No. 15 Nebraska Travels to Kentucky

?<?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: 4-3 (2-1 Big 12)

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

?Last Meet: Win, vs. #13 Denver, 2/23/08 (195.925-195.65)

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

                               

The No. 15 Nebraska women’s gymnastics team takes on Kentucky this Friday, Feb. 29, with a 6 p.m. dual at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Ky. The Huskers hold an all-time record of 5-0 against the Wildcats.

 

NU is 4-3 on the year after a 195.925-195.65 win over No. 13 Denver on Feb. 23. Senior Emily Parsons captured event wins on vault and floor with a pair of 9.975 scores, and her floor mark set a career high. Senior Desire’ Sniatynski took the bars crown with a career-high-tying 9.90, while junior Tricia Woo won her second straight beam title (9.90).

 

The Huskers next travel to Palo Alto, Calif., on March 7, for a triangular at No. 7 Stanford with No. 5 Alabama. Competition is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. (CST) at Maples Pavilion.

 

Scouting the Competition: Kentucky Wildcats

?Head Coach: Mo Mitchell (Fifth Year)            

?2008 Record: 1-6

?2008 High Score: 194.80 (at Georgia, 2/23/08)

?Last Meet: Loss (197.675-194.80), at Georgia, 2/23/08

?2007 NCAA Finish: Did Not Qualify

A Glance at the Wildcats...

?Kentucky junior Heather Hite took second on beam with a 9.825 against Georgia last Saturday, behind UGA’s Courtney McCool.

?The Wildcats scored a season-high 49.175 on floor against the GymDogs, led by sophomore Hillary Ferguson’s career-high 9.925 to tie for second.

?UK is ranked 14th nationally on floor and 22nd on vault in this week’s GymInfo rankings.

?Nebraska and Kentucky last met on March 23, 2007 in Lincoln, where the Huskers put up a season-high 197.125 to UK’s 194.90.

 

Nebraska’s Competition Order at Kentucky

Rotation                 Kentucky                                Nebraska

1                              Vault                       Uneven Bars

2                              Uneven Bars        Vault

3                              Balance Beam     Floor Exercise

4                              Floor Exercise      Balance Beam

 

Sniatynski, Woo Sweep Big 12 Weekly Awards

Senior Desire’ Sniatynski and junior Tricia Woo were honored as Big 12 Gymnast and Event Specialist of the Week, the conference office announced Tuesday. Each was recognized for the third time in her career.

 

Sniatynski captured Gymnast-of-the-Week honors after taking her fifth bars title of the year in Nebraska’s win over Denver last weekend. The Kenosha, Wis., native scored a 39.425 mark in the all-around for runner-up honors, while also finishing third on beam (9.85) and fourth on vault (9.825) and floor (9.85). Sniatynski was previously honored as Gymnast of the Week on Jan. 15.

 

Woo was recognized as Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week after taking home her second straight beam title with a score of 9.90. She also placed second in vault (9.85) and third on floor with a season-high 9.90.  Woo previously earned conference awards on Jan. 15 and Feb. 5.

 

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 103 event crowns, including two against Denver last Saturday.

 

Parsons is ranked third nationally on vault with an RQS of 9.925, as well as eighth on beam (9.85) and 10th in the all-around (39.26).

 

Parsons Passes Career 100-Title Mark

Just halfway into her senior year, Emily Parsons owns a career total of 103 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 Titles

Emily Parsons     2005-present       16           34           35           18           103

Richelle Simpson               2002-05                 9              39           6              23           77

Heather Brink       1997-2000            7              19           10           34           70

 

Injury Keeps Meloche Out of Bars Lineup

Junior Vanessa Meloche returned to the bars lineup last month only to see her fourth season as a Husker come to an end last week. The Montreal, Quebec, native underwent a minor procedure, and it was decided to keep her out of competition for the remainder of 2008.

 

Meloche shared one bars title in two meets this season with Desire’ Sniatynski, scoring a 9.875 against Michigan on Feb. 7. A first-team All-American and the 2006 Big 12 champion on bars, she rehabilitated a season-ending knee injury suffered in February 2007 for nearly a year.

 

Woo Prepares for New Role

With Nebraska’s bars lineup down to five competitors, junior Tricia Woo will step up as the sixth competitor on the event within the next two weeks. Woo, known for her work on beam and floor, has filled the No. 2 spot in the vault lineup and could add bars to her repertoire at Stanford on March 7.

 

Woo has not seriously trained bars since her days as a Level 10 in California, but finished third on the event at the 2003 California State Championships.

 

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.

 

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 346-130-4 overall and 243-52-2 in regular-season meets. Kendig is in his 25th year of coaching and owns a career record of 459-242-5.

 

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 Denver displayed her All-America caliber all-around contributions. Sniatynski claimed her fifth bars title of the year, tying her career high of 9.90. Sniatynski, a native of Kenosha, Wis., also finished second in the all-around (39.425), third on beam (9.85) and fourth on vault (9.825) and floor (9.85).

 

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. Last weekend against Denver, Habbib tied teammate Desire’ Sniatynski for 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 served as a vault specialist for the first half of the season but has since stepped into the floor lineup as well. Last weekend, she made her floor debut and notched a 9.80 for seventh place after just two weeks of training the event. On Jan. 25 against Mizzou, Davis earned a career-high 9.875 to tie for fourth with Tricia Woo. A former Level 10 gymnast, 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 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). Last weekend against Denver, she achieved a career-high 9.875 on bars to finish only behind Desire’ Sniatynski (9.90).

 

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.