Senior All-American Heather Brink (Lincoln, Neb.) won her second straight all-around title as third-ranked Nebraska swept all four events en route to winning the Bermuda Triangle Challenge Friday night in Paget, Bermuda.

The Huskers finished with a team score of 194.25, easily topping the five-team field to improve to 7-3 on the season. Brown finished second with a score of 184.725, followed by Cornell (181.375), Alaska-Anchorage (180.075) and M.I.T. (169.30)

In all, five different Huskers captured event titles in the winning effort. Brink won the all-around title with 38.85 points, highlighted by a first-place showing on vault (9.90) and runner-up honors on uneven bars (9.85). A pair of freshmen captured their first career event titles, including Julie Houk (Hamilton, Ohio) on uneven bars (9.90) and A.J. Lamb (Lincoln, Neb.) on floor exercise (9.875). Junior Amy Ringo (Phoenix, Ariz.) and sophomore Laura Goss (Austell, Ga.) rounded out the winners, tying for first on balance beam with scores of 9.80.

In addition, Nebraska swept the top five spots in the all-around. Freshman Jess Wertz (Lebanon, Ohio) earned runner-up honors with a score of 38.80, as she placed third on both vault (9.725) and uneven bars (9.775). Ringo and Goss tied for third with scores of 38.70, while A.J. Lamb placed fifth with a score of 37.90.

Kendig praised the efforts of Goss and Wertz, who were making their all-around debuts this evening because senior Nicole Wilkinson (London, Ontario, Canada) was unable to compete because of the flu.

"They did more than fill in for us tonight," Kendig said. "The were aggressive and really came through for us when we needed good scores. I couldn't be prouder of the effort they gave this evening.

"Although we don't have many gymnasts, we showed that we can put seven or eight quality routines up on each event," Kendig said. "When we get Nicole and Bree Dority back, we will get stronger, because we can push each other in practice. Tonight's effort will help us later on this season."

North Carolina State was to provide the Huskers their toughest opposition, but the Wolfpack were unable to get to Bermuda because of the snowstorm on the East Coast of the U.S. Some of N.C. State's travel party arrived late Friday morning, but the rest of the team could not get to the site until late Friday evening.

Nebraska returns home late Sunday evening to begin preparations for the Huskers' home opener next Saturday afternoon against Missouri. The meet, which also features the third-ranked Husker men and Air Force, begins at Noon in the Bob Devaney Sports Center.