Parsons, Sniatynski Qualify for NCAA Event Finals

<?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Athens, Ga. ?Nebraska’s trio of individual qualifiers opened competition at the NCAA Championships on Thursday at the University of Georgia’s Stegeman Coliseum, with senior all-arounder Emily Parsons competing in the afternoon preliminary session and senior all-arounder Desire’ Sniatynski and junior beam and floor specialist Tricia Woo in the evening competition.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

Parsons and Sniatynski combined to earn three All-America honors and qualified for NCAA event finals on beam and bars, respectively.

 

Parsons, who competed alongside OregonState, earned two All-America honors to finish with a career total of 11 awards, tying former Husker Heather Brink for the school record. The St. Charles, Mo., native was named to the first team on beam and second team in the all-around, posting the afternoon session’s top beam score with a 9.875 to qualify for individual event finals on Saturday night. She added marks of 9.85 on floor, 9.825 on vault and 9.80 on bars for an eighth-place all-around total of 39.35.

 

In the evening preliminary session, Sniatynski competed with Stanford, tallying a score of 9.90 on bars to tie for fourth. The five-time All-American added a 9.80 on floor, 9.70 on vault, and 9.20 on beam.

 

Woo, who joined Utah’s event rotation, placed ninth on beam (9.825) and 10th on floor (9.85).

 

“Our individuals did a good job today,” Head Coach Dan Kendig said. “It was a tough order coming in here and competing without a team by their side. Emily did a great job on all four events this afternoon, and it was rewarding to see her and Desire’ have the opportunity to finish their careers in event finals on Saturday.

 

“Tricia was also just a whisker away from making finals on two events. She worked so hard and has had a tremendous attitude all year long, and she’s had a great year. I’m proud of the work she, Desire’ and Emily all put in the last two weeks to prepare for this weekend. They’ve represented our university very well.”

 

Following Friday night’s NCAA Super Six team finals, Parsons and Sniatynski will compete in Saturday’s event finals at 5 p.m. (CST).

 

Name                                     Vault      Bars       Beam     Floor       All-Around

Emily Parsons                     9.825      9.80        9.875      9.85        39.35                                                     

Desire’ Sniatynski               9.70        9.90        9.20        9.80        38.60

Tricia Woo                             ---            ---            9.825      9.85        ---