No. 14 Huskers in the Hunt at Big 12 Championships

?<?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: 10-4 (3-1 Big 12)

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

?Last Meet: 1st/4 (196.00), at Penn State w/Maryland & Rutgers, 3/21/08

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

 

The No. 14 Nebraska women’s gymnastics team travels to the Big 12 Championships in Norman, Okla., this Saturday, March 29. Competition begins at 7 p.m. at the University of Oklahoma’s LloydNobleCenter. The defending Big 12 champion Huskers face undefeated No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 18 Missouri and IowaState.

 

NU is 10-4 on the year after a 196.00 first-place showing at the PennState quadrangular last Friday. Senior Emily Parsons won the vault (9.925) and floor (9.90) titles, while senior Desire’ Sniatynski finished first on bars with a career-high 9.925. Junior Tricia Woo also won the beam crown with a 9.90.

 

Nebraska has captured eight of 11 Big 12 Conference team titles from 1997 to 2007, bringing NU to a program total of 20 conference championships. Only Nebraska (1997-99, 2001-03, 2005, 2007), 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 90 conference event titles over 27 seasons.

 

Following this weekend’s conference championships, the announcement of the NCAA Regional fields will occur on Monday, April 1.

 

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. Nebraska will begin on vault, Oklahoma starts on bars, IowaState leads off on beam and Missouri opens on floor.

Rotation                 Vault       Bars       Beam     Floor

1                              NU          OU          ISU         MU

2                              MU          NU          OU          ISU

3                              ISU         MU          NU          OU

4                              OU          ISU         MU          NU

 

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

The 2008 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 Detroit                                           Saturday, April 5                   2 p.m. (EST)

FSN Midwest (Non-Royals)               Sunday, April 6                     12:30 p.m. (CST)

FSN Midwest                                        Monday, April 7                     Noon (CST)

FSN North                                             Wednesday, April 9             Noon (CST)

FSN Northwest                                    Thursday, April 3                  1:30 p.m. (PST)

FSN Ohio (Cavaliers)                         Saturday, April 5                   Noon (EST)

FSN Pittsburgh                                    Saturday, April 12                                2:30 p.m. (EST)

FSN Rocky Mountain                          Saturday, April 5                   1:30 p.m. (MST)

FSN South                                            Wednesday, April 9             3 a.m. (EST)

FSN Southwest (Hous./S.Antonio)   Thursday, April 3                  12:30 p.m. (CST)

FSN Southwest (DM)                          Thursday, April 3                  2:30 p.m. (CST)

FSN Southwest                                    Saturday, April 5                   6 p.m. (CST)

FSN West                                              Saturday, April 5                   10 a.m. (PST)

FSN Wisconsin                                    Tuesday, April 8                   1:30 p.m. (CST)

Comcast Bay Area                              Saturday, April 5                   8:30 p.m. (PST)

Comcast Chicago                                               Sunday, April 6                     Noon (CST)

Comcast Chicago                                               Tuesday, April 8                   7 p.m. (CST)

Comcast Chicago                                               Wednesday, April 9             4 p.m. (CST)

Comcast New England                      Sunday, April 6                     1:30 p.m. (EST)

 

Scouting the Competition: No. 9 Oklahoma Sooners

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

?2008 Record: 18-0

?2008 High Score: 196.75 (2 times, last at Arkansas, 3/15/08)

?Last Meet: Win, at Minnesota, 3/22/08 (196.125-195.625)

?2007 NCAA Finish: 8th (196.25 at NCAA Preliminaries)

A Glance at the Sooners...

?OU’s top returning gymnast is senior Kiara Redmond-Sturms, a five-time All-American. Redmond-Sturms has won seven Big 12 Gymnast-of-the-Week awards in 2008 and a conference-leading 10 all-around titles.

?Oklahoma is the only undefeated team in the NCAA this year with a record of 18-0.

?Redmond-Sturms and junior Haley DeProspero swept the final set of weekly Big 12 awards for March 25, as they were honored as Gymnast of the Week and Event Specialist of the Week, respectively.

?Nebraska and Oklahoma last met on Feb. 1 in Norman, where the Sooners defeated NU, 195.275-194.95.

 

Scouting the Competition: No. 18 Missouri Tigers

?Head Coach: Rob Drass (Ninth Year)

?2008 Record: 10-5

?2008 High Score: 195.80 (vs. Centenary, 2/8/08)

?Last Meet: Win, vs. ArizonaState, 3/21/08 (195.625-195.50)

?2007 NCAA Finish: Did Not Qualify

A Glance at the Tigers...

?MU’s top returning gymnast is junior Adrianne Perry, a three-time All-Big 12 honoree. Perry qualified to the 2007 NCAA Championships as an all-around competitor and finished 22nd overall.

?Perry also owns five of the top 15 all-around scores in Missouri program history and has won 15 individual event titles this year.

?Sophomore Sarah Shire, a transfer from national powerhouse Utah, finished first on vault (9.90) against ArizonaState last week. She has won a total of 19 event crowns in 2008.

?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. 25 in Lincoln, where the Huskers posted a 196.675-195.35 win.

 

Scouting the Competition: IowaState Cyclones

?Head Coach: Jay Ronayne (Second Year)

?2008 Record: 1-9

?2008 High Score: 195.125 (vs. Iowa, 2/22/08)

?Last Meet: Loss (196.75-194.45), at Georgia, 3/21/08

?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.

?Nebraska and IowaState last met on March 15 in Lincoln, where the Huskers defeated ISU, 196.175-194.15.

 

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 113 event crowns, including the vault (9.925) and floor (9.90) titles at PennState last week.

 

Parsons is ranked third nationally on vault with an RQS of 9.945, as well as ninth in the all-around (39.385), and 10th on floor (9.905).

 

Howard Named Academic All-Big 12

The Big 12 Conference named 23 student-athletes to the 2008 Academic All-Big 12 Gymnastics Team, including Nebraska sophomore Kathryn Howard, the league office announced March 25. Howard, who has not declared a major at Nebraska, is a two-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll.

 

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

 

Parsons Passes Career 100-Title Mark

Entering the homestretch of her senior year, Emily Parsons owns a career total of 113 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           28           113

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 his 15th season at Nebraska, Kendig is 352-131-4 overall and 249-53-2 in regular-season meets. Kendig is in his 25th year of coaching and owns a career record of 465-243-5.

 

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.

 

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 earlier this month. 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 Takes on New Role with All-Around

With Nebraska’s bars lineup down to five competitors, junior Tricia Woo stepped up as the sixth competitor on the event for the second straight week against IowaState, scoring a career-high 9.70. Woo, known for her work on beam and floor, has also filled the No. 2 spot in the vault lineup this season. At Stanford, the Milpitas, Calif., native finished third in the all-around with a career-high score of 39.25, while also notching a pair of 9.90s to tie for the beam and floor titles with 11-time Cardinal All-American Tabitha Yim. Last weekend against ISU, Woo finished third again with a total of 39.10.

 

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.

 

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 on Feb. 26. 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 on Feb. 23. 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 Earns Pair of Weekly Awards

Senior Emily Parsons was honored as Big 12 Co-Gymnast of the Week, the conference office announced Tuesday. Parsons was recognized for the second time this year and a Big 12-record 11th time in her career, and shares the award with Oklahoma’s Kiara Redmond-Sturms.

 

Parsons won four event titles against IowaState last Friday, including the all-around with a season-high-tying 39.525. The St. Charles, Mo., native also finished first on vault (9.95), beam (9.875) and floor (9.925).

 

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.

 

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 on Feb. 23 displayed her All-America caliber all-around contributions. Sniatynski claimed her fifth bars title of the year, tying her career high of 9.90. At Kentucky, Sniatynski won her second beam crown of the season with a

9.85 and placed second in the all-around (39.175). At Stanford, Sniatynski was held out of the all-around due to a minor practice injury, but competed on vault and bars.

 

With her career-high 39.45 all-around and 9.90 bars performance against ArizonaState on Jan. 13, Sniatynski was honored the following Tuesday as the conference’s first Big 12 Gymnast of the Week for the 2008 season. She earned a second weekly conference honor on Feb. 26.

 

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 the Cyclones, Habbib took third on bars (9.80).

 

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. She made her floor debut against Denver, notching a 9.80, and last weekend against ISU, she earned runner-up honors on vault (9.80). 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). Against the Cyclones, Scaffidi won the bars title with a career-high-tying 9.875.

 

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.