No. 11 Huskers Prepare for No. 12 Pioneers

?<?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: 3-3 (2-1 Big 12)

?2008 High Score: 196.675 (vs. Missouri, 1/25/08)

?Last Meet: Loss, vs. #5 Michigan, 2/7/08 (196.575-196.075)

?2007 NCAA Finish: 6th (195.975 at Super Six Finals)

                               

The No. 11 Nebraska women’s gymnastics team takes on 12th-ranked Denver this Saturday, Feb. 23, at the DevaneyCenter at 7 p.m. The Huskers boast a 19-5 all-time record over the Pioneers.

 

NU is 3-3 on the year after a 196.575-196.075 loss to No. 5 Michigan on Feb. 7. Senior Emily Parsons hit the 100-career-titles mark with event wins in the all-around (39.375), beam (9.875) and floor (9.875). Parsons now has a total of 101 individual titles at Nebraska. Junior Tricia Woo also tied Parsons for the beam and floor crowns, while senior Desire’ Sniatynski and junior Vanessa Meloche shared the bars title with a pair of 9.875 scores.

 

The Huskers travel to Lexington, Ky., for a dual with Kentucky on Feb. 29. Competition is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at Memorial Coliseum.

 

Scouting the Competition: No. 12 Denver Pioneers

?Head Coach: Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart (Ninth Year)

?2008 Record: 10-2

?2008 High Score: 195.70 (2 times, last at Paige Smith Invitational, 2/9/08)

?Last Meet: Win (195.125-189.25), vs. BallState, 2/16/08

?2007 NCAA Finish: 10th (195.575 in NCAA Preliminaries)

A Glance at the Pioneers...

?Denver’s top returning gymnast is junior Jessica Lopez, a three-time All-American. Lopez finished 15th on beam and 16th on floor in event finals at the 2007 NCAA Championships.

?Lopez swept the individual titles against BallState on Feb. 16, winning the all-around (39.575), vault (9.90), bars (9.875), beam (9.85) and floor (9.95). Her all-around score was a career best.

?Two Pioneers have qualified as individuals for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing -- Lopez for Venezuela and freshman Annamari Maaranen for Finland.

?Denver freshman Taylor Sanford is a native of Omaha, Neb., where she attended MillardNorthHigh School.

?Nebraska and Denver last met at the 2007 Super Six Challenge. NU finished second (195.20) over fifth-place DU (192.975).

 

Nebraska’s Competition Order vs. Denver

Rotation                 Nebraska              Denver

1                              Vault                       Uneven Bars

2                              Uneven Bars        Vault

3                              Balance Beam     Floor Exercise

4                              Floor Exercise      Balance Beam

 

Parsons Leads Huskers in 2008

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 finalists for the Honda Award. Parsons snagged Big 12 Conference crowns in the all-around, vault, beam and floor, as well as five all-conference nods. She also claimed NCAA regional titles on vault and floor. During her career, Parsons has run away with a total of 101 event crowns, including three against Michigan on Feb. 7.

 

Parsons is ranked third nationally on vault with an RQS of 9.915, as well as fourth on beam (9.85) and the all-around (39.26). She also ranks 25th on floor (9.805) in this week’s GymInfo national rankings.

 

Parsons Passes Career 100-Title Mark

Just halfway into her senior year, Emily Parsons owns a career total of 101 event titles in three-plus years at Nebraska, becoming the first Husker to pass the 100-title mark. 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, for the top spot on the program’s event titles chart. 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           16           101

Richelle Simpson               2002-05                 9              39           6              23           77

Heather Brink       1997-2000            7              19           10           34           70

 

Meloche Returns to NU Bars Lineup

Junior Vanessa Meloche has returned to the bars lineup in 2008 after nearly one year of rehabilitating a season-ending knee injury suffered in February 2007. Meloche, a first-team All-American and the 2006 Big 12 champion on bars, was strong against Michigan in just her second performance of the year, tying with Desire’ Sniatynski for the event title with a 9.875.

 

Howard Earns First Career Event Title

Sophomore Kathryn Howard won the first event title of her career on Feb. 1 at Oklahoma, tying for the beam crown with senior Desire’ Sniatynski. The duo matched scores of 9.875, marking a season high for Howard and a career best for Sniatynski.

 

As a freshman in 2007, Howard earned All-Big 12 honors at the Big 12 Championships, where she finished third.

 

Woo Wins Pair of Big 12 Awards

Junior Tricia Woo has been honored as Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week twice this year, first on Jan. 15 and again on Feb. 5. At Oklahoma, Woo recorded a third-place finish on floor with a season-high 9.875 and also placed fourth on beam (9.825) for her second award. Against Michigan on Feb. 7, the Milpitas, Calif., native tied with Emily Parsons for the beam and floor titles with a pair of 9.875 scores.

 

A three-time All-American, Woo took first-team honors on beam in 2007, as well as a first-team floor award and second-team accolades on beam in 2006.

 

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 his 15th season at Nebraska, Kendig is 345-130-4 overall and 242-52-2 in regular-season meets. Kendig is in his 25th year of coaching and owns a career record of 458-242-5.

 

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 nine NCAA Super Six Finals appearances (1997-99, 2000-01-02-03-05-06-07). 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 the Super Six Finals. 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 Notches 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 her performance against Michigan displayed her All-America caliber all-around contributions. Sniatynski claimed her fourth bars title of the year, tying Vanessa Meloche with a score of 9.875. Sniatynski, a native of Kenosha, Wis., also finished second in the all-around (39.30) and fourth on beam (9.85) and floor (9.825).

 

With her career-high 39.45 all-around and 9.90 bars performance against Arizona State on Jan. 13, Sniatynski was honored the following Tuesday as the conference’s first Big 12 Gymnast of the Week for the 2008 season.

 

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.

 

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-challenged 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. In a dual with Missouri on Jan. 25, she tied for second on bars (9.825) and placed third on beam (9.85).

 

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. 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 month of competition. On Jan. 25 against Mizzou, Davis earned a career-high 9.875 to tie for fourth with Tricia Woo and also placed fifth (9.825) against Michigan on Feb. 7. A former Level 10 gymnast, she 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 has starred for the Huskers in an all-around role this season, starting with the first individual crown of her career with a first-place finish (39.00) at IowaState. Against Missouri, Scaffidi topped her career high set in the Huskers’ opening weekend and finished fourth with a 39.275. Scaffidi also placed fifth on floor (9.825) and sixth on beam (9.80) and vault (9.85).

 

As a freshman in 2007, Scaffidi 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.