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Huskers Clash with No. 3 Utes<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>
?<?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska Head Coach: Dan Kendig (15th Year)
?Current Team Record: 2-0 (1-0 Big 12)
?2008 High Score: 195.55 (vs. ArizonaState, 1/13/08)
?2007 NCAA Finish: 6th (195.975)
The 11th-ranked Nebraska women’s gymnastics team travels to Salt Lake City, Utah, this Friday, Jan. 18, to take on No. 3 Utah. Competition is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. (CST) at the HuntsmanCenter. The Utes lead Nebraska 36-8-2 in the all-time series dating back to 1979.
NU is 2-0 on the year after two wins last week over IowaState (193.50-192.475) and ArizonaState (195.55-193.075).
The Huskers return home to the DevaneyCenter on Friday, Jan. 25 for a conference dual with No. 12 Missouri. The meet is slated to begin at 7 p.m.
Scouting the Competition: No. 3 Utah Utes
?Head Coach: Greg Marsden (33rd Year)
?2008 Record: 1-0
?2008 High Score: 196.30 (vs. #2 Georgia, 1/11/08)
?Last Meet: Win, vs. #2 Georgia, 2/23/07 (196.30-196.20)
?2007 NCAA Finish: 2nd (197.25)
A Glance at the Utes...
?Head coach Greg Marsden is the only 800-win coach in NCAA gymnastics history with a career record of 874-152-5 at Utah. His teams have won a total of 10 national team championships.
?Utah’s top returning gymnast is senior Ashley Postell, a 15-time All-American who won the 2007 NCAA beam title. Postell won the all-around against Georgia last weekend with a score of 39.525, and she is ranked first nationally in the all-around and on beam.
?As a team, Utah is ranked third nationally on beam, fourth on bars, sixth on floor and seventh on vault.
?Nebraska and Utah last met at the 2007 NCAA Super Six Finals, where the Utes finished as national runner-up with a 197.25, and Nebraska placed sixth (195.975).
?Junior Kristina Baskett won a share of the NCAA bars crown as a freshman in 2006 and is a three-time All-American.
?Utah boasts six returning All-Americans who have combined for 22 All-America awards.
?The Utes welcomed three freshmen to their 2008 roster, including Canadian Gael Mackie, who was a teammate of Husker Kylie Stone at the 2004 Olympics, and former U.S. National Team member Jacquelyn Johnson.
Nebraska’s Competition Order at Utah
Rotation Utah 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 leads 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 90 event crowns, including five from this past weekend against IowaState and ArizonaState.
Parsons is ranked 11th nationally in the all-around with an average of 39.175, as well as third on vault (9.912), 13th on floor (9.875) and 14th on beam (9.837).
Parsons Ranked No. 1 on Nebraska’s All-Time Titles Chart
Just two meets into her senior year, Emily Parsons owns a career total of 90 event titles in three years at Nebraska, continuing her reign in the No. 1 spot 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 Total Career Titles
Emily Parsons 2005-present 16 34 35 5 90
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 344-127-4 overall and 241-49-2 in regular-season meets. Kendig is in his 25th year of coaching and owns a career record of 457-239-5.
A five-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 Earns Career High in All-Around
Senior Desire’ Sniatynski has emerged as one of Nebraska’s top all-around competitors in the last two seasons, and last weekend’s performance displayed her All-America caliber all-around contributions. Sniatynski scored a career-high 39.45 in the all-around against ArizonaState on Sunday, placing second only to Emily Parsons (39.475). The Kenosha, Wis., native also claimed her second bars title of the weekend, tying her career best on the event with a 9.90.
A three-time All-American on bars, Sniatynski claimed a share of the 2006 Big 12 bars crown with teammate Vanessa Meloche, and she has won a total of 14 individual event crowns as a Husker.
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. In NU’s two-dual opening weekend, Woo was stellar for the Huskers, as she competed on three events -- vault, beam and floor. The Milpitas, Calif., native earned strong marks of 9.80 and 9.825 in her first two meets on vault since performing once on the event in 2007 at LSU.
In Sunday’s meet with ASU, Woo was a rock for NU, capturing the beam title with a career-high 9.925 and adding a 9.825 on floor.
The junior 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 welcomed three newcomers to its roster this season: freshmen Erin Davis, Brittnee Habbib and Stephanie Seich. While Seich has been sidelined with an injury, Habbib and Davis have stepped up to fill in NU’s injury-plagued lineup in 2008.
Habbib was utilized as an all-arounder in the weekend of her collegiate debut and was a refreshing addition to the bars and beam teams. At IowaState, she stole the show on beam, tying for runner-up honors with fellow Husker Maria Scaffidi, as the duo contributed a pair of 9.85s. On Sunday against ArizonaState, Habbib earned a season-high 9.825 on bars to match Emily Parsons for second place.
A former member of the Canadian Senior National Team, Habbib brings impressive international experience to NU. 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.
Davis has served as a vault specialist in her first two competitions, scoring a pair of 9.85 marks to finish second both nights only to Parsons. A Level 10 product of Capital Gymnastics, Davis is a native of Round Rock, Texas. As 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.
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.
Scaffidi Emerges Strong as All-Arounder in 2008
Sophomore Maria Scaffidi starred for the Huskers at IowaState last Friday, capturing the first individual crown of her career with a first-place finish in the all-around from a career-high score of 39.00. Scaffidi also finished second on beam with a career-best score of 9.85, third on bars (9.675) and fifth on vault (9.80).
As a freshman in 2007, Scaffidi competed as a two-, three- and four-event competitor throughout her inaugural campaign. She was integral to Nebraska’s run in the preliminary session of the NCAA Championships, where her career-best 9.85 vault helped propel NU to the Super Six Finals.