Huskers Host Illini for Big Ten Home Opener

No. 18 Nebraska Cornhuskers (2-1, 1-0 Big Ten) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (4-3, 1-0 Big Ten)

Saturday, Jan. 26, 7 p.m. CT -- Lincoln, Neb. (Bob Devaney Sports Center)

Live Scores: Huskers.com

Live Stream: Huskers.com

Giveaway: 1,000 white foam crowns

Huskers Host Illini for Big Ten Home Opener

Lincoln, Neb. -- The No. 18 Nebraska women's gymnastics (2-1, 1-0 Big Ten) team is set to host Illinois (4-3, 1-0 Big Ten) on Saturday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. 

The Huskers are coming off a win against Rutgers where they defeated the Scarlet Knights 194.850-194.325. In that meet, Nebraska stayed ahead of Rutgers through three rotations. Rutgers posted a better team score on floor exercise but just was not enough to best the Huskers. NU took home four event titles. Junior Taylor Houchin led the way winning the vault titles, uneven bars titles and the all-around title. Senior Megan Schweihofer took the balance beam event title. 

Nebraska is currently ranked No. 18 in the Road to Nationals poll as well as 28th on vault, 19th on uneven bars, 16th on balance beam and 20th on floor exercise. 

Illinois comes to Lincoln with an overall record of 4-3 and 1-0 in Big Ten competition defeating Maryland their last time out 195.075-194.950. In that meet, Big Ten gymnast to watch Rae Balthazor posted a 38.575 in the all-around as well as a 9.80 on vault and took home the vault event title. Illinois returns eight letter winners from last season and welcomes four freshmen to their program.

Fans are invited to show up early as 1,000 white foam crowns will be given away for the first 1,000 fans as part of royalty night. 

The Huskers will follow up this meet with a trip to defending Big Ten champion Michigan on Sunday, Feb. 3 at 3 p.m. with television coverage provided by ESPN before returning home for another televised Big Ten meet against Minnesota on ESPNU on Saturday, Feb. 9 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center at 5 p.m.

SCOUTING ILLINOIS Illinois comes to Lincoln with an overall record of 4-3 and 1-0 in Big Ten competition defeating Maryland their last time out 195.075-194.950. In that meet, Big Ten gymnast to watch Rae Balthazor posted a 38.575 in the all-around as well as a 9.80 on vault and took home the vault event title. Illinois returns eight letter winners from last season and welcomes four freshmen to their program.

SERIES HISTORY Nebraska leads the all time series against Illinois 24-6. Last season, Nebraska defeated Illinois three times with the last meeting coming at the Big Ten Championships where NU finished second in the field and Illinois finished third.

LAST TIME OUT NU defeated Rutgers 194.850-194.325 thanks in part to a season-high performance by Taylor Houchin who finished the all-around with a season-high 39.450 and took home three event titles including the all-around. Junior Kelli Chung made her collegiate debut as well anchoring for the Huskers on uneven bars and posting a score of 9.675. 

UP NEXT Nebraska will hit the road to take on defending Big Ten Champion Michigan for a nationally televised meet on Sunday, Feb. 3 with coverage provided by ESPN. 

HOUCHIN, SCHWEIHOFER EARN BIG TEN WEEKLY HONORS Senior Megan Schweihofer and junior Taylor Houchin have earned Big Ten Gymnasts of the Week honors on Jan. 22 announced by the conference. Houchin was named Big Ten Co-Gymnast of the Week after her stellar performance against Rutgers where she finished with a season-high 39.450 in the all-around. She also took home three event titles on vault, 9.80, uneven bars, 9.90 and in the all-around. This was the third straight meet where Houchin posted a score of 9.90 or higher on uneven bars as well as her third straight event title on bars. She also finished second on balance beam wtih a score of 9.85 and third on floor exercise with a score of 9.90. This is the first Gymnast of the Week honor for Houchin since the week of Feb. 27 in 2017. The last Nebraska Gymnast of the Week was Senior Sienna Crouse the week of Feb. 19, 2018. Schweihofer was named Event Specialist of the Week after her amazing performance on balance beam against Rutgers where she posted a score of 9.90, a season-high as well. She would go on to win the event title on balance beam, the fifth balance beam event title of her career and her first since Michigan last season where she finished with a score of 9.90 as well. This is Scwheihofer’s first Event Specialist of the Week honor. The last Nebraska Event Specialist of the Week was Houchin the week of March 6, 2018. Houchin will share Co-Gymnast of the Week honors with Lexy Ramler of Minnesota and Natalie Wojcik of Michigan earns her third straight Freshman of the Week honors.

HUSKERS PICKED SECOND IN BIG TEN Coaches around the conference have picked Nebraska second in the Big Ten for the sixth consecutive year in the annual Big Ten Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Since joining the conference before the 2012 season, Nebraska has been selected first or second in every preseason poll. The Huskers came in second last season in the Big Ten Championships to Michigan, who is on top of this year’s preseason poll. Illinois comes in third, while Ohio State and Minnesota round out the top five.

STRONG SCHEDULE IN 2019 NU will face 10 teams ranked in the national preseason coaches’ poll top 25 in 2019, including a trip to defending National Champion UCLA and meets with No. 9 Michigan, No. 10 Kentucky, No. 13 Denver, No. 15 Washington, No. 16 Boise State, No. 18 Ohio State, No. 20 Arizona State, No. 22 Illinois and No. 23 Minnesota. 

CROUSE, HOUCHIN NAMED GYMNASTS TO WATCH Senior Sienna Crouse was selected as one of the 2019 Gymnasts to watch by the Big Ten conference for the second straight year. Sienna Crouse earned first team honors on floor, and second team All-America honors on vault, adding to her first team All-America honors on vault in 2017 and was also first team All-Big Ten, Firs Team Big Ten All-Championships and Academic All-Big Ten last season. Junior Taylor Houchin also joins Crouse as a 2019 Gymnast to watch. Houchin earned first team All-American status on vault, and second-team honors on balance beam, last season, the first of her career. She was also named Big Ten vault co-champion, Second Team All-Big Ten and Academic All-Big Ten.

HUSKERS HOPE TO CONTINUE THEIR EMPIRE The Nebraska women’s gymnastics team finished sixth in the Super Six and returns 11 letter winners and three All-Americans from last season. The Husker squad selects a team motto each year, and in 2019 the gymnasts are Building Our Empire.

STRONG SENIOR CLASS LEADS HUSKERS Nebraska returns two strong seniors for the 2019 season in Sienna Crouse and Megan Schweihofer. A native of Fargo, N.D., Crouse returns as an All-American and one of the Huskers most consistent competitors primarily on vault and floor. Last season she posted the highest vault score by any individual competitor with a 9.9625 during Super Six Finals. Schweihofer is also a returning All-American on floor and is one of the top competitors for Nebraska. Last season, she earned nine event titles. 

TOUTED TRIO OF ALL-AMERICANS TO HELP HUSKERS Nebraska received a total of eight All-America honors in 2018. Graduated senior Grace Williams earned second team honors on balance beam and floor, the first of her career. Seniors Sienna Crouse and Megan Schweihofer earned first team honors on floor, and second team All-America honors on vault, and second team honors on floor and in the all-around respectively. Junior Taylor Houchin earned first team All-American status on vault, and second-team honors on balance beam, the first of her career. Nebraska’s eight All-American honors are the most since 2012, and the two first-team honors mark the first time since 2015 NU had multiple first-teamers.

HUSKERS WELCOME FORMER MPSF CHAMPION MIKE HEREDIA TO COACHING STAFF Mike Heredia joined the Nebraska coaching staff in July of 2018. Heredia was a student-athlete at Nebraska in 2010, competing on floor exercise and vault. He was a letter winner with the Cornhuskers before transferring to Oklahoma where he became an All-American on vault in 2012. As a Sooner he was also a 2012 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation champion and was part of a team that posted back-to-back NCAA runner-up finishes in 2011 and 2012. While in college, Heredia was a JO Levels 4-10 coach at various gyms including Gym Nevada and Bart Conner for nine season. After graduating, Heredia, joined the Iowa men’s gymnastics team asan assistant coach in 2013. In his one year there, he coached two All-Americans on rings as well as a Big Ten champion on rings. The Hawkeyes also had an All-American in the all-around. At the NCAA Championships, the Hawkeyes finished fifth - their highest finish since 2006. In 2013, Heredia would go on to build Fuzion Gymnastics from the ground up with his wife Jackie where he was co-owner and co-head coach for six years. During that time, Heredia would coach a 2016 JO national Floor Champion, as well as  two level 10 teams to state championships in girls and boys competition in 2018.  During his time with Fuzion Gymnastics, Heredia would graduate 14 athlets who would go on to compete in collegiate gymnastics at various schools including current sophomore, Anika Dujakovich.  Heredia and his wife Jackie have three girls; Norah, Rhyan and Graham and he will serve as bars, vault and floor coach for the Huskers.

HUSKERS INTRODUCE PAIR OF 2019 SIGNEES Interim Head Coach Heather Brink announced the signing of two future Nebraska gymnasts to the 2019 women’s gymnastics signing class. Kylie Piringer (Erya Ramsey, N.J.) and Kathryn Thaler (Katy, Texas) have signed their letters of intent and will join the roster for Nebraska women’s gymnastics’ 2020 season.

CORNHUSKERS GROW ACROSS UNITED STATES Nebraska features just one gymnast from Nebraska in sophomore Rachel Thompson on the 16-gymnast squad. The other 15 Huskers reign from 11 other states: California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, and New Jersey.

NEBRASKA BOARD OF REGENTS APPROVE NEW GYMNASTICS TRAINING FACILITY The University of Nebraska Board of Regents approved a proposal to build a new gymnastics training facility. The current plan calls for construction of the facility that will be used by Nebraska’s men’s and women’s programs as an addition to the northwest side of the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The facility will include training stations, coaches’ offices and locker rooms for both teams. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on September 28, 2018 with the project projected to be completed in January of 2020.