Nebraska Travels to Iowa State for a Big 12 Showdown

Lincoln -- After a strong performance in its home-opening win over Oregon State on Sunday, the eighth-ranked Nebraska womens gymnastics team opens up Big 12 regular-season competition at Iowa State this Friday, Jan. 19, at 7 p.m. at the Hilton Coliseum.

For the Huskers, 2-1 on the season, Fridays meet marks the first of two regular-season meets with the defending Big 12 champion Cyclones. This weeks trip to Ames is the first time NU has been to Iowa State since the Cyclones ended NUs string of six consecutive conference titles last spring.

It has always been a close meet when we have traveled to Ames, Nebraska Coach Dan Kendig said. They feel like they got a little retribution for Big 12s at the NCAAs, but our goal this week is to hit all 24 routines. To win, we will need to go up there and put together four nice events.

For Kendig, the key for this week is finding consistency on all four events. The Huskers have uncharacteristically struggled on balance beam early on, counting at least two falls in each of its first two meets.

I think the team recognizes whats going on and they have the mentality to work through it and improve, Kendig said. When it happens in two meets, it is a concern because it is so uncharacteristic of our team. It will be something we need to fix this week because we close on beam at ISU, and in past years, it has often come down to the last routine.

Although the Huskers have struggled on beam in the early going, NU has been strong on the other three events. Even without first-team All-American A.J. Lamb (Lincoln, Neb.), the Huskers have scored 49.40 or better on floor in both meets, including a 49.475 in Maui. NU ranks second nationally on floor, trailing only UCLA, and are among the top 20 nationally on all four events.

Individually, the Husker freshman class of Gina Bruce (Champlin, Minn.), Alecia Ingram (Knoxville, Tenn.), Tami Harris (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Libby Landgraf (Ft. Collins, Colo.) has made their presence known early on, as each of them are in the first set of national rankings released Monday. Senior All-American Amy Ringo (Phoenix, Ariz.) is also among the national leaders, ranking third on balance beam (9.925) and fourth on floor exercise (9.95).

On the injury front, the Huskers are continuing to improve. Junior Laura Goss (Austell, Ga.) is healing from a sprained ankle and should return to the Husker lineup this week, while Bree Dority OCallaghan (Kearney, Neb.) competed on balance beam against Oregon State and will likely be back in the uneven bars and floor lineup versus the Cyclones. Lamb, who suffered a back injury in December, returned to practice on Monday, but is still doubtful for this weeks meet.

Scouting Iowa State
The Cyclones are 0-1 on the season after falling to BYU, 194.275-191.475 in their season opener Jan. 12, spoiling the debut of ISU Coach K.J. Kindler. Junior Sissy Huey was ISUs top performer against BYU, finishing first on uneven bars (9.875) and floor exercise (9.875) en route to a second-place showing in the all-around (39.225). ISU, which won its first conference title since 1977 and placed eighth at nationals last season, return nine letterwinners, but lost Big 12 all-around champion Betsy Hamm and All-American Kelli More.

Oregon State Recap
The sixth-ranked Nebraska womens gymnastics team improved to 2-1 on the season with a 195.225-194.90 victory over No. 12 Oregon State in front of a crowd of 1,004 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center Sunday afternoon.

The Huskers needed a strong performance on floor exercise in the final rotation to overcome the Beavers. Trailing 145.875-145.825 after three events, the Huskers responded with a 49.40 on floor exercise, the seventh-best score on the event in school history, to erase the deficit. Senior Amy Ringo tied the school record for the second straight meet with a 9.95 to place first, as four Huskers scored 9.875 or better on the event. In addition to Ringos performance, the Huskers also received strong performances from sophomore Jess Wertz (Lebanon, Ohio), and freshmen Alecia Ingram and Tami Harris, who all tied for third on floor with scores of 9.875.

The Huskers struggled on beam, recording three falls and one near fall en route to a score of 47.50, the lowest score on beam since a 47.45 at Washington early in the 1999 season.

Despite the performance on beam, the Huskers looked sharp early on, setting season highs on each of the first two events in taking a 98.325-97.70 lead at the midway point. On vault, freshman Gina Bruce won her first event title, scoring a 9.90 to tie the NU freshman record on the event. She also placed second on beam (9.85) and turned in a solid effort on uneven bars, finishing ninth with a 9.775. Ingram and OSUs Katrina Severin tied for second on vault with a 9.875.

On uneven bars, NU extended the lead with a score of 49.40, the second-best score in NU history, during the second rotation. Sophomore Julie Houk (Hamilton, Ohio) won her first event title of the season with a 9.95, tying her career high, while Ingram and Wertz tied for second, also setting career bests with their scores of 9.90.

Nebraska Coach Dan Kendig
University of Nebraska Coach Dan Kendig reached a milestone last season, becoming the winningest coach in school history. Kendig now has a 125-27 (.822) record in eight seasons at Nebraska, passing Rick Walton, who compiled a 121-52 (.628) record from 1984 to 1993.

A six-time conference coach of the year, Kendig has guided the Huskers to six straight conference titles and five NCAA Championship appearances in the past six seasons, including NCAA Super Six Finals appearances in 1997, 1999 and 2000. He was selected as the Region 3 Coach of the Year last season, guiding the Huskers to a 25-5 regular-season record and a No. 5 national ranking.

Kendig is assisted by third-year coach and former U.S. Olympian Rhonda Faehn and former mens NCAA all-around champion Dennis Harrison, who is entering his second year at NU.

Ingram Earns Big 12 Honor
Nebraska freshman Alecia Ingram was honored as the Big 12 Conference Gymnast of the Week for meets participated in from January 5-15. Ingram finished first and second in the all-around in her first two collegiate meets with a two-meet average of 39.138. She tied a pair of Husker freshman records at the Maui Invitational while winning the all-around with a score of 39.425, topping a field which included 2000 NCAA runner-up Mohini Bhardwaj of UCLA. Ingrams all-around total equaled the NU freshman all-around record set by A.J. Lamb last season and was the best all-around debut in school history.

The Knoxville, Tenn., native tied an NU freshman record on vault with a 9.90 en route to a first-place finish on that event. In the Huskers victory over Oregon State, Ingram scored a 9.875 or better on three events as she recorded a trio of top-three finishes. She placed second on vault (9.875) and uneven bars (9.90) and tied for third on floor exercise (9.875).

Noting the Huskers
*- Jess Wertz equaled career-highs on both events against Oregon State, finishing third on both uneven bars (9.875) and floor exercise (9.875) against the Beavers.

* - Despite the rule change which has limited gymnasts to one vault and the loss of four of Nebraskas top six vaulters from last season, including NCAA champion Heather Brink, the Huskers have improved on the event this year. After two meets, NU is averaging 48.74 on vault, slightly better than the 48.70 through two meets last season.

*- Nebraska has scored 49 or better in each of the past 12 meets dating back to last season, including five of the top eight scores in school history in that span.

Next Week
The Huskers conclude a two-meet road trip, traveling to Missouri on Sunday, Jan. 28, for a 2 p.m. meet with the Tigers.