Huskers Set to Compete at NCAA Championships

The Nebraska women’s gymnastics team (13-6-1) will travel to Los Angeles, Calif., to compete in the NCAA Gymnastics Championships April 15-17 at Pauley Pavilion.

The National Collegiate Women’s Gymnastics Championships consist of 12 teams and 12 all-around competitors (who are not on a qualifying team) and event specialists. The top two teams and the top two all-around competitors from each regional received automatic berths to the national championships. In addition, the event winners at the regional championships advance to the national championships (in their specific event) if they were not part of a qualifying team or the all-around qualifiers.

Preliminary team and all-around competition will be conducted in two sessions Thursday, April 15. Nebraska will be competing in the afternoon session at 3 p.m. (CST), along with Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Oklahoma and Stanford. Competing in the evening session at 9 p.m. (CST) will be the hosts from UCLA, Alabama, Arizona State, LSU, Michigan and Utah.

The top three teams from each preliminary session will advance to the Super Six Team Finals on Friday, April 16 at 9 p.m. (CST). The top four individuals from each session in each event (plus ties) from the preliminary team and all-around competition will compete in the individual event finals on Saturday, April 17 at 9 p.m. (CST).

In a random draw conducted by the NCAA, Nebraska begins on floor, Stanford begins on vault, Florida on a bye before bars, Iowa on bars, Oklahoma on beam and Georgia on a bye before floor.

Nebraska is coming off a second-place finish at the Southeast NCAA Regional in Raleigh, N.C., where UCLA took first (197.325), North Carolina took third place (196.35), West Virginia finished in fourth place (195.275), Maryland in fifth place (194.575) and North Carolina State in sixth place (194.375).

The Huskers hit 23 of 24 routines, scoring above 49.0 in three events, the vault (49.30), the balance beam (49.175) and the floor exercise (49.125). Freshman Kristi Esposito led the Huskers in the all-around competition, finishing in fourth place (39.425). She tied for 12th place on the vault (9.85), tied for sixth place (9.80) on the uneven bars, tied for eighth place (9.875) on the balance beam and tied for second place (9.90) on the floor exercise. Senior Tami Harris tied for seventh place (39.15) in the all-around, while senior Libby Landgraf tied for fourth place (9.90) on the vault, tied for sixth place (9.80) on the uneven bars, and tied for 11th place (9.85) on the floor exercise. Freshman Stephanie Carter tied for fourth place (9.90) on the vault, while junior Jamie Saas tied in eighth place (9.875) on the balance beam.

Ticket Information
All-session tickets are available for the three-day event, which begins on Thursday, April 15 with the team semifinals followed by the team finals on the evening of Friday, April 16. The meet will conclude with the individual event finals on Saturday evening. All-session tickets can be purchased for $54 (adults) and $44 (students & youth) from the UCLA ticket office (310-UCLA-WIN) or online at uclabruins.com.

Television and Live Stats Information
Live stats will be available through UCLA and the NCAA. The UCLA Championships web site will have links to each session’s live stats as well as a schedule of events and other information at uclabruins.com. The NCAA Championships can also be seen on CBS in a delayed telecast, Saturday, May 1 from 12 to 2 p.m. (CST).

Travel Information
Nebraska will leave for Los Angeles on Tuesday, April 13 at 10:20 p.m. on United Flight 5693 out of Lincoln and is scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles at 3:14 p.m. on United Flight 819 out of Denver. The Huskers will be staying at the Doubletree Westwood in Los Angeles, Calif. Nebraska Sports Information contact Christina Deck will be traveling with the team and can be reached at the hotel at (310) 475-8711or at (402) 910-5971.

NU Against the Competition
Of its five opponents in the evening session, Nebraska has already competed against Michigan, Oklahoma and Florida during the regular season. The Huskers defeated the Wolverines in their season opener at the Devaney Center, Jan. 11, 196.650-195.075. In addition, NU narrowly defeated Florida, 196.525-196.350 at the Masters Classic, Feb. 29. The Huskers defeated Oklahoma, 196.600-196.350 in Norman, Okla., Feb. 15.

Big 12 rival Oklahoma makes its fourth appearance at the NCAA Championships for the first time in three years. The Sooners finished in 10th place at the NCAA Championships in 2001.

During 2003, the Huskers defeated Iowa in Ames, 197.125-195.075. This will be the second time Iowa has made a national appearance after finishing in 11th place in 2003.

The Huskers last met Stanford at the 2003 NCAA Preliminaries where they defeated the Cardinal, 197.325-196.200.

For the third straight year, NU has been placed in the preliminary session with Georgia. Both teams advanced to the Super Six in 2001, 2002 and 2003. In fact, in the last six years in which Nebraska has qualified for the Super Six Finals, Georgia has been in the Huskers’ preliminary session five of those years. The only time Georgia was not placed with Nebraska was at the 2000 NCAA Championships, where the Huskers went on to place fourth in the Super Six Finals, the highest finish in school history.

2003 NCAA Quest
One dream, one desire, one destiny was the 2003 theme of the Nebraska women’s gymnastics team. With one of the most talented women’s gymnastics teams in school history, the Huskers were looking to capture their first national title. Each gymnast played an incredible role in the team’s quest for gold, as NU claimed its third straight conference title, fourth consecutive regional title and took fourth place at the NCAA Super Six Finals. Seven Huskers were named to the All-Big 12 team, and a school-record seven NU gymnasts earned All-America honors. The Huskers also set a school record by amassing 16 individual All-America awards, including 10 first-team certificates and six second-team awards.

Richelle Simpson was crowned the NCAA all-around champion and floor exercise champion. Simpson was the second Husker to win the national all-around title in the program’s history and first since Heather Brink, who was the 2000 national champion. In addition, Simpson was named the Big 12 Gymnast of the Year and the South Central Region Gymnast of the Year. She was also a finalist for the Honda Award.

Simpson led the Huskers with five first-team All-America awards (all-around, floor, beam, bars, and vault) on her way to the NCAA all-around title. Simpson was also the only competitor in the