Huskers Win Seventh Straight

Gainesville, Fla. -- Not counting a fall for the first time all season, seventh-ranked Nebraska won its seventh meet in a row, winning the SunTrust Spectacular at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on the University of Florida campus Friday evening. The Huskers score of 196.275, edged out the No. 19 Gators' team total of 196.025 for first-place honors. No. 18 New Hampshire (193.575) and Towson (191.725) rounded out the field.

The Huskers, who scored 49 or better on all four events for only the second time in school history, were led by all-arounders Heather Brink (Lincoln, Neb.), Amy Ringo (Phoenix, Ariz.) and A.J. Lamb (Lincoln, Neb.), who all scored 39.20 or better. The only other time NU scored 49 or better in all four events was its school record score of 196.75 at the 1999 Big 12 Championships. NU's score was the sixth-best mark in school history and its second-best road score.

Brink finished second to Florida's Chrissy Van Fleet with a 39.475, while Lamb and Ringo tied for third with a 39.20. Van Fleet won the all-around with a career-best of 39.65, winning or tying for first on all four events en route to her fourth all-around title of the season.

Nebraska, which improved to 16-3 on the season, led by .475 after three events and held off the hard-charging Gators for the victory. Nebraska hit all six beam routines, capped by Nicole Wilkinson's (London, Ontario, Candada) score of 9.85 to tie for third place as all six gymnasts scored 9.65 or better. Beam had been a problem for Nebraska in its last two meets, counting a fall each time, but the Huskers were 6-of-6 this evening en route to winning by .025 points.

"To come in here, hit all 24 routines and to win down here is a great accomplishment," Nebraska Head Coach Dan Kendig said. "This team does not get rattled. In the past, we've had teams who were in similar situations and did not win, but this team came out and did what they needed to do. We hit 24-of-24 and we needed all of them to beat Florida, which really performed well tonight."

In addition to finishing second in the all-around, Brink also captured a pair of event titles, tying Van Fleet for first on both vault (9.925) and uneven bars (9.90). Brink tied her season high on uneven bars. The senior from Lincoln, who became the first NU gymnast to score a 10 against Iowa State on Tuesday, has now won seven straight vault titles this season and is ranked second nationally on the event.

Trailing by .075 after one event, the Huskers used career bests by Jen French (Greensboro, N.C.) and Ringo to take a 98.175-97.55 lead over the host Gators at the halfway point. French and Ringo tied for third with scores of 9.85.

Nebraska also turned in a solid performance on uneven bars, as Brink tied her season high with a 9.90 to pace the Huskers as NU finished the set with a team score of 49.10, its second-best performance of the year. Freshman Jess Wertz (Lebanon, Ohio) finished third with a 9.825, while Julie Houk (Hamilton, Ohio) and Lamb shared fourth with identical scores of 9.80.

The Huskers return home the biggest home meet of the season, the 11th annual Masters Classic, next Sunday, Feb. 27, at 2 p.m. in the Bob Devaney Sports Center. In addition to the seventh-ranked Huskers, the field also includes No. 12 West Virginia, Southern Utah and Utah State. The meet will also be televised live state-wide on Nebraska Educational Television (NETV).

 

Team Totals

No.	Name	Record	Score
1.	Nebraska	17-3	196.275
2.	Florida	5-9	196.025
3.	New Hampshire	8-3	193.575
4.	Towson	5-6	191.725
All-Around
No.	Name	School	Score
1.	Chrissy Van Fleet	UF	39.65
2.	Heather Brink	NU	39.475
3.	Amy Ringo	NU	39.20
	A.J. Lamb	NU	39.20
Vault
No.	Name	School	Score
1.	Heather Brink	NU	9.925
2.	Chrissy Van Fleet	UF	9.925
3.	Jen French	NU	9.85
	Amy Ringo	NU	9.85
	Gabi Weller	Towson	9.85
Uneven Bars
No.	Name	School	Score
1.	Heather Brink	NU	9.90
2.	Chrissy Van Fleet	UF	9.90
3.	Jess Wertz	NU	9.825
Balance Beam
No.	Name	School	Score
1.	Chrissy Van Fleet	UF	9.90
2.	Hilary Thompson	UF	9.875
3.	Nicole Wilkinson	NU	9.85
	Lindsey Miner	UF	9.85
	Teal Chiabotti	UF	9.85
Floor Exercise
No.	Name	School	Score
1.	Chrissy Van Fleet	UF	9.925
2.	A.J. Lamb	NU	9.90
	Hilary Thompson	UF	9.90

Floor (Rotation 1)
Name	Score	Notes
Jess Wertz	9.675
Jen French	9.75
Julie Houk	9.675
Amy Ringo	9.80
A.J. Lamb	9.90
Heather Brink	9.875
TEAM TOTALS	49.00
Vault
Name	Score
Jen French	9.85	career-high
Laura Goss	9.70
Nicole Wilkinson	9.825
A.J. Lamb	9.725
Amy Ringo	9.85	career-high
Heather Brink	9.925
TEAM TOTALS	49.175
Uneven Bars
Name	Score
Nicole Wilkinson	9.775
Amy Ringo	9.75
Jess Wertz	9.825
A.J. Lamb	9.80
Heather Brink	9.90 - ties season high
Julie Houk	9.80
TEAM TOTALS	49.10
Balance Beam
Name	Score
Heather Brink	9.775
A.J. Lamb	9.775
Laura Goss	9.65
Jen French	9.80
Amy Ringo	9.80
Nicole Wilkinson	9.85
TEAM TOTALS	49.05