Huskers Set School Record; Finish Second at Oregon State

Corvallis, Ore. -- The fifth-ranked Nebraska women's gymnastics team broke its school record for the second straight meet, but the performance was not enough as the Huskers finished second to No. 24 Oregon State at the Shanico Inn-vitational in Corvallis, Ore., late Friday evening.

NU finished with a team score of 196.80, topping the five-day old school record of 196.775 set at the Masters Classic last Sunday, but the Beavers (10-5) posted the third highest score in school history, finishing with a 196.975, to pull out the come-from-behind victory. Scoring 49 or higher on all four events, OSU easily topped its season high of 196.275, while No. 10 BYU finished third with a score of 194.975 and Seattle Pacific finished fourth with 188.875.

The Huskers, who move to 21-4 on the season, were paced by senior Heather Brink (Lincoln, Neb.), who won her sixth all-around of the season with a score of 39.55, the fifth-highest total in school history. The senior, ranked second nationally in the all-around, scored 39.40 for the fifth straight score of 39.40 or better for Brink.

She also tied NU's school record on floor exercise with a 9.95, tying former Husker All-Americans Misty Oxford and Kim DeHaan. Brink topped her career high of 9.925 set on four other occasions during her career. She also tied for second on vault with a 9.95, ending her streak of eight straight vault titles dating back to the Super Six Challenge in January, and finished fifth on uneven bars (9.85) and sixth on beam (9.80).

The Beavers trailed 147.475-147.40 after three rotations, but charged back with a school-record score of 49.575 on floor exercise to overtake the Huskers' score of 49.325 on uneven bars. Freshmen Julie Houk (Hamilton, Ohio) and A.J. Lamb (Lincoln, Neb.) paced the NU effort on uneven bars, scoring a 9.925 and 9.90, respectively, to take the top two honors on the event, but OSU's Jerra Lopez and Annie Campbell each recorded scores of 9.95, as four Beavers scored 9.90 or better.

Despite the second-place finish, NU Coach Dan Kendig was impressed by his team's performance, the first time in school history that NU recorded four straight scores of 196 or higher.

"I'm proud of the effort we gave tonight," Kendig said. "They had to set a school record on floor just to have a chance to beat us, and that says a lot about the performance we gave. To come on the road and score like we did will help us greatly down the road for regionals and nationals. Oregon State performed well, but we turned in a solid performance tonight."

It is only the third time in school history that Nebraska has recorded 20 or more wins in a season, also in 1990 and 1997. The second-place finish also snaps the Huskers' eight-meet winning streak dating back to the season opener. OSU's score is the second-highest regular-season score by a Husker opponent, trailing Michigan's score of 197.30 set in 1997.

The Huskers, trailing by over .30 after two rotations, came back to lead 197.475-147.40, after the third rotation, as NU tied its season high of 39.35 on vault, as Lamb, junior Amy Ringo (Phoenix, Ariz.), and senior Nicole Wilkinson (London, Ontario, Canada) all tied or set season highs on the event. Lamb finished fifth with a 9.875, while Ringo and Wilkinson each tied for seventh with a 9.85. Wilkinson also earned runner-up honors on balance beam with a 9.875.

Lamb finished fourth in the all-around with a 39.225, while Ringo placed sixth with a score of 39.025,as the Huskers placed first or second on all four events and did not count a fall for the third straight meet.

The Huskers return home for their final two meets of the season, taking on Iowa on Sunday, March 13 at 4 p.m. in the Bob Devaney Sports Center. NU will also play host to BYU on Monday, March 14, at 7 p.m.