Huskers Travel to No. 7 Arkansas

The No. 9 Nebraska women's gymnastics team is set to return to the competition floor on Friday, Feb. 24 against the No. 7 Arkansas Razorbacks for its second straight road meet. The Huskers (9-1, 3-0 Big Ten) will take on the Razorbacks from Barnhill Arena in Fayetteville, Ark., starting at 7 p.m.

Live stats for the meet will be provided by the University of Arkansas at www.arkansasrazorbacks.com. A video stream will also be provided by Arkansas, but a subscription is required in order to view it.

The Huskers are coming off a solid performance against the Minnesota Gophers last Friday, where they posted their second-highest team score of the season with a 196.850. NU captured all four event titles and true freshman Jessie DeZiel won her fifth all-around title of the season after posting a 39.60.

The Huskers are perfect 5-0 on the road this season, including an upset over No. 5 Oklahoma on Feb. 3, where they scored a 196.750. Nebraska has also notched road victories against Iowa State, Minnesota (twice) and Centenary.

Following the Huskers' dual against the Razorbacks, NU will return to the Devaney Center for one of its two remaining home competitions against the No. 1 Florida Gators on Sunday, March 4 at 2 p.m.

Scouting the Competition: No. 7 Arkansas
- Co-Head Coaches: Mark Cook (10th Year) and Rene Cook (10th Year)
- 2012 Record: 7-4 (5-3 SEC)
- 2012 High Score: 197.225 (vs LSU, 1/20/12)
- 2011 NCAA Finish: T-9th (195.450)

A Glance at the Razorbacks...
- The No. 7 Arkansas Razorbacks are 7-4 on the season and 5-3 in Southeastern Conference competition. They are coming off a 197.65-196.125 loss to No. 6 Alabama in their last meet on Feb. 17.
- The Razorbacks rank inside the top 10 on all four events nationally, including being ranked at No. 5 on bars (49.206) and No. 6 on vault (49.275). The Razorbacks are ranked at No. 9 on both beam (48.925) and floor (49.094).
- Arkansas features two gymnasts inside the top 10 all-around rankings. Katherine Grable is the No. 6 all-arounder in the country with a 39.450 average and Jaime Pisani is ranked at No. 10 with an average of 39.391.
- Pisani is the No. 1 floor performer in the country with an average of 9.925. Pisani has held the top-spot for four consecutive weeks, which is a school record.
- Arkansas is coached by Mark and Rene Cook, who are both in their 10th seasons as head coaches of the Razorbacks. The Cook's became co-head coaches after the gymnastics program was created in 2003.
- The Huskers have never lost to the Razorbacks, owning a perfect 4-0 record against them. The Huskers last competed against Arkansas in 2007, when NU came out with the 195.20-192.80 victory.

Nebraska's Competition Order at Arkansas
Rotation            Nebraska             Arkansas
1.                     Uneven Bars         Vault
2.                     Vault                    Uneven Bars
3.                     Floor Exercise       Balance Beam
4.                     Balance Beam       Floor Exercise

Last Time Out: Huskers Take Down Minnesota
True freshman Jessie DeZiel won three event titles and captured the all-around crown as the No. 9 Nebraska women's gymnastics team defeated the Minnesota Gophers, 196.850-196.150, on Saturday, Feb. 18, in Minneapolis, Minn.

DeZiel, who was performing in her home state of Minnesota, posted a 9.85 or above on all four events en route to winning the vault, beam and floor titles. DeZiel won her fifth all-around crown of the season with a 39.60, which is a career high and the highest all-around score for NU since Emily Parsons posted 39.65 in 2007. She was joined by junior Janelle Giblin, who tied her for the vault title with a 9.95. Giblin also tied senior Lora Evenstad for the bars title with a 9.90. The Huskers had the top three all-arounders of the meet, with Emily Wong finishing in second with a 39.425 and Giblin in third with a 39.375.

As a team, the Huskers posted a 49.00 or above on all four events for the fourth time this season, including a 49.575 on the vault, which is tied for the sixth highest score in school history.

The Huskers jumped out to a 49.225-49.050 lead after their first rotation on the bars. Wong led the event off with a 9.80 and was followed by sophomore Jamie Schleppenbach, who tied her career high for the second straight week with a 9.775. DeZiel posted a 9.85, before Giblin and Evenstad finished the event off with back-to-back 9.90s to capture the event title. Giblin has now posted five 9.90 scores this season, which is a career high, while Evenstad's score was a season high.

Nebraska carried its momentum into vault by posting the sixth-highest score in school history with a 49.575. DeZiel and Giblin both scored career-high 9.95s to lead NU, while Wong also tallied a career high 9.925. Schleppenbach scored a 9.90 and Brittany Skinner was rewarded with a 9.85 to round out the scores.

Nebraska's performance on vault gave them the lead after two rotations and they were able to keep the lead after scoring a 49.00 on the floor in the third rotation. DeZiel continued her impressive night by leading NU on the floor with a 9.90, while Wong scored a 9.825. True freshman Jennifer Lauer finished the event for the Huskers by putting up a 9.80 to tie a career high. Schleppenbach led the Huskers off on the event with a 9.675 and Giblin scored a 9.80.

DeZiel won her third event title of the night on the beam to hold off a late charge from the Gophers. The Rogers, Minn., native scored a 9.90 to lead NU, while Wong and Skinner scored a 9.875 and 9.80, respectively. Lauer competed for the first time on the beam and scored a 9.75 and Giblin put up a 9.725 to guide the Huskers to victory.

Big Ten Honors DeZiel with Pair of Awards
Jessie DeZiel was named the Big Ten Co-Gymnast of the Week, along with collecting her sixth consecutive Big Ten Freshman of the Week award, after the conference announced its weekly honors on Monday, Feb. 20. DeZiel led the Huskers in their 196.850-196.150 road victory over the Minnesota Gophers on Saturday, Feb. 18. DeZiel has now been named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week two times this season after earning her first award on Jan. 16.

DeZiel won her fifth all-around competition of the year after scoring a 39.60 against the Gophers. Performing in her home state of Minnesota, DeZiel captured event titles on vault (9.95), beam (9.90) and floor (9.90). DeZiel's all-around score was the highest for Nebraska gymnast since Emily Parsons posted a 39.65 in 2007. DeZiel's 9.95 score on vault, a career high, helped NU post a 49.575, which tied for the sixth-highest vault score in school history.

Giblin Dominating on Bars
Junior Janelle Giblin has been dominant on the uneven bars so far this season, scoring a 9.85 or above in all six meets. Giblin has posted five 9.90s to help her earn five event titles. She is currently the No. 1 bars performer in the country with an average of 9.892. Entering this season, Giblin's career high was 9.875.

Huskers in the Rankings
The Huskers were well represented in the latest GymInfo national rankings, which were released on Monday, Feb. 20. The Huskers are one of only three schools, along with Utah and Oklahoma, that are ranked inside the top five in three individual events, while checking in at No. 9 overall as a team.

Nebraska's strongest event halfway through the season has been vault, where they are ranked at No. 3 in the country and average 49.371. NU received a boost in its vault average after erupting with a 49.575 in its last meet against Minnesota, which tied for the sixth-highest score in school history. The Huskers also sport the No. 4 floor and bars teams in the country. NU has scored higher than a 49.00 in all but one of its meets this season on floor to help them average a 49.158, while posting a 49.208 average on bars.

Individually, the Huskers sport three all-around competitors ranked inside the top 25, including true freshman Jessie DeZiel, who is at No. 5 with a 39.483 average. Senior Lora Evenstad sits at No. 14 with a 39.44 average and sophomore Emily Wong is at No. 18 with an average of 39.30. DeZiel, one of the top freshmen in the country, is ranked at No. 7 on vault (9.904) and beam (9.863), while sitting just outside the top 10 on floor (9.875) at No. 11.

The Huskers are one of only two school's with three all-arounders ranked inside the top 25 nationally, joining current No. 1 Florida.

Janelle Giblin holds the top spot in the bars rankings with an average of 9.892. The San Ramon, Calif., native has won five bars titles this season and scored a 9.90 in every meet this besides one. Giblin is also ranked No. 2 on the vault, with an average of 9.933. She won her third vault title of the season against Minnesota, scoring a 9.95.

On floor, Evenstad is the No. 2 ranked performer with an average of 9.905. The senior has won three floor titles this season and scored above a 9.90 in every meet, including a season-high 9.925 against Oklahoma, Minnesota and Centenary. Evenstad also ranks No. 9 on the bars.

Big Ten Network to Show Huskers
The Big Ten Network will show the Huskers victory against Minnesota last Saturday on Friday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m., while the Huskers meet with Iowa State in Lincoln on Friday, March 16, will also air on BTN on tape delay basis 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.

Top Floor Performers to Compete
Senior Lora Evenstad has been one of the top performers in the country on floor this season. The Grand Forks, N.D., native is ranked at No. 2 in the country on the event with an average of 9.905, sitting behind No.1 Jamie Pisani from Arkansas, who owns a 9.925 average.

Evenstad set her career-high earlier this season with a 9.925 and has won three event titles for NU. Evenstad is the only Husker ranked inside the top 10 nationally on floor, while Jessie DeZiel ranks just outside the top 10 at No. 11 with a 9.875 average.

Huskers Set to Take on Nation's Best
After their meet against Arkansas this weekend, the Huskers will have a pair of meets against teams currently ranked inside the top five nationally. The Huskers will return for a home meet against No. 1 Florida on Sunday, March 4 at 2 p.m. Nebraska will then travel to No. 1 Utah for its last regular-season away meet on Friday, March 9.

NU finishes its regular season at home against Iowa State on Friday, March 16 at the Devaney Center at 7 p.m.

Huskers Set to Host Alumni Weekend March 3-4
The Nebraska women's gymnastics program is hosting its annual Alumni Weekend on March 3-4, when the Huskers will take on the current-No. 1 Florida Gators. The Huskers will take on the Gators on Sunday, March 4 at 2 p.m. from the Devaney Center, while Alumni Weekend activities will take place on Saturday and Sunday leading up to the meet.

Former Huskers will have the chance to tour all of Nebraska's state-of-the-art facilities, including the new Hendricks Training Facility and the women's gymnastics gym at Mabel Lee Hall. Alumni will also have a chance to view a Husker practice on Saturday, before an alumni social event at 6:30 p.m. at The Nebraska Club.

A full schedule of events for the weekend is available at Huskers.com. To RSVP for the event, email assistant coach Heather Brink at hbrink@huskers.com.

Huskers Post Six All-Around Scores at Masters Classic
For the first time in his 18-plus seasons at Nebraska, Head Coach Dan Kendig had all six gymnasts compete in the all-around when the Huskers took on Washington, Michigan and Southern Utah at the Masters Classic on Feb. 11. Jessie DeZiel, Lora Evenstad, Janelle Giblin, Jamie Schleppenbach, Brittany Skinner and Emily Wong all competed in the all-around, while DeZiel took home the crown with a 39.45. Nebraska finished with the top three spots in the all-around, with Wong finishing in second with a 39.375 and Skinner taking home third place with a career-high 39.35.

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 425-164-4 overall and 288-67-2 in regular-season meets. Kendig is in his 29th year of coaching and owns a career record of 535-276-5.

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.

The Huskers will be without Nathe, who was lost before the season with an ankle injury. It is the second consecutive season Nathe has been lost to injury after sitting out last year with a hurt arm.

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.