No. 6 Huskers Set for Road Meet vs. Utah

- Nebraska Head Coach: Dan Kendig (19th Year)
- Current Team Record: 10-2 (3-0 Big Ten)
- 2012 High Score: 197.375 (Denver, 1/13/12)
- 2011 NCAA Finish: 4th (196.725)

The No. 6 Nebraska women's gymnastics team will take on its third consecutive top 10 opponent this Friday, March 9, when they return to the competition floor against the No. 7 Utah Utes in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Huskers and Utes will begin action at 8 p.m. (CT) from the Huntsman Center.

Fans can view the meet for free at the link provided at the top of the page. Live scores will also be available at UtahUtes.cstv.com. Fans can also follow along on the Huskers' Twitter account at www.twitter.com/HuskersWGYM.

Nebraska owns a 10-2 record on the year and is 3-0 in Big Ten Conference competition. The Huskers have been especially impressive on the road, where they have tallied a perfect 6-0 record, including two victories over top-10 opponents in No. 5 Oklahoma and No. 7 Arkansas. The Huskers have two of the top all-arounders in the country in true freshman Jessie DeZiel and sophomore Emily Wong. DeZiel is ranked at No. 3 with a 39.475 RQS (regional qualifying score) and Wong isn't far behind at No. 4 with a 39.435.

The Utes are 7-1 on the season and are coming off a 196.575-195.600 victory over No. 9 Oregon State in their last meet. Utah is 5-0 at home this season.

After their meet with Utah, the Huskers will return to the Devaney Center for their last regular-season meet of the season against the Iowa State Cyclones on Friday, March 16 at 7 p.m. Seniors Lora Evenstad and Katelyn Busacker will be honored after the meet as part of Senior Night festivities.

Scouting the Competition: No. 7 Utah
- Co-Head Coaches: Greg Marsden and Megan Marsden
- 2012 Record: 7-1 (2-1 Pac-12)
- 2012 High Score: 197.55 (vs. Brigham Young, 1/27/12)
- 2011 NCAA Finish: 5th (196.500)

A Glance at the Utes...
- The Utes are ranked at No. 7 in the latest GymInfo Poll and are 7-1 on the season after their victory over No. 9 Oregon State in their last meet.
- Utah is ranked inside the top 10 in three out of four events nationally. The Utes are ranked at No. 6 on beam with an RQS of 49.130 and check in at No. 7 on vault with a 49.30. Utah is the No. 9 floor (49.160) team in the country, and are ranked at No. 14 on bars (48.985).
- Utah features two gymnasts ranked inside the top 25 in the all-around standings. Corrie Lothrop is the No. 11 all-arounder in the country with 39.325 RQS, while Stephanie McAllister is at No. 20 with a 39.190.
- Kailah Delaney is the only Ute ranked inside the top 10 on an individual event, checking in at No. 10 on the vault with an RQS of 9.905.
- Kyndal Robarts has won the past two Pac-12 Special Performance of the Week award for Utah, posting a career-high 9.975 on vault in their victory over Oregon State.
- Utah is coached by co-head coaches Greg Marsden and Megan Marsden. Greg is in his 37th season as head coach, while Megan is in her third year after spending 25 years as an assistant.

Husker History vs. Utah
The Huskers trail in the all-time series between the two schools, 40-11-2, but were able to win their last meeting at the 2011 NCAA Championships, 196.725-196.50. The Utes defeated the Huskers in their dual meet last season in Lincoln, Neb., 196.725-194.975.

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

Last Time Out: Huskers Edged by No. 1 Florida
The Nebraska women's gymnastics team won three of the four event titles and had two gymnasts tie for first place in the all-around in its 196.95-196.825 loss to the No. 1 Florida Gators on Sunday, March 4, at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in front of 2,472 fans.

Jessie DeZiel and Emily Wong both won the all-around with scores of 39.45, while also tying for the floor title. Janelle Giblin and Lora Evenstad posted 9.925s on bars to capture the event title and Jamie Schleppenbach and DeZiel won the vault title with a pair of 9.90s. The Huskers outscored the Gators on the vault, bars and floor as a team.

The Huskers opened strong on vault, recording six scores all above 9.85 to open up a 49.375-49.225 lead over the Gators. Evenstad, Giblin and Brittany Skinner all posted 9.85s, while Wong scored a 9.875 in the second spot. DeZiel and Schleppenbach finished the event with a pair of team-high 9.90s to lead NU.

Nebraska erupted for a season-high 49.35 on bars to hold onto its lead after two rotations. Three Huskers posted career-high scores on the event, including Evenstad and Giblin who put up a pair of 9.925s. Schleppenbach also put up a career-high with a 9.80. DeZiel and Wong were equally as impressive, each scoring a 9.85 as the Huskers were prefect through two events.

On beam, Wong led NU with a 9.85 in the fifth spot and helped the Huskers hold a slight lead in the team score, 147.675-147.625, through three events. Lauer posted a 9.825 in the opening routine, and was followed by Giblin and DeZiel, who put up a 9.725 and 9.825, respectively. Schleppenbach closed the event with a 9.725.

In their last event, the Huskers posted a 49.15 on the floor to help them finish with a 196.825 team score, just short of Florida's 196.95. Schleppenbach and Giblin led off with a pair of 9.825s, while Wong and DeZiel each posted a team-high score of 9.875. Evenstad closed the meet off with a 9.75.

Lauer Steps Up Big for Huskers on Beam
Jennifer Lauer has stepped up in a big way to help the Huskers find consistency on beam. The true freshman led off for NU against Florida and posted a 9.825 and was instrumental in the Huskers' victory over Arkansas two weeks ago, when she led the event off with a career-high 9.875. Lauer has competed on beam the last three meets, posting a 9.75 in Nebraska's win against Minnesota on Feb. 18. Nebraska will continue to look to the Sioux City, Iowa, native to make an impact in her first season.

DeZiel's Claims Big Ten Freshman of the Week
True freshman gymnast Jessie DeZiel was awarded with the Big Ten Freshman of the Week award on Monday, March 5, a day after tying for first place in the all-around in Nebraska's loss to No. 1 Florida. The Rogers, Minn., native has now won seven Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards and nine individual conference honors after capturing Gymnast of the Week on Jan. 16 and Feb. 20.

DeZiel won two event titles on vault (9.90) and floor (9.875) en route to scoring a 39.45 in the all-around, which tied her with fellow Husker Emily Wong for the top spot. It was the sixth time this season DeZiel has won the all-around. DeZiel finished the in sixth place on both bars (9.85) and beam (9.825), while helping the Huskers post a season-best 49.35 on the bars.

The Big Ten's Co-Gymnast of the Week award was shared by Ohio State's Sarah Miller and Penn State's Sharaya Musser.

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 seven meets which has helped her capture seven event titles. Giblin posted a career-high 9.925 against the Florida Gators and helped NU score a season-best 49.35 on the event. She is currently the No. 3 bars performer in the country with an RQS of 9.895.

Huskers in the Rankings
The Huskers remained at No. 6 in the latest GymInfo national women's gymnastics rankings, which were released on Monday, March 5. The Huskers are the only Big Ten squad in the top 10 and sport a regional qualifying score of 196.795.

The Huskers are ranked inside the top 15 on all four events as a team and feature two all-arounders ranked inside the top 5. On vault, NU checks in at No. 3 with an RQS of 49.38 and is No. 6 on bars (49.225) and floor (49.180). The Huskers continue to climb the rankings on beam (48.98), where they are currently at No. 12.

True freshman Jessie DeZiel and sophomore Emily Wong are two of the top all-around performers in the country. DeZiel is currently ranked as the No. 3 all-arounder in the nation with a 39.475 RQS, while Wong isn't far behind at No. 4 with a 39.435. The Huskers are one of only two teams with two all-around performers ranked inside the top 10. DeZiel ranks inside the top 15 on vault (10th, 9.905) and floor (11th, 9.885), while Wong is No. 14 on beam (9.865).

Junior Janelle Giblin continues to be one of the top bar performers in the country, where she is ranked at No. 3 in the latest rankings. Giblin, who won her seventh bars title of the year against Florida, has a 9.895 RQS. Senior Lora Evenstad ranks inside the top 10 on bars (4th, 9.89) and floor (5th, 9.90), while sophomore Jamie Schleppenbach cracked the rankings at No. 25 on vault with a 9.88.

Perfect on the Road, A Chance for History
The Huskers have a chance to do something no other team in school history has done before against Utah. With a victory, the Huskers would become the first team in school history to go undefeated when competing on the road. NU currently owns a 6-0 record in away meets and has defeated five ranked teams away from the Devaney Center.
Huskers Finding Consistency on Beam

After struggling on beam against the Missouri Tigers on Jan. 28, the Huskers have continued to improve on the event by posting a 49.00 or above in three of their last five meets. The Huskers have climbed back to No. 12 in the national beam rankings after falling to No. 25 after posting a 46.95 against the Tigers. Last week, NU posted a 48.95 against the Florida Gators.

The Huskers are led on beam by Jessie DeZiel and Emily Wong, who have won three and two titles on the event this season, respectively. DeZiel is ranked at No. 17 on the event with an RQS of 9.86, while Wong checks in at No. 14 with a 9.865.

Big Ten Network to Show Huskers
The Nebraska women's gymnastics team will appear on the Big Ten Network one more time during the regular season when the Huskers take on the Iowa State Cyclones on Friday, March 16 at 7 p.m. at the Devaney Center. The meet will air on tape delay on Saturday, March 17. The Huskers' victory over the Minnesota Gophers on Feb. 18 was the other meet to be televised this season.

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 Competing Against Nation's Best
Nebraska has faced off against some of the top teams in the country this season and Friday's meet will be no different. The Huskers meet against No. 7 Utah will mark the third straight opponent NU has competed against ranked inside the top 10. The Huskers defeated No. 5 Oklahoma and No. 7 Arkansas earlier this year, before falling to No. 1 Florida last weekend. NU owns a 6-2 record against ranked teams, including victories over No. 20 Denver, No. 25 Minnesota, No. 22 Michigan and No. 20 Washington.

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 426-165-4 overall and 289-68-2 in regular-season meets. Kendig is in his 29th year of coaching and owns a career record of 536-277-5.

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.