Huskers Return Home for Pink Meet

No. 18 Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-3, 3-2 Big Ten) vs. Southern Utah (4-3, 2-2 MRGC)
Saturday, March 2, 7 p.m. CT -- Lincoln, Neb. (Bob Devaney Sports Center) [7,907]

Live Scores: Huskers.com
Live Video: Huskers.com
Giveaway: 750 Pink Meet Shirts.

Pink Meet - Fans are encouraged to wear pink along with the Huskers for breast cancer awareness.

Huskers Return Home for Pink Meet

Lincoln, Neb. -- The No. 18 Nebraska women's gymnastics team returns home for a non-conference meet against Southern Utah on Saturday, March 2 at 7 p.m. CT at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Fans are encouraged to wear pink along with the Huskers for breast cancer awareness, 750 pink meet t-shirts will be given away to the first fans through the doors.

Nebraska is coming off of a second place finish in Toledo, Ohio where the team participated in the Elevate the Stage B1G Five meet. The Huskers were part of the first session which featured Penn State, Iowa, Michigan State and Maryland.  Nebraska would go on to finish second out of the five teams with a score of 195.900. Iowa took first with a score of 196.450, Penn State third with a score of 195.700, Maryland fourth with a score of 195.500 and Michigan State fifth with a score of 194.525. Junior Taylor Houchin took home a share of the uneven bars event title, her fourth uneven bars title on the year and eleventh overall. 

The Huskers slipped back a few spots in this week's Road to Nationals poll, previously ranked No. 15, and are currently sitting at No. 18 with a RQS of 196.015. 

SCOUTING THE THUNDERBIRDS Southern Utah comes to Lincoln with an overall record of 4-3 and are 2-2 in conference competition. Southern Utah currently has not competed in enough road meets to qualify for a RQS. The Thunderbirds are coming off of an upset win over No. 17 BYU last weekend, defeating the Cougars 196.000-195.650. In that meet, they posted a season high team score on floor, 49.175. 

SERIES HISTORY Nebraska leads the all-time series against the Thunderbirds, 7-0. The last meeting came in 2012 where the Huskers defeated Southern Utah 196.550-191.900.

LAST TIME OUT Nebraska headed north to Toledo, Ohio to participate in the Elevate the Stage B1G Five meet. The Huskers were part of the first session which featured Penn State, Iowa, Michigan State and Maryland.  Nebraska would go on to finish second out of the five teams with a score of 195.900. Iowa took first with a score of 196.450, Penn State third with a score of 195.700, Maryland fourth with a score of 195.500 and Michigan State fifth with a score of 194.525. Junior Taylor Houchin took home a share of the uneven bars event title, her fourth uneven bars title on the year and eleventh overall. 

UP NEXT The Huskers will hit the road for a quad meet between No. 6 Denver, No. 21 Arizona State and Pittsburgh on Sunday, March 10 at 3 p.m. CT before returning home to host the 30th annual Masters Classic featuring No. 13 Boise State, No. 10 Kentucky and Illinois State on Saturday, March 16 at 7 p.m.

HUSKERS RANKED TOP 20 IN ALL EVENTS The Huskers are ranked top 20 in the nation on all four events in the most recent Road to Nationals ranking. On vault, the Huskers are sitting at No. 17 with an average score of 48.909 and a high of 49.375. On uneven bars, the team is ranked 20th with an average of 49.028 and a high of 49.425. On balance beam and floor exercise, NU is ranked 16th with an average score of 48.956 and a high of 49.250 on balance beam and an average score of 49.072 and a high of 49.500 on floor exercise. 

BRINK NAMED WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS HEAD COACH Heather Brink, a Nebraska graduate, national championship gymnast and Lincoln native, has been named the permanent head coach of the Husker women’s gymnastics program on Friday, Feb. 1, 2019. Brink has served as the Interim Head Coach for the Huskers since mid-October and has led the Husker women to a strong start to the 2019 season. She is just the fifth head coach in the history of the Nebraska women’s gymnastics program. Her selection as head coach continues a long association with Nebraska gymnastics for the Lincoln native. Brink is in her eighth season overall on the Nebraska coaching staff, after serving as an assistant coach for the 2012 through 2015 seasons, and holding the position of associate head coach from 2016 to 2018. With Brink as an assistant coach the past seven seasons, Nebraska finished either first or second in the Big Ten five times and reached the NCAA Super Six finals in 2014 and 2018. During Brink’s time on staff, 11 Nebraska gymnasts have earned a combined 41 All-America awards, including Taylor Houchin and Grace Williams in 2018. Brink was an 11-time All-America gymnast at Nebraska from 1997 to 2000. Brink permanently etched her name in the Nebraska record books by winning two national titles at the 2000 NCAA Championships. Brink was the first Husker woman gymnast to win an NCAA all-around national title and the second to win a vault national title, leading the Huskers to a fourth-place national finish in 2000. She also finished her career with six regional titles and eight conference crowns. Brink was selected as the 2000 Honda Award winner, representing the nation’s top female collegiate gymnast. She became the first Husker gymnast to score a 10.0, and recorded three perfect scores during her senior season. Brink was inducted into the University of Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016. She is In her time as an assistant coach, Brink annually helped develop one of the nation’s most talented beam squads. She has played an important role in recruiting, program development and team building with the Huskers in her eight-year tenure.

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, First 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.