Nebraska Headed to Eighth Straight NCAA Championships

The 12th-ranked <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska women’s gymnastics team will travel to Corvallis, Ore., from Thursday, April 20 through Saturday, April 22, for its eighth straight appearance at the 2006 NCAA Championships at OregonStateUniversity. The Huskers will compete in Thursday’s afternoon preliminary session at 3 p.m. (CST), battling  No. 2 Utah, No. 5 Alabama, No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 7 Michigan and No. 9 LSU for one of three automatic berths to the NCAA Super Six Finals the following night at 9 p.m.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

No. 1 Georgia, No. 3 Florida, No. 4 Iowa State, No. 11 Arizona State, No. 16 Oregon State and No. 18 Arkansas will compete for the remaining three spots in the evening session at 9 p.m. on Thursday. Individual event finals, for which participants are determined by their performances on the first day of competition, are scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday to close the weekend.

 

Nebraska has qualified for the national championships 17 times in program history, including eight consecutive NCAA appearances from 1999 to 2006 and seven Super Six Finals appearances overall.

With their second-place finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional (196.35), the Huskers improved to 20-7-1 on the season while scoring a 49.0 or better on all four events for the fourth time this season. Nebraska netted three individual event titles, as sophomore Emily Parsons captured her second set of of regional all-around (39.50), vault (9.95) and floor (9.90) crowns in two years.

 

NCAA Gymnastics Championships Ticket & Schedule Information

Tickets for the NCAA Championships are available by calling the Oregon State University Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-462-3287 or on-line at www.osubeavers.com. Ticket prices are as follows:

    Type                                                   Price

    All Session Pass                             $40

    VIP All Session Pass                      $100

    Brunch (Sat, April 22)                      $25

    Single Session Reserved             $15 (Day of only)

    Single Session Adult GA                $10 (Day of only)

    Single Session Student                 $6   (Day of only)

 

All 12 teams and the individual competitors will practice at Gill Coliseum on Wednesday, April 19 from 11 a.m. to 5:40 p.m. (CST). Oklahoma, Michigan, Utah and Alabama will practice from 1 p.m. to 2:40 p.m., followed by Nebraska, ArizonaState, LSU and IowaState from 3 p.m. to 5:40 p.m. and Georgia, Oregon State, Florida and Arkansas from 6 p.m. to 7:40 p.m. Individual event specialists will practice from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

 

During the practice sessions, a Pre-Meet Press Conference will be held on the Club Level of Reser Stadium. The head coach of each team and one gymnast will represent each school. Nebraska, ArizonaState, LSU and IowaState will be available from 5 p.m. to 5:20 p.m.

 

Thursday’s team competition will begin with Preliminary Session I at 3 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 9 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, Alabama, Oklahoma, LSU and Michigan.

 

The Super Six Finals will take place on Friday at 9 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 9 p.m. on Saturday, April 22. 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.

 

CBS to Air NCAA Championships on Tape Delay Basis

The 2006 NCAA Championships will be aired on CBS by tape delay on Saturday, May 6 at noon (CST). Former U.S. Olympic gold medalist Amanda Borden will be joined by Tim Brando as commentators for the meet.

 

NCAA Championships Preliminary Session I Rotation Order

Rotation   Vault             Bye               Bars             Beam          Bye             Floor

1              Oklahoma   Nebraska    Michigan     Utah           LSU             Alabama

 

2               Alabama    Oklahoma   Nebraska    Michigan    Utah            LSU

 

3               LSU            Alabama    Oklahoma   Nebraska    Michigan     Utah

 

4               Utah           LSU             Alabama    Oklahoma   Nebraska    Michigan

 

5               Michigan    Utah            LSU            Alabama    Oklahoma    Nebraska

 

6               Nebraska   Michigan     Utah            LSU            Alabama     Oklahoma

 

Nebraska Enjoys Rich Tradition of Success in NCAA Competition

Nebraska will appear in its eighth consecutive NCAA Championships this weekend. The Huskers made their first appearance at the NCAA Championships in 1982, when they finished eighth nationally. Overall, the Huskers have made 17 trips to the NCAA Championships since 1982, while advancing to NCAA Regional competition in each of Dan Kendig’s 13 seasons as Nebraska’s head coach.  Overall, Nebraska made its 23rd consecutive appearance and 25th overall trip to NCAA Regional action with the Southeast Regional at Georgia on April 8.

 

A Look Back: Nebraska at the NCAA Southeast Regional

?NU garnered three individual regional champion awards, as Emily Parsons won the 48th, 49th and 50th event titles of her career with first-place finishes on vault (9.95), floor (9.90) and the all-around (39.50). Parsons has been the top regional performer on vault, floor and the all-around in both her freshman and sophomore seasons.

?Freshman Kylie Stone also finished seventh in the all-around, scoring a 39.15. Nebraska’s other four-event competitor, junior Stephanie Carter, added a 38.525 in just her fourth all-around appearance of the year.

?Carter also notched a career-high 9.75 on bars, while sophomore Brittney Williams earned season bests on vault (9.725) and floor (9.775).

 

Parsons Named South Central Regional Gymnast of the Year

Emily Parsons added another honor to her awards arsenal last week, as she was named the 2006 South Central Regional Gymnast of the Year, the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches (NACGC-W) announced on April 14.

 

Parsons follows in the footsteps of former Husker Richelle Simpson, who was honored with the same award after memorable campaigns in 2003 and 2005. Nebraska has had four athletes win five regional gymnast-of-the-year accolades in program history, as Courtney Brown and Heather Brink were presented with the honors in 1999 and 2000, respectively.

 

The award is annually voted on by head coaches in the South Central Region, which includes Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arizona State, Missouri, Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Illinois-Chicago, Northern Illinois, Southeast Missouri State, Texas Woman’s University and IllinoisState.

 

Kendig Builds One of Nation’s Top Programs at Nebraska

Head Coach Dan Kendig is the all-time winningest coach in the 30 years of Nebraska women's gymnastics history. In 13 seasons at Nebraska, Kendig is 305-111-4 overall and 215-41-2 in regular-season meets. Kendig is in his 23rd year of coaching and owns a career record of 418-223-4.

 

A six-time Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year, Kendig has guided the Huskers to eight conference championships and three straight regional championships in 2000, 2001 and 2002.

 

He has also led Nebraska to 11 NCAA Championships appearances in the past 13 seasons, including NCAA Super Six Finals appearances in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005. Kendig was honored as the NCAA Coach of the Year in 1999 and 2003, a year in which the Huskers finished with a final ranking of fourth in the nation.

 

Under Kendig's tenure in 2005, Nebraska finished with a 21-13 overall record. The Huskers placed second (196.30) in the NCAA South Central regional behind Michigan and also placed sixth (196.425) in its seventh consecutive NCAA Championships appearance. Four of Kendig's gymnasts -- Emily Parsons (AA, V, BB, FX), Kristi Esposito (BB), Michele Zabawa (UB) and Desire’ Sniatynski (UB) -- earned a total of seven All-America honors.

 

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

 

Parsons Featured in Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd

Emily Parsons was featured in the Feb. 6 issue of Sports Illustrated in “Faces in the Crowd” for her career-high all-around performance (39.625) against Michigan on Jan. 13. One of six athletes chosen nationally for the weekly feature, Parsons is also recognized for her Big-12-Gymnast-of-the-Week accolades. The St. Charles, Mo., native earned her fourth Big 12 Gymnast-of-the-Week honors of the year on Feb. 7, and was also named for the weeks of Jan. 10, Jan. 17 and Jan. 31. She has earned a total of six gymnast-of-the-week honors in less than two seasons at Nebraska.

 

The award is a recent addition to a growing list of conference, regional and national accolades. Parsons’ Feb. 7 recognition also makes her the first gymnast to be named the Big 12’s top weekly performer four times in one season since former Husker Richelle Simpson accomplished the feat in 2003 on her way to the NCAA all-around and floor exercise titles.

 

Super Sophomore Parsons Leads NU in 2006 Season

Emily Parsons is leading the Huskers in 2006, after earning four All-America awards as a freshman in 2005. The St. Charles, Mo., native finished third on floor in the individual event finals at the NCAA Championships to garner first-team All-America honors, while also grabbing second-team accolades on vault, balance beam and in the all-around.

 

In 2005, Parsons was also named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and shared the conference beam title with former Husker All-American Richelle Simpson. In a season that saw Parsons earn two All-Big 12 nods (vault and beam), she went on to claim NCAA South Central regional titles on vault and floor, as well as the all-around crown over 2000 Olympian Elise Ray of Michigan.

 

Parsons’ sophomore season has been just as impressive as her freshman campaign, as she captured the all-around crown against Michigan with a career-high 39.625. Parsons also tied for the vault title with fellow Husker Stephanie Carter (9.90), and added first-place finishes on beam with a career-best score of 9.925 and floor, where she tied her best-ever mark of 9.95. Just one week earlier at the Super Six Challenge in Baton Rouge, La., Parsons earned the vault crown by tying her career high of 9.95, landing in a tie for first place with two-time NCAA vault champion Ashley Miles of Alabama. Parsons’ achievements have garnered her Big-12-Gymnast-of-the-Week honors for the weeks of Jan. 10, Jan. 17, Jan. 31 and Feb. 7.

 

After finishing first on vault, floor and the all-around at the NCAA Southeast Regional two weeks ago, Parsons now owns 50 overall individual event crowns in less than two full seasons at Nebraska.

 

Stone Gives Rock-Solid Performance in All-Around

The Huskers’ meet at PennState on Feb. 10 marked a solid beginning for Kylie Stone, as she captured her first career all-around title (39.25) and tied for the floor crown with sophomore Emily Parsons (9.90). The Calgary, Alberta, native added a third-place finish on bars (9.80) and a fourth-place showing on beam (9.75), while also finishing 11th on vault (9.80).

 

Stone tied her career-best all-around mark at the Big 12 Championships in Lincoln on March 25, finishing fourth to earn All-Big 12 honors. She also placed fifth on vault (9.85), seventh on beam (9.80), 10th on bars (9.775) and 12th on floor (9.825).

 

Stone competed as an all-arounder in her senior elite days at the 2005 Canadian National Championships in Vancouver, British Columbia. Stone finished second in the all-around (36.15) behind Alabama’s Melanie Banville. At the next day’s event finals, Stone captured the silver medal on floor (9.60) and bronze on vault (8.825). She also finished fifth on bars (8.70) and beam (8.55).

 

Husker All-Arounders Produce Career Bests

Nebraska has found its core in its all-around competitors this season, as junior Stephanie Carter and sophomores Emily Parsons and Desire’ Sniatynski all produced career-high cumulative scores against Michigan on Jan. 13. Parsons bettered her old career mark of 39.55 set at the 2005 NCAA Super Six Finals by scoring a nation-leading 39.625 in the Huskers’ last meet, while Sniatynski improved her best to 39.20 to finish second. Carter, who was a mainstay in the team’s vault, beam and floor lineups in her first two seasons, has emerged as a strong four-event competitor in 2006, scoring a 39.10 in just her second career all-around appearance at Nebraska.

 

Kylie Stone is the latest addition of the four-event competitors, as she has competed in nine meets as an all-arounder this year. Stone tied her career high of 39.25 at the Big 12 Championships on March 25 and earned all-conference honors in the all-around.

 

A Bright Future: The New Husker Class Contributes to NU Lineup

Four of Nebraska’s five freshman gymnasts have competed in the 2006 season -- redshirt freshman Vanessa Meloche and true freshmen Sabrina Long, Kylie Stone and Tricia Woo. Meloche most recently took home her sixth title at the Big 12 Championship with a score of 9.85 to tie with fellow Husker Desire’ Sniatynski. The Montreal, Quebec, native made her collegiate debut in January by tying for the bars crown at the Super Six Challenge with a score of 9.875 and added a 9.925 against Missouri to nab a second bars title. She later shattered her career best on bars with a 9.95 to earn the event crown at the annual Masters Classic in February.

 

Woo has been crucial to NU’s beam and floor lineups in her own right. The native of Milpitas, Calif., had a spectacular showing in the Huskers’ first home meet against Michigan, earning a 9.875 on beam to finish third and a thundering 9.925 on floor to place second behind event champion Emily Parsons (9.95). Woo won her first career individual event title at Oklahoma, tying with Parsons for the floor crown (9.90), and recently earned All-Big 12 honors on beam in late March.

 

Long has competed on vault, beam and floor throughout the year as well. A native of Tulsa, Okla., and a product of Krafft Academy of Gymnastics, Long has shown steady improvement on vault in her first season. After opening her collegiate career with a 9.60 at the Super Six Challenge, she increased her score almost every week for a month, highlighted by her career-best vault score to a 9.85 at PennState. The 2003 Level 10 Junior Olympic national vault champion, Long also posted a season-high 9.775 on floor against the Sooners in early February.

 

Canadian Duo Headlines Freshman Class

Nebraska’s youngest class includes a pair of Canadian National Team members in Vanessa Meloche and Kylie Stone. Meloche, who missed the 2005 season due to foot and knee injuries that kept her out of gymnastics for the past two years, entered the new season fully recovered and poised to contribute on the uneven bars and balance beam. A seven-year Canadian National Team member, Meloche has excelled on the two events, as evidenced by her 2002 national bars title and a third-place finish on vault and bars at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England, that same year.

 

Meloche’s first season has been nothing short of the NU coaching staff’s expectations, as she tied for the Big 12 conference bars title on March 25. Consistently one of the team’s top performers on bars, she began the season by finishing in a four-way tie for first on bars with junior Michele Zabawa (9.875) at the Super Six Challenge and never looked back, scoring a career-best 9.95 at the Masters Classic in February.

 

Headlining the heralded freshman class is Stone, who joined the Huskers after the fall semester. Stone competed in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, and finished 14th in the all-around standings at the 2003 World Championships in Anaheim, Calif., making her the highest-finishing Canadian female all-arounder in World Championships history. A native of Calgary, Alberta, she was the 2004 Canadian National all-around, beam and floor exercise champion, as well as a national titleholder on beam in 2003.

 

Three Former Huskers Make Big 12 10th Anniversary Team

Former Nebraska gymnasts Richelle Simpson, Heather Brink and Julie Houk were named to the Big 12 Conference 10th Anniversary Team, the league office announced before the Big 12 Championships. Selected by the Big 12’s head coaches, gymnasts were categorized by event and must have been an event winner at a Big 12 Championship in the last 10 seasons.

 

Simpson, a nine-time All-American, was included on the team three times for her efforts in the all-around, beam and floor. She claimed all-around titles in 2003 and 2005, along with floor and beam crowns in 2002, 2003 and 2005, while also being honored as a 12-time All-Big 12 selection in her Husker career. The 2003 NCAA all-around and floor exercise champion, Simpson helped the Huskers win Big 12 team championships in three out of four seasons.

 

Brink, the 2000 NCAA all-around and vault champion, won seven conference titles in four years at Nebraska, including vault crowns in 1998 and 2000, as well as the all-around (1998, 1999), bars (1997, 1998) and floor (1999, 2000).

 

Houk is Nebraska’s final conference team honoree. A four-time All-American, she captured Big 12 titles on bars in 2000 and 2003. Houk was part of three Big 12 championship teams at Nebraska.

    Event                                  Gymnast, School                 Event Winner

    All-Around                         Richelle Simpson, Nebraska           2003, 2005

    Vault                                   Heather Brink, Nebraska   1998, 2000

    Uneven Bars                    Julie Houk, Nebraska                         2000, 2003

    Balance Beam                 Richelle Simpson, Nebraska           2002, 2003, 2005

    Floor Exercise                  Richelle Simpson, Nebraska           2002, 2003, 2005

 

Carter, Zabawa Named Academic All-Big 12

Nebraska’s Stephanie Carter and Michele Zabawa were two of 18 student-athletes named to the 2006 Academic All-Big 12 Gymnastics Team, the league office announced. Carter was a first-team honoree as a sophomore and was  named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll each of the last five semesters. Zabawa is an academic all-conference honoree for the first time in her career and is a four-time Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll honoree.