Huskers Hunt for Big 12 Championship

?<?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska Head Coach: Dan Kendig (14th Year)        <?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

?Current Record: 16-4 (3-1 Big 12)

?2007 High Score: 197.125 (vs. Kentucky, 3/23/07)

?Last Meet: Win, 197.125-194.90 (vs. Kentucky, 3/23/07)

?2006 Big 12 Conference Finish: 2nd (196.275)

?2006 NCAA Finish: 5th (196.125)

                               

The seventh-ranked Nebraska women’s gymnastics team travels to the Big 12 Championships in Columbia, Mo., this Saturday, March 31. Competition is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at Missouri’s HearnesCenter. Nebraska, along with No. 10 Oklahoma, No. 15 Iowa State and No. 18 Missouri, will battle in the 11th Big 12 Championships meet.

 

The Huskers have captured seven of 10 Big 12 Conference team titles from 1997 to 2006, bringing NU to a program total of 19 conference championships. Only Nebraska (1997-99, 2001-03, 2005), IowaState (2000, 2006) and Oklahoma (2004) have won team titles in Big 12 women’s gymnastics history.

 

Individually, Nebraska gymnasts have won a total of 85 conference event titles over 26 seasons.

 

The announcement of the NCAA Regional fields will occur on Monday, April 2.

 

Rotation Order Announced for Big 12 Championships

The Big 12 Conference announced last week the draw of rotation orders for the four teams competing in the Big 12 Championships on Saturday. Missouri will begin on vault, Nebraska starts on bars, IowaState leads off on beam and Oklahoma opens on floor.

 

Rotation                 Vault                       Bars                       Beam                     Floor

1                              Missouri                                Nebraska                              Iowa State                             Oklahoma

2                              Oklahoma                             Missouri                                Nebraska                              IowaState

3                              Iowa State                             Oklahoma                             Missouri                                Nebraska

4                              Nebraska                              Iowa State                             Oklahoma                             Missouri

 

Taking It to TV: Fox Sports Net to Televise Big 12 Meet

The 2007 Big 12 Championships will be aired by Fox Sports Network on a tape-delayed basis throughout the week following the annual conference meet. Television schedules are as follows:

 

    Network                             Day                         Time (Time Zone)

    FSN Arizona                      Thurs., April 5       1:30 p.m. (Mountain-Arizona)

    FSN Arizona                      Mon., April 9          2 a.m. (Mountain - Arizona)

    FSNBay Area                   Thurs., April 5       11 a.m. (Pacific)

    FSN Midwest                    Thurs., April 5       12:30 p.m. (Central)

    FSN Midwest                    Sat., April 7            Noon (Central)

    FSN New England          Thurs., April 5       1:30 p.m. (Eastern)

    FSN New York                  Thurs., April 5       1:30 p.m. (Eastern)

    FSN North (Minnesota)  Sat., April 7            3 a.m. (Central)

    FSN North (Wisconsin)  Sat., April 7            3 a.m. (Central)

    FSN Northwest                                Thurs., April 5       1:30 p.m. (Pacific)

    FSN Ohio                          Thurs., April 5       1:30 p.m. (Eastern)

    FSN Pittsburgh                                Thurs., April 5       1:30 p.m. (Eastern)

    FSN Rocky Mountain      Thurs., April 5       Noon (Mountain)

    FSN Rocky Mountain      Sat., April 7            12:30 p.m. (Mountain)

    FSN South                        Sat., April 7            3:30 a.m. (Eastern)

    FSN Southwest                                Sat., April 7            12:30 p.m. (Central)

    FSN West                          Sun., April 8          Noon (Pacific)

    Comcast Philadelphia   Sun., April 8          12:30 p.m. (Eastern)

    Comcast Chicago           Thurs., April 12     8:30 p.m. (Central

 

Scouting the Competition: No. 10 Oklahoma Sooners

?Head Coach: K.J. Kindler (First Year)           

?2007 Record: 13-2 (3-0 Big 12)

?2007 High Score: 197.175 (vs. Pittsburgh, 3/24/07)

?Last Meet: Win, 197.175-194.075 (vs. Pittsburgh, 3/24/07)

?2006 Big 12 Conference Finish: Third (195.35)

?2006 NCAA Finish: 10th (195.525)

A Glance at the Sooners...

?OU’s top returning gymnast is senior Brittney Koncak-Schumann, a two-time All-American who captured the 2006 Big 12 all-around title (39.425). Koncak-Schumann was named Big 12 Gymnast of the Week three times this season.

?Oklahoma head coach K.J. Kindler is in her first year at OU, having served as head coach at IowaState for the six seasons. Kindler coached ISU to the 2006 Big 12 team title.

?The Sooners last defeated Nebraska in a regular-season dual, 195.075-195.05, on Feb. 2. OU has outscored Nebraska just three times in regular-season competition in the last 31 years, excluding Big 12 and Big Eight Championship appearances.

?Junior Stephanie LoPiccolo, the 2006 co-Big 12 bars champion with Nebraska’s Vanessa Meloche and Desire’ Sniatynski, was an alternate for her native Australia’s 2004 Olympic team.

?Freshman Hollie Vise was the 2003 world champion on bars and helped lead the U.S. team to a gold medal at the World Championships.

?Junior Kiara Redmond scored the first 10.0 in the Big 12 this season, recording a perfect score on vault on Jan. 27.

 

Scouting the Competition: No. 15 IowaState Cyclones

?Head Coach: Jay Ronayne (First Year)

?2007 Record: 12-5 (2-3 Big 12)

?2007 High Score: 196.70 (vs. Iowa/Denver, 3/23/07)

?Last Meet: 1st/3, 196.70 (vs. Iowa/Denver, 3/23/07)

?2006 Big 12 Conference Finish: First (196.425)

?2006 NCAA Finish: Sixth (194.725)

A Glance at the Cyclones...

?ISU returns one All-American to its lineup in senior Janet Anson, who has earned a total of seven All-America honors in her career. Anson tied with Husker Emily Parsons for the Big 12 vault title in 2006, and she was honored as Big 12 Gymnast of the Week twice this season.

 ?Nebraska and IowaState last met on March 11 in Lincoln, where the Huskers posted a 196.50 over ISU’s 195.45.

?IowaState is the defending Big 12 team champion. The Cyclones posted a 196.425 at the Big 12 Championships to edge NU (196.275) in 2006.

?ISU was responsible for snapping Nebraska’s 60-meet regular-season undefeated streak at the DevaneyCenter last season. The Cyclones were the first team to achieve a regular-season win in Lincoln since the 1993 Masters Classic, as NU had beaten every opponent at home for 13 years, with the exception of ties with IowaState in 2004 and Michigan in 2006.

 

Scouting the Competition: No. 18 Missouri Tigers

?Head Coach: Rob Drass (Eighth Year)

?2007 Record: 13-7 (0-4 Big 12)

?2007 High Score: 196.675 (at Michigan, 3/16/07)

?Last Meet: at Arkansas Quad (2nd/4, 195.725, 3/23/07)

?2006 Big 12 Conference Finish: Fourth (194.85)       

?2006 NCAA Finish: Did Not Qualify

A Glance at the Tigers...

?MU’s top returning gymnast is sophomore Adrianne Perry, who was named the 2006 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year at last season’s conference championships. Perry qualified to the NCAA Championships as an all-around competitor and barely missed All-America honors on beam with a ninth-place 9.80 in the preliminary session.

?Perry is also a two-time Big 12 Gymnast of the Week in 2007.

?Missouri head coach Rob Drass has strong ties to the Nebraska women’s gymnastics program, as he served as a graduate assistant in 1992 and 1993 and was an assistant coach under Dan Kendig from 1994 to 1999.

 ?Nebraska and Missouri last met on Jan. 26 in Columbia, where the Huskers posted a 196.80 to best MU’s 195.00.

 

Reviewing the Weekend: Nebraska vs. Kentucky

?Nebraska achieved a season-best 197.125-194.90 win over the Wildcats, improving to 16-4 on the year. NU scored a 49.0 or better on all four events for just the third time this season.

?Junior Emily Parsons took three event titles, finishing first on vault (9.925), beam (9.975) and the all-around (39.525). With her event wins, Parsons became Nebraska’s all-time leader in event crowns with a career total of 79 to pass former Husker Richelle Simpson (77). Her 9.975 on beam was also a career high.

?Junior Brittney Williams won her first career event title with a career-best 9.90 on bars.

?Sophomore Kylie Stone took the top honors on floor with a career-high-tying 9.90.

?Senior Stephanie Carter tied her season high on vault with a 9.90 for a second-place finish.

?Freshman Maria Scaffidi finished third on floor with a season-best 9.875.

?Senior Michele Zabawa tallied a season high on bars (9.875) to tie with fellow Husker Desir? Sniatynski for second.

 

Top-Ranked Parsons Takes 13th Conference Honor

Junior Emily Parsons was named Big 12 Gymnast of the Week for the fourth time this season on March 13, earning the 13th weekly conference honor of her career. The St. Charles, Mo., native has also garnered Event-Specialist-of-the-Week nods three times in her junior campaign. Parsons, who is the nation’s top-ranked floor performer and is ranked No. 2 on vault and No. 3 on beam, was recognized after finishing first in the all-around (39.575), vault (9.925), beam (9.90) and floor (9.925) in Nebraska’s win over Iowa State at the Devaney Center on March 11.

 

Parsons earned her 10th weekly conference honor a month ago after achieving the first perfect 10.0 score of her career on vault at NC State’s Hearts Invitational on Feb. 17. She has claimed 79 event crowns in three seasons at Nebraska.

 

Parsons has earned seven All-America awards in the last two seasons and finished fourth on vault and sixth on floor in the individual event finals at the 2006 NCAA Championships. Parsons was also named the South Central Regional Gymnast of the Year and snagged Big 12 Conference crowns on vault and beam in 2006. In a sophomore season that saw her earn four All-Big 12 nods (vault, beam, floor and all-around), Parsons went on to claim NCAA regional titles on vault, floor and all-around for the second straight year.

 

Carter Takes Second Big 12 Weekly Honor

Senior Stephanie Carter was honored as Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week for the second time in her career, the conference office announced on March 26. The Bryn Athyn, Pa., native was recognized after scoring a season-high-tying 9.90 to finish second on vault against Kentucky, while also placing third on floor (9.875) and adding a 9.60 in just her second bars appearance of the year.

 

Carter was previously named Event Specialist of the Week on March 13, joining teammate Emily Parsons, the Big 12 Gymnast of the Week, in a sweep of the weekly conference awards.

 

A second-team All-American on floor in 2006, Carter earned All-Big 12 accolades on vault in her junior year.

 

Parsons Moves Up to No. 1 on Nebraska’s All-Time Titles Chart

After earning three individual event titles against Kentucky on March 23, junior Emily Parsons owns a total of 79 event crowns in three years at NU, placing her first on Nebraska’s all-time career individual titles chart. Parsons passed Richelle Simpson, who garnered 77 individual crowns at Nebraska. With 72 titles following the Utah meet, Parsons passed former Husker Heather Brink, who earned a total of 70 in her career. Two of

Nebraska’s most decorated gymnasts, Simpson and Brink were both two-time NCAA champions in their four-year Husker careers.

 

Gymnast                Years at NU          Year 1    Year 2    Year 3    Year 4    Total Career Titles

Emily Parsons     2005-present       16           34           29           ---            79

Richelle Simpson               2002-05                 9              39           6              23           77

Heather Brink       1997-2000            7              19           10           34           70

 

Three Huskers Named Academic All-Big 12

The Big 12 Conference named 21 student-athletes to the 2007 Academic All-Big 12 Gymnastics Team, including Nebraska seniors Stephanie Carter and Michele Zabawa and sophomore Vanessa Meloche, the league office announced March 27.

 

Carter, who was a first-team honoree the last two seasons, is a business administration major at Nebraska. She will graduate with her bachelor’s degree in May 2007. Zabawa, an Omaha native and elementary education major, earned a spot on the All-Big 12 first team for the second time in her career. She is scheduled to earn her bachelor’s degree in December 2007. Meloche, who majors in nutritional science and dietetics, was included on the second team for the first time.

 

The league academic all-conference first team consists of student-athletes with a 3.20 grade-point average or higher, while the second team are those who have earned a 3.00-3.19 GPA.

   

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 14 seasons at Nebraska, Kendig is 327-119-4 overall and 231-45-2 in regular-season meets. Kendig is in his 24th year of coaching and owns a career record of 440-232-4.

 

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

 

He has also led Nebraska to 10 NCAA Championships appearances in the past 12 seasons, including NCAA Super Six Finals appearances in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006. Kendig was honored as the NCAA Coach of the Year in 1999 and 2003, a year in which the Huskers finished fourth nationally.

 

Under Kendig's guidance in 2006, Nebraska finished with a 26-11-1 overall record. The Huskers placed second (196.275) in the NCAA Southeast Regional behind Georgia and also placed fifth (196.175) in their eighth consecutive NCAA Championships appearance. Seven of Kendig's gymnasts -- Emily Parsons (AA, V, FX), Tricia Woo (BB, FX), Vanessa Meloche (UB), Michele Zabawa (UB), Desire’ Sniatynski (UB), Stephanie Carter (FX) and Kylie Stone (V) -- earned a total of 10 All-America honors.

 

Kendig is assisted by associate head coach Danna Durante, who is in her fifth season with Nebraska, and assistant coach Tim Garrison, who is in his first year on the Husker staff.

 

Sniatynski Emerges as All-Arounder in Husker Lineup

Junior Desir? Sniatynski has emerged as one of Nebraska’s top all-around competitors in 2007. She is ranked 22nd nationally on bars with a 9.875 RQS. After her career-high 39.375 performance at Missouri, Sniatynski was recognized with her first career Big 12 Gymnast-of-the-Week award on Jan. 31.

 

The Kenosha, Wis., native followed with a 39.25 score to place second against Oklahoma on Feb. 2, when she also took a share of the floor title with teammates Emily Parsons and Kylie Stone with a 9.85. In addition, Sniatynski finished second on bars (9.85), third on vault (9.80) and seventh on beam (9.75). She took second in the all-around with a 39.225 against Utah, while also finishing second on bars (9.875). Against IowaState the following week, Sniatynski placed fourth on vault with a career-high-tying 9.825, as well as sixth on beam (9.80) and fifth on floor (9.825). She most recently took second-place honors on bars (9.875) with fellow Husker Michele Zabawa against Kentucky on March 23, while also tying her career high on vault (9.825).

 

A two-time All-American on bars, Sniatynski is the defending co-Big 12 bars champion. She has earned a total of 12 individual event crowns in three seasons of competition for the Huskers.

 

Rock-Solid Stone Notches Career High All-Around at NC State

Sophomore Kylie Stone has had a breakout season as a sophomore, as she scored a career-high all-around score at NC State’s Hearts Invitational on Feb. 17 with a 39.425 to pass her previous record of 39.40 set at the 2006 NCAA Super Six Finals. Against Kentucky last Friday, Stone won her sixth individual event title of the season with a 9.90 on floor and finished second in the all-around (39.375).

 

After a superb showing at Michigan on Feb. 9, Stone was named Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week for the first time in her career. She was recognized after garnering the floor title against the Wolverines with a 9.925, while tallying an outstanding career-high 9.90 on vault.

 

A second-team All-American on vault, Stone headlined the steady 2006 freshman class and was an All-Big 12 honoree in the all-around with a 39.25 performance at the Big 12 Championships in Lincoln. She came to Nebraska with an impressive list of accomplishments, having been a 2004 Canadian Olympian and a four-time Canadian senior national champion.

 

Zabawa Ties Career Night in Raleigh

Senior Michele Zabawa tied her career-best mark on vault and captured her first event title of the season on bars at the Hearts Invitational at NC State on Feb. 17. Zabawa notched a 9.90 to take second on vault and tie her career high, which was established in her freshman year on March 6, 2004 in a dual with Minnesota. The Omaha, Neb., native and three-time All-American also tied with teammate Kylie Stone for her first bars title of the season.

 

Zabawa was the 2005 Big 12 uneven bars champion and is a two-time all-conference honoree on bars.

 

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

Nebraska welcomed three true freshmen to its roster this season, as Maria Scaffidi, Kathryn Howard and Molly Ohnoutka joined the Huskers for 2007. A native of Sussex, Wis., and a former junior international elite gymnast, Scaffidi led the U.S. team to a first-place finish at the 2000 Junior Pan American Championships, while also taking the all-around and beam crowns.

 

Scaffidi finished fifth on floor (9.825) in a strong meet against Utah on March 4, while also competing on vault (9.675) and beam (9.625). Last Friday against Kentucky, Scaffidi shined for NU, scoring a season-high 9.875 on floor to tie for third-place honors with teammate Stephanie Carter, and adding a fifth-place 9.80 on vault.

 

Howard joined NU after the fall semester, having graduated early from KeystoneNationalHigh School. The Huntsville, Texas, native has made an immediate impact on the beam lineup, as she finished second on the event at Missouri on Jan. 26 with a career-high score of 9.875. Howard also finished fourth on beam against IowaState, scoring a 9.825 and tying fellow Husker Michele Zabawa. She most recently finished fourth on beam (9.825) by tying teammate Kylie Stone.

 

Ohnoutka, who hails from Omaha, Neb., will redshirt in 2007 while she rehabilitates an injury suffered during her senior year of high school.

 

Sophomore All-Americans Become Seasoned Veterans

Nebraska’s sophomore class includes a trio of returning All-Americans in Tricia Woo, Kylie Stone and Vanessa Meloche. Woo took first-team honors on floor at the NCAA Championships by finishing 10th, and second-team honors on beam. She has been as solid in her second year, as she tied with teammate Emily Parsons for first on beam with a 9.90 against Oklahoma. At the Masters Classic, Woo won her second beam title of the year by tying with Parsons (9.875), and just one week later against Utah, Woo set a career best on beam with a 9.925 to finish second. The Milpitas, Calif., native took second-place honors on beam at LSU, posting a 9.875, while adding a 9.775 on floor and a 9.625 in her first vault appearance of the season. Last Friday against Kentucky, Woo placed third on beam (9.85) and added a 9.825 on floor.

 

The class also boasts a pair of former Canadian National Team members in Meloche and Stone. Meloche, a first-team All-American and the reigning Big 12 champion on bars, came out strong in her inaugural season as a Husker to win six individual bars titles. A seven-year member of the national team, she was the 2002 Canadian National bars champion. Meloche has claimed three bars titles in 2007, but suffered an injury on her landing on bars at Michigan five weeks ago. After determining that she sustained the third ACL tear of her gymnastics career, Meloche underwent her 11th overall surgery and will be out for the remainder of the season.

 

A second-team All-American on vault in 2006, Stone grabbed an all-around crown and a floor title at PennState in 2006 to break into the NU lineup full-time. Before beginning her career at Nebraska, Stone competed in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, and finished 14th in the all-around at the 2003 World Championships in Anaheim, Calif., making her the highest-finishing Canadian female all-arounder in World Championships history.

 

Six Huskers Named to Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll

Six current or former Nebraska women’s gymnasts were placed on the Big 12 Commissioner’s Fall Honor Roll, the conference office announced Feb. 5. The honor roll recognizes student-athletes with a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher during the previous semester, and within Nebraska’s 270 selections, 33 earned perfect 4.0 GPAs.

 

Former Husker Jamie Saas led the impressive contingent of women’s gymnasts on the list. Seniors Stephanie Carter and Michele Zabawa were honored for the seventh and sixth time, respectively. Sophomores Vanessa Meloche and Tricia Woo, as well as freshman Molly Ohnoutka, also achieved the conference academic honor. Meloche has been selected three times, while Woo and Ohnoutka both earned the honor for the first time in their careers.