Huskers Look to Bounce Back in Norman

-Nebraska Head Coach: Dan Kendig (19th Year)
-Current Team Record: 2-1 (0-0 Big Ten)
-2012 High Score: 197.375 (Denver, 1/13/12)
-2011 NCAA Finish: 4th (196.725)

The No. 9 Nebraska women's gymnastics team will try and bounce back from its first loss of the season when they travel to Norman, Okla., to compete in a quad meet with No. 5 Oklahoma, No. 25 Minnesota and Centenary on Friday, Feb. 3. Action from the Lloyd Noble Center will begin at  7 p.m. (CT).

Friday's meet will be streamed live on SoonersSports.com (subscription required), with former Oklahoma All-American gymnast Kasie Tamayo calling the action. Live stats will also be available on SoonerSports.com.

The Huskers are 2-1 on the young season after suffering their first setback of the season on Saturday, Feb. 28, against the No. 20 Missouri Tigers, 194.55-195.725. Although the Huskers weren't able to come out with the victory, true freshman Jessie DeZiel won two event titles, along with the all-around (39.375) to lead NU. Lora Evenstad and Janelle Giblin also won event titles in the loss.

Scouting the Competition: No. 5 Oklahoma
-Head Coach: K.J. Kindler (sixth season)
-2012 Record: 7-1 (0-0 Big 12)
-2012 High Score: 197.450 (at Texas Woman's with Utah State and Centenary, 1/21/12)
-2011 NCAA Finish: 3rd (197.300)

A Glance at the Sooners...
-No. 5 Oklahoma is 6-1 on the year and defeated North Carolina State in its last meet, 196.475-194.075.
-The Sooners posted a 197.450, which marked the fifth-highest score in the country so far this season, when they defeated Texas Woman's University, Utah State and Centenary on Jan. 21.
-OU is led by Sara Stone, who is the reigning two-time Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week. Stone finished atop the vault standings with a 9.90, and shared the titles on the beam and floor.
-Last season, Oklahoma defeated the Huskers in Lincoln, Neb., 196.30-195.80, on Feb. 6. The Huskers then defeated OU at the Big 12 Championships.

Scouting the Competition: No. 25 Minnesota
-Head Coach: Meg Stephenson (14th season)
-2012 Record: 0-4 (0-4 Big Ten)
-2012 High Score: 195.150 (vs. Penn State, 1/28/12)
-2011 NCAA Finish: N/A

A Glance at the Golden Gophers...
-No. 25 Minnesota is 0-4 so far this season, with all four of its losses coming to top-25 opponents. The Gophers fell to No. 9 Penn State, 195.475-195.150, in their last meet on Jan. 28.
-The Gophers are averaging over 48.075 on all four events, while excelling on the floor where they average a 48.856.
-Janelle Campbell and Lucy Ennis shared the bars event title in the Gophers meet against Penn State, both scoring a 9.80. Sophomore Dusti Russell has won the all-around twice this season, first against Ohio State on Feb. 7, with a score of 38.925, and at Illinois on Feb. 14, scoring a 38.825.
-The Huskers own a 19-9-1 record in the all-time series with Minnesota. The last time the two school met, NU came out on top, 195.20-192.775, in 2010.

Scouting the Competition: Centenary
-Head Coach: Jackie Fain (first season)
-2012 Record: 2-8 (0-1 Midwest Independent)
-2012 High Score: 191.475 (at Texas Woman's with Utah State and Oklahoma, 1/21/12)
-2011 NCAA Finish: N/A

A Glance at the Ladies...
-Centenary is currently 2-8 on the season and fell to Denver and Air Force in its last meet, posting a score of 191.475, which was a season-high score.
-The Ladies recorded victories over Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Wisconsin-La Crosse earlier in the season.
-This will be the first time the Huskers and Centenary have faced each other.

Nebraska's Competition Order vs. Missouri
Rotation            Oklahoma         Nebraska          Minnesota         Centenary
1                      Vault                 Bars                 Beam                Floor
2                      Bars                 Beam                Floor                Vault
3                      Beam                Floor                Vault                 Bars
4                      Floor                Vault                 Bars                 Beam

Last Time Out: Huskers Fall to Tigers for First Loss
The  Nebraska women's gymnastics team dropped its first meet of the season on Saturday, Jan. 28,  falling to the No. 20 Missouri Tigers, 195.725-194.55, in front of 1,044 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

The Huskers captured three event titles and had the highest all-around score from true freshman Jessie DeZiel (39.375). DeZiel also tied for the beam title with MU's Rachel Updike after the pair scored a 9.80 and finished tied with senior Lora Evenstad for the floor title, scoring a 9.90. Junior Janelle Giblin took home the bars title for the third consecutive time this season.

Opening on vault, the Huskers recorded two career-high scores and a season-high mark from junior Jamie Schleppenbach, who led the Huskers with a 9.90. Freshman Jennifer Lauer scored her second consecutive career-high mark after she scored a 9.825, while Evenstad scored a 9.850 and Emily Wong tied her career-high with a 9.875 en route to a total score of 49.30.

Janelle Giblin scored a 9.90 on the bars to tie her career-high and win her third consecutive bars title this season. Giblin has scored a 9.90 on the bars in all three meets the Huskers have competed in. Wong kicked off the event with a 9.85 and was followed by a career-high 9.775 from Schleppenbach. DeZiel scored a 9.825 for the Huskers, while Evenstad closed the Husker out with a 9.775.

The Huskers struggled on the balance beam, scoring a season-low 46.950. DeZiel led NU with a 9.80 and was followed by senior Katelyn Busacker, who scored a 9.475 in her first action as a Husker.

The Huskers finished strong on the floor exercise with DeZiel and Evenstad closing the meet out with consecutive 9.90s. For the second meet in a row, Jennifer Lauer recorded a 9.675 on the floor, while Wong scored a 9.875 to tie her career high, and Schleppenbach scored a season-high 9.825.

DeZiel Honored for Third Straight Week by Big Ten
True freshman Jessie DeZiel earned her third consecutive Big Ten individual honor on Monday, Jan. 30, after her performance in the Huskers' meet against Missouri. DeZiel was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week after she won the all-around competition by scoring a 39.375 against the Tigers. DeZiel has earned four Big Ten individual awards this season, including being named the Big Ten Gymnast of the Week on Jan. 16.

DeZiel won her fourth and fifth event titles of the young season against the Tigers. The Rogers, Minn., native tied for the beam title with Missouri's Rachel Updike after scoring a 9.80 and finished atop the floor standings with fellow Husker Lora Evenstad, finishing with a 9.90. DeZiel also finished in third place on the bars (9.825) and fifth on the vault (9.85).

Huskers in the Rankings
After their loss to the Missouri Tigers last Saturday, the Huskers dropped to No. 9 in the latest GymInfo Women's Gymnastics Poll, which was released on Monday, Jan. 30. As a team, the Huskers rank in the top five in vault (4th, 49.308), uneven bars (5th, 49.175) and the floor exercise (4th, 49.113).

Individually, the Huskers have at least one gymnast ranked inside the top 10 for every event, including Janelle Giblin, who is ranked at No. 4 in the vault (9.925) and tied for No. 1 in the uneven bars (9.90). Lora Evenstad is ranked No. 3 in the floor exercise (9.90).

Huskers Show Versatility in Early Meets
The Nebraska women's gymnastics team has shown great versatility in its first three meets of the season with 12 gymnasts competing in the all-around through the first three competitions. The five all-around competitors against Denver were the most for a Husker team since at least 2000. The Huskers placed the top four all-arounders of the competition against the Pioneers, including Jessie DeZiel who finished first. Against Iowa State, four Huskers competed in the all-around, including Lora Evenstad, who scored the highest in the meet with a 39.450. In their last meet against Missouri, NU had three all-arounders, including DeZiel, who finished first in the all-around for the second time this season with a 39.375.

The Huskers own three of the top six spots in the all-around rankings nationally, with Giblin ranked at No. 3 with an average of 39.50. Evenstad sits at No. 5 with a 39.463 average, and DeZiel is ranked at No. 6 with an average of 39.450.

Giblin Dominating on Bars
Junior Janelle Giblin has been dominant on the uneven bars so far this season, scoring three straight 9.90s en route to three straight event titles.  Entering this season, Giblin's career high was 9.875 on the bars. Giblin is the only Husker to win three event titles this season.

Big Ten Network to Feature Two Husker Meets
The Nebraska women's gymnastics team will be featured twice on the Big Ten Network on tape delay basis this season. The Huskers road meet with Minnesota on Saturday, Feb. 18, will air on BTN on Friday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. (CT), while the Huskers meet with Iowa State in Lincoln on Friday, March 16, will air on Saturday, March 17 at 11 a.m. (CT).

The first session of this year's Big Ten Championships on March 24 will be televised on the same day at 6 p.m., and the second session will air live. The championships are being held in Iowa City, Iowa.

Huskers Set Masters Classic as "Think Pink" Meet
The Huskers will hold their annual "Think Pink" meet, which raises awareness for breast cancer, at the Masters Classic on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. This year's Masters Classic teams include Washington, Michigan and Southern Utah and will be held at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

Fans are encouraged to wear pink that night, while free lanyards, rings and glow necklaces will be given away while supplies last. The first 100 students in attendance will also receive free Valentino's pizza as part of Student Appreciation Night. Also, a special "Think Pink" price will be given to all students who wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness.

Kendig Builds One of Nation's Top Programs at Nebraska
Head Coach Dan Kendig is the all-time winningest coach in the 35 years of Nebraska women's gymnastics history. In 18 seasons at Nebraska, Kendig is 41-164-4 overall and 281-67-2 in regular-season meets. Kendig is in his 29th year of coaching and owns a career record of 531-276-5.

An eight-time Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year, Kendig has guided the Huskers to 12 conference championships and three straight regional championships from 2000 to 2002. He was most recently named the 2009 Big 12 Coach of the Year.

He has also led Nebraska to 14 NCAA Championship appearances in the past 17 seasons, including NCAA Super Six Finals appearances in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2011. 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 2011, Nebraska finished with a 22-12 overall record. The Huskers took fourth at the 2011 NCAA Championships in Cleveland, Ohio, in their 28th straight NCAA postseason appearance, which tied for the highest finish in school history. Five of Kendig's gymnasts --Lora Evenstad (FX), Brittany Skinner (BB), Janelle Giblin (V, AA), Jamie Schleppenbach (V) and Emily Wong (UB) -- earned All-America honors.

All-Americans Ready to Lead Huskers
The Huskers return six All-Americans off a squad that tied the best finish in school history a year ago. Lora Evenstad, Janelle Giblin, Kassandra Nathe, Brittany Skinner, Jamie Schleppenbach and Emily Wong have all earned All-America honors in their careers. In perhaps its deepest event, NU returns four All-Americans on vault, including 2011 first-team honorees Giblin and Schleppenbach. The Huskers return three All-Americans on uneven bars and All-American on both floor and beam.

Miller, Brink Join Coaching Staff
Assistant coaches Dan Miller and Heather Brink began their college coaching careers when the Huskers took Denver after being hired this offseason. Brink will coach the balance beam, while also assisting with choreography on the floor exercises. Brink was an 11-time All-American at NU and became a two-time national champion in 2000 by winning the all-around and vault title as a senior.

Miller comes to Nebraska after serving as the owner and head coach at Arena Gymnastics in Joliet, Ill. Miller will coach the Husker vault and floor squads. In his career, Miller has coached over 50 Level 10 gymnasts and 16 national qualifiers.