No. 6 Nebraska Set for NCAA Championships

The sixth-ranked <?xml:namespace prefix="u1"?><?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska women’s gymnastics team makes its seventh straight appearane the NCAA Championships by traveling to Auburn, Ala. for the three-day competition, April 21-23.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

The 12-team meet, which begins at 1 p.m. at the Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum at AuburnUniversity, will feature Nebraska, along with Utah, LSU, Penn State, Oklahoma and Michigan in Session I of the preliminary round. Session II is slated to start at 7 p.m. with defending national champion UCLA, Alabama, BYU, Georgia, Iowa State and Florida battling for a place in the next night’s Super Six Finals. Competitors for the individual event finals on April 23 will be determined by performances in preliminary action.

 

NU travels to Auburn after placing second at the NCAA South Central Regional Championships held at the BobDevaneySportsCenter in Lincoln. The Huskers’ score of 196.30 left them just behind regional champion Michigan, which posted a 196.60 for the team title.

 

Freshman Emily Parsons led the way for Nebraska, capturing the first all-around title of her career with a 39.525 over Michigan All-American and former Olympian Elise Ray (39.375). Parsons, a native of St. Charles, Mo., who was named the 2005 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, also won the vault (9.925) and floor exercise (9.95) titles in her best performance of the season.

 

In addition, senior Richelle Simpson shined for the Huskers, earning the balance beam title with a score of 9.90 while being named the South Central Regional Co-Gymnast of the Year for the second time in her career. Simpson, who suffered a leg injury after the final pass in her floor exercise routine, did not compete on vault, NU’s final event of the regional meet. Her status for competing in the NCAA Championshps is unknown at this time.

 

NCAA Gymnastics Championships Ticket & Schedule Information

Tickets for the NCAA Championships are available by calling the Auburn University Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-282-1957 or on-line at www.auburntigers.com. Ticket prices are as follows:

    Type                                   Three-Day Package                            Single Session

    Adult Reserved                                $40.00                                   $15.00

    Student/Youth Reserved                $25.00                                   $10.00

    Adult General Admission               $30.00                                   $12.00

    Student/Youth GA            $20.00                                   $8.00

    VIP Reserved                   $100.00 (includes ticket, meet program, recognition, awards brunch)

 

All 12 teams and the individual competitors will practice at the Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum on Wednesday, April 20 from 11 a.m.-5:40 p.m. Nebraska, Utah, Penn State and LSU will practice from 11 a.m. to 12:40 p.m., followed by Michigan, BYU, Alabama and Oklahoma from 1 p.m. to 2:20 p.m. and Georgia, UCLA, Iowa State and Florida from 4 p.m. to 5:40 p.m.

 

During the practice sessions, a Pre-Meet Press Conference will be held in Room 1081 on the ground level of the Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum. The head coach of each team and one gymnast will represent each school. Nebraska, Utah, PennState and LSU will be available from 3:40 to 4 p.m.

 

Thursday’s team competition will begin with Preliminary Session I at 1 p.m., followed by a press conference featuring the head coach and one gymnast from the top three teams. Requests for other participants will also be taken at this time. Preliminary Session II is scheduled for 7 p.m., with a press conference following in the same manner as SessionI.Nebraska will participate in the Session I team competition, along with Utah, Penn State, Oklahoma, Michigan and LSU.

 

The Super Six Finals will take place on Friday at 7 p.m. and will include the top three teams from each preliminary session. Following competition, team and all-around awards, a press conference wil take place with each team’s head coach, selected gymnast and additional competitors upon request.

 

Individual event finals competition will begin at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 23. Although no all-around competition is included in the individual event finals, competitors will perform on vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise. Following the competition and individual events awards ceremonies, head coaches and event champions will be available for comment in a press conference.

 

Parsons, Simpson Earn Regional Championships Accolades

Freshman Emily Parsons and senior Richelle Simpson further added their names to the Nebraska record books at the NCAA South Central Regional Championships on April 9, earning a total of five individual awards. Parsons, a native of St. Charles, Mo., claimed the first all-around title of her career with a score of 39.525, as well as the vault (9.925) and floor exercise (9.95) individual event titles. Simpson won the balance beam title with a 9.90 for the second time in her Husker career, as she was also the beam champion at the 2003 NCAA West Regional Championships. The Toronto, Ontario, native has been a regional champion two other times in her last three seasons at NU, earning the all-around championship in 2003 and the floor title in 2002 at the Northeast regional. Simpson, the 2003 South Central Regional Gymnast of the Year, took home the 2005 Gymnast-of-the-Year award as well.

 

Parsons becomes only the third Nebraska gymnast to win a regional all-around title, as well as the eighth on vault and fifth on floor. Simpson is one of two Husker competitors to win the regional beam championship, the third Nebraska athlete to be named Regional Gymnast of the Year and the first to win the top regional gymnast award twice in her career.

 

Nebraska Notes from the NCAA South Central Regionals

*NU’s second-place finish at the regional championships brought the Huskers to their seventh consecutive bid to the NCAA Championships.

*Richelle Simpson’s South Central Regional Gymnast of the Year and first-place balance beam awards were the second of each in her career. Simpson previously won the honors as a junior in 2003, the same year in which she was named regional all-around champion. She is just the third Husker to earn regional Gymnast-of-the-Year accolades and the first NU gymnast to repeat the honor.

*Simpson also previously won the floor exercise title in 2002.

*Freshman Emily Parsons earned the first all-around crown of her Husker career with a score of 39.525. The mark places her in a tie for eighth on Nebraska’s all-time NCAA postseason charts in the top 10 all-around scores category.

*Parsons’ score of 9.95 set another mark on NU’s all-time NCAA postseason charts. She is tied for second in the top 10 floor exercise scores section, just behind Simpson, whose 9.963 to win the 2003 NCAA floor exercise championship is the top score.

*Parsons and sophomore Kristi Esposito tied for second on balance beam at the competition, scoring a 9.875 each. Their scores leave them in a tie for fourth place on the school’s all-time postseason charts in the top 10 balance beam scores category.

*Simpson holds 18 places in Nebraska’s individual postseason records, including three spots in the all-around, one in the vault category, three in bars, five in beam and six on floor. Only former Husker Heather Brink (1997-2000) holds as many postseason records as Simpson.

 

Nebraska Enjoys Rich Tradition of Success in NCAA Competition

Nebraska will appear in its seventh consecutive NCAA Championships this weekend.  The Huskers made their first appearance at the NCAA Championships in 1982, when then finished eighth nationally. Overall, the Huskers have made 16 trips to the NCAA Championships since 1982, while advancing to NCAA Regional competition in each of Dan Kendig’s 12 seasons as Nebraska’s head coach.  Overall, Nebraska made its 22nd consecutive appearance and 24th overall trip to NCAA Regional action.

 

Huskers Reclaim Big 12 Crown

Nebraska advanced to the NCAA South Central Regional competition after capturing the 2005 Big 12 Championship on March 26 in Norman, Okla. The Huskers reclaimed the conference team title after Oklahoma broke NU’s streak of three consecutive championships in 2004.

 

The Huskers have won seven of the nine Big 12 Conference titles in women’s gymnastics (1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005), while winning 19 overall conference titles in school history,

dating back to the Big Eight Conference.

 

Nebraska has also shined in the individual event competition at the Big 12 meet.  This season, three Huskers captured a total of five conference event titles.

 

Simpson Repeats as Big 12 All-Around Champion

Senior Richelle Simpson led the way for NU, capturing her second career Big 12 all-around crown (39.525) while also winning the balance beam (9.85) and floor exercise (9.925) titles for the third time at the conference meet in her career.

 

Simpson led the Huskers again in 2005, after her 2004 season was cut short by a knee injury. The Toronto, Ontario native was granted a medical hardship year by the NCAA and hopes to defend her status as a nine-time All-American at Nebraska.

 

This season, Simpson was named one of three NCAA South Central Regional Co-Gymnasts of the Year after winning four all-around titles, as well as six titles on vault, one on uneven bars, three on balance beam and five on floor exercise. Simpson has also earned a trio of Big 12 Gymnast-of-the-Week (Masters Classic, at Florida, IowaState) awards in 2005, giving her a total of nine in her Husker career. In addition, Simpson scored her first perfect 10.0 of 2005 on vault at Missouri, the third time in her career she has accomplished that feat.

 

In 2003, Simpson led NU to a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships, which were held in Lincoln. She was crowned national champion on the floor exercise (9.963) and the all-around (39.675), finishing ahead of UCLA's 2002 NCAA all-around champion Jamie Dantzscher. Simpson earned first-team All-America accolades on the vault, uneven bars, balance beam, floor exercise and the all-around. She is the only woman in Nebraska gymnastics history named first-team All-American on all five events in the same season.

 

Parsons Claims Big 12 Newcomer Honors

Freshman Emily Parsons was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year at the conference championships on March 26, becoming the fifth Husker in Nebraska gymnastics history to earn the honor. The St. Charles, Mo., native achieved the title of Big 12 Gymnast of the Week twice this season and tied with fellow Husker Richelle Simpson for the balance beam title with a score of 9.85 at the Big 12 Championships.

 

Previous Husker Big 12 Newcomer-of-the-Year award winners have included Heather Brink (1997), Bree Dority O’Callaghan (1999), A.J. Lamb (2000) and Alecia Ingram (2001).  Kim DeHaan (1994) and Misty Oxford (1996) added Big Eight newcomer honors before the transition to Big 12 competition.

 

Nebraska Notes from the Big 12 Championships

*NU’s win at the Big 12 Championships marked its seventh Big 12 title in nine seasons, as well as the Huskers’ 19th team championship in program history.

*Richelle Simpson’s Big 12 all-around title was the second of her career. Simpson previously won the crown as a junior in 2003, the same year in which she was named Big 12 Gymnast of the Year.

*Simpson also previously won the floor exercise and beam titles in 2002 and 2003.

*Freshman Emily Parsons became the fifth Husker to earn Big 12 Newcomer-of-the Year honors for her performance as a first-year competitor. Parsons tied with Simpson for the balance beam title with a score of 9.85.

*Sophomore Michele Zabawa earned her first conference event title by leading NU on the uneven bars. Zabawa tied her season high with a 9.90 to place first.

*Senior Jamie Saas gave a solid performance on floor exercise, posting a career-best 9.90 to place third and earn All-Big 12 recognition.

 

Simpson Makes Perfect Seem Routine

Senior Richelle Simpson holds the all-time record for perfect 10.0 routines by a Husker gymnast, having earned eight perfect scores in her career. One of college gymnastics’ elite, Simpson dominated the 2003 season by giving a flawless performance six times that year -- three times on floor exercise, twice on vault and once on balance beam.

 

The 2005 season has been no different for the Toronto, Ontario, native, as she was awarded a 10.0 on vault at Missouri on Jan. 28, as well as on floor at the Arkansas Quadrangular on March 19. The marks put Simpson as one of NU’s leaders in every individual category on NU’s all-time charts, including the uneven bars, where she is tied for fourth with a career-high score of 9.95.

 

Zabawa Returns to Full Strength, Earns Big 12 Uneven Bars Title

Sophomore Michele Zabawa began the 2005 season hampered by an ankle injury suffered in the off-season, which left her sidelined for the early part of the Huskers’ four-meet road schedule.

 

A native of Omaha, Neb., Zabawa was expected to compete as an all-arounder for NU, but has been limited to vault, uneven bars and balance beam for the majority of this year.

 

Despite the setback for her second season, Zabawa has been one of NU’s most consistent workers on bars, as she has scored a 9.80 or better on the event in nine of 10 performances.

 

Zabawa carried Nebraska through its final rotation at the Big 12 Championships, tying her season high on the uneven bars with a 9.90. Her mark gave her NU’s highest score of the night on the event,  as well as the Big 12 individual event title. Zabawa has earned All-Big 12 honors on bars twice in her Husker career, placing fourth on the event in 2004.

 

Esposito Solidifies Husker Lineup with Strong Routines

Sophomore Kristi Esposito has been a solid three-event contributor for NU in 2005, competing on the uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise.

 

Esposito, who earned first-team All-America honors in the all-around and beam in 2004, has posted a 9.80 or better as the Huskers’ leadoff on floor, setting the tone for the team’s best event, while also serving as the final competitor in the beam lineup.

 

The Slidell, La., native has won three individual titles on bars this season, as well as two on beam. Esposito’s most impressive performance came in Nebraska’s final regular-season home meet against Iowa State, as the two-time All-Big 12 honoree scored a career-high 9.95 to place first on bars.

 

Most recently, Esposito tied for second on beam (9.875) with teammate Emily Parsons at the NCAA South Central Regional Championships. Esposito added a 9.80 on bars and a 9.775 on floor.

 

Kendig Builds One of Nation’s Top Programs at Nebraska

Head Coach Dan Kendig is the all-time winningest coach in the 29-year history of the Nebraska women's gymnastics program. In 12 seasons at Nebraska, Kendig is 278-96-3 overall and 201-5-1 in regular-season meets. Kendig is in his 22nd year of coaching and owns a career record of 386-201-3.

 

A six-time Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year, Kendig has guided the Huskers to 10 conference championships and four regional titles (2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003).

 

He has also led Nebraska to 10 NCAA Championship appearances in the past 12 seasons, including NCAA Super Six Finals appearances in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. Kendig was honored as the NCAA Coach of the Year in 1999 and 2003, a year in which the Huskers finished fourth at the NCAAs.

 

Under Kendig's tenure in 2004, Nebraska finished with a 15-9-1 overall record. The Huskers placed second (196.375) in the Southeast regional behind eventual NCAA champion UCLA. NU also placed 10th (196.150) in its sixth consecutive NCAA Championships appearance. Three of Kendig's gymnasts -- Libby Landgraf (V, UB), Kristi Esposito (AA, BB) and Michele Zabawa (V) -- earned a total of five All-America honors.

 

Kendig is assisted by Danna Durante, who is in her third season with Nebraska, and Adrian Burde, who is in his fourth year on the Husker staff.

 

Huskers Earn First-Ever No. 1 Ranking

The Huskers made history in 2005, earning a first-ever No. 1 national ranking. After a tremendous team performance at the Masters Classic, where NU (196.725) defeated Kentucky (194.90), Denver (194.45) and Auburn (194.05), the Huskers found themselves as the top team in the nation. In 29 years of the program’s history, Nebraska had previously been ranked as high as second nationally.

 

Simpson, Parsons Earn Big 12 Gymnast-of-the-Week Honors

Senior Richelle Simpson was named Big 12 Gymnast of the Week for meets March 8-14, the conference office announced March 15. The Toronto, Ontario, native earned the honor for the third time this season and the ninth time in her career.

 

Simpson captured the all-around title with a score of 39.625 in the Huskers’ win over No. 10 Iowa State. She claimed her sixth vault title of the season (9.925) and also won the floor exercise (9.925). In addition, Simpson placed second on beam (9.90) and third on bars (9.875).

 

Simpson joins freshman Emily Parsons as one of two Huskers to earn Big 12 Gymnast-of-the-Week accolades in 2005. Simpson earned her first Gymnast-of-the-Week accolades on Jan. 24 for her performance at Florida, while Parsons earned the honor on Feb. 8 and Feb. 22.

 

Academic All-Big 12

Four Husker gymnasts earned academic All-Big 12 accolades, the conference announced on March 24. Nebraska led the way with four first-team selections, the most of any school in the Big 12 Conference.

 

 

Seniors Richelle Simpson and Jamie Saas, along with sophomores Kristi Esposito and Stephanie Carter, were named to the conference first team. Saas earned the honor for the third time in her career, while Simpson claimed her second award. Esposito and Carter were first-time honorees for their academic achievements.

 

Nominated by each institution’s director of student-athlete support services and media relations offices, the gymnastics academic all-league squad consisted of 11 first-team members combined with three on the second team. First-team members include those who have maintained a 3.20 or better grade-point average, and the second team are those who have a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA.