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?<?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska Head Coach: Dan Kendig (15th Year) <?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>
?Current Team Record: 0-0 (0-0 Big 12)
?2007 High Score: 196.975 (at Hearts Invitational, 2/17/07)
?2007 NCAA Finish: 6th (195.975)
The seventh-ranked Nebraska women’s gymnastics team opens its 2008 home season with its second of two duals in one weekend, with Arizona State this Sunday, Jan. 13 at the Devaney Center. Competition is scheduled for 2 p.m., and ASU holds a 30-16 all-time mark over NU.
On Friday, NU captured a win over Big 12 Conference rival Iowa State, 193.50-192.475, at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.
Following its double-meet weekend, Nebraska travels to 2007 NCAA runner-up Utah in Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 18 at the HuntsmanCenter. The Huskers will look to a group of five returning All-Americans -- Emily Parsons, Tricia Woo, Desire’ Sniatynski, Vanessa Meloche and Kylie Stone -- to lead its lineup in 2008.
Scouting the Competition: No. 18 ArizonaState Sun Devils
?Head Coach: John Spini (28th Year)
?2007 Record: 3-12
?2007 High Score: 196.525 (vs. Washington, 3/2/07)
?2007 NCAA Finish: Did Not Qualify
A Glance at the Sun Devils...
?ArizonaState is led by senior Nicole Harris, who was a second-team All-American on beam in 2006. Harris also earned All-Pac 10 honors in the all-around as a junior after finishing third (39.475).
?ASU and Nebraska last tangled at the 2005 NCAA South Central Regional, where the Huskers posted a 196.30 for second place, and the Sun Devils earned a fifth-place finish with a 194.50.
Nebraska’s Competition Order with Arizona State
Rotation Nebraska ArizonaState
1 Vault Uneven Bars
2 Uneven Bars Vault
3 Balance Beam Floor Exercise
4 Floor Exercise Balance Beam
Scouting the Competition: No. 17 IowaState Cyclones
?Head Coach: Jay Ronayne (Second Year)
?2007 Record: 15-8-1
?2007 High Score: 196.70 (2 times, vs. Iowa and Denver, 3/23/07)
?2007 NCAA Finish: Did Not Qualify
A Glance at the Cyclones...
?IowaState’s top returning gymnast is junior Jasmine Thompson, who tied for eighth on vault at the 2007 Big 12 Championships.
?Sophomore Megan Barnes was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year in 2007.
?IowaState last met Nebraska at last year’s conference championships, which NU won with a 196.475. The Cyclones took fourth with a 193.975.
Nebraska’s Competition Order at Iowa State
Rotation Iowa State Nebraska
1 Vault Uneven Bars
2 Uneven Bars Vault
3 Balance Beam Floor Exercise
4 Floor Exercise Balance Beam
Parsons Leads Huskers into 2008 Season
Senior Emily Parsons will lead Nebraska in 2008 after earning nine All-America awards in her first three seasons at NU. The St. Charles, Mo., native finished third on vault and fourth on floor in the individual event finals at the 2007 NCAA Championships to garner first-team All-America honors on both events.
In 2007, Parsons was also named the South Central Regional Gymnast of the Year for the second time and was one of four nominees for the Honda Award. In a junior season that saw Parsons snag Big 12 Conference crowns in the all-around, vault, beam and floor, as well as five all-conference nods, she went on to claim NCAA regional titles on vault and floor. Over three years, Parsons has run away with a total of 85 event crowns.
Parsons Ranked No. 1 on Nebraska’s All-Time Titles Chart
After a record-breaking junior season in 2007, senior Emily Parsons owns a career total of 85 event titles in three years at Nebraska, placing her first on NU’s all-time career individual titles chart. Last season, Parsons passed Richelle Simpson, who garnered 77 individual crowns at Nebraska, and 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 Career Total
Emily Parsons 2005-present 16 34 35 --- 85
Richelle Simpson 2002-05 9 39 6 23 77
Heather Brink 1997-2000 7 19 10 34 70
Kendig Builds One of Nation’s Top Programs at Nebraska
Head Coach Dan Kendig is the all-time winningest coach in the 31 years of Nebraska women's gymnastics history. In 14 seasons at Nebraska, Kendig is 342-127-4 overall and 239-49-2 in regular-season meets. Kendig is in his 25th year of coaching and owns a career record of 455-239-5.
A seven-time Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year, Kendig has guided the Huskers to nine conference championships and three straight regional championships from 2000 to 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, 2005, 2006 and 2007. 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 2007, Nebraska finished with a 26-12 overall record. The Huskers earned their 20th overall conference championship (196.475) and placed second (196.65) in the NCAA West Regional behind Utah. NU also finished sixth (195.975) in its ninth consecutive NCAA Championships appearance. Four of Kendig’s gymnasts -- Emily Parsons (V, FX), Michele Zabawa (V, UB), Tricia Woo (BB) and Desire’ Sniatynski (UB) -- earned a total of six All-America honors.
Kendig is assisted by associate head coach Danna Durante, who is in her sixth season with Nebraska, and assistant coach Tim Garrison, who is in his second year on the Husker staff.
Sniatynski Emerges as All-Arounder in Husker Lineup
Senior Desire’ Sniatynski emerged as one of Nebraska’s top all-around competitors in 2007 and earned her third consecutive All-America award on bars at the NCAA Championships. A native of Kenosha, Wis., Sniatynski annually ranks among the Big 12’s top bars competitors and took home her second all-conference nod on the event at last year’s Big 12 Championships. Sniatynski claimed a share of the 2006 Big 12 bars crown with teammate Vanessa Meloche, and she has won a total of 12 individual event crowns in three full seasons of competition for the Huskers.
Junior All-Americans Become Seasoned Veterans
Nebraska’s junior class includes a trio of returning All-Americans in Tricia Woo, Kylie Stone and Vanessa Meloche. Woo, a three-time All-American, took first-team honors on beam (2007) and floor (2006), as well as a second-team award on beam in 2006.
The class also boasts a pair of former Canadian National Team members in Meloche and Stone. Meloche, a first-team All-American and the 2006 Big 12 champion on bars, came out strong in her sophomore season to win three individual bars titles before suffering a season-ending knee injury last February. A seven-year member of the national team, she was the 2002 Canadian National bars champion.
A second-team All-American on vault in 2006, Stone grabbed All-Big 12 accolades on vault in her sophomore season. 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.
Looking to the Future: The New Husker Class
Nebraska welcomes three newcomers to its roster this season: freshmen Erin Davis, Brittnee Habbib and Stephanie Seich. Habbib, a former member of the Canadian Senior National Team, brings NU impressive international experience. The North York, Ontario, native and product of Gemini Gymnastics represented Canada at the 2006 World Championships and the 2007 Pan Am Games, leading the Canadian team to a bronze-medal finish. Habbib also took home fifth-place honors in the all-around at the 2006 Canadian National Championships.
A former international elite competitor, Seich comes to Lincoln from Rebound Gymnastics in New Brunswick, N.J. She qualified to the 2005 U.S. Classic as a senior, and as a junior international elite competitor in 2004, she finished 13th in the all-around at the U.S. Classic and 18th in the all-around at the U.S. Championships.
Davis is a Level 10 product of Capital Gymnastics in Austin, Texas. A three-time Junior Olympic National Championships qualifier, she took second on floor, third on vault and sixth on beam in 2006. Davis has drawn early comparisons to Emily Parsons from the Nebraska coaching staff, who noted her power and tumbling skills on vault and floor.