Huskers to Host Golden Gophers on ESPNU

No. 16 Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-2, 2-1 Big Ten) vs. No. 18 Minnesota Golden Gophers (5-2, 2-0 Big Ten)

Saturday, Feb. 9, 5 p.m. CT -- Lincoln, Neb. (Bob Devaney Sports Center) [7,907]

Live Scores: Huskers.com

TV: ESPNU

Giveaway: 1,000 "Building Our Empire" shirts

Huskers to Host Golden Gophers on ESPNU

Lincoln, Neb. -- The No. 16 Nebraska women's gymnastics team (3-2, 2-1 Big Ten) are set to host No. 18 Minnesota for a Big Ten duel on Saturday, Feb. 9 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center at 5 p.m. CT with television coverage provided by ESPNU.

Coming off of a loss to defending Big Ten Champions Michigan, the Huskers are looking to bounce back with a strong home performance. In that meet, Nebraska led for two rotations, including a new season high team score on vault, but Michigan powered through the last two rotations to come back. Senior Sienna Crouse took home the vault event title with a season-high 9.95. Freshman Adnerys De Jesus also had an impressive vault that went for a new career high, 9.925. Nebraska fell to the Wolverines 196.500-195.700. 

Minnesota comes to Lincoln with an overall record of 5-2 and is currently undefeated in Big Ten competition, 3-0. Their last meet was a win over Michigan State where they put up a team score of 196.725 defeating the Spartans. The Golden Gophers are currently ranked No. 18 in the Road to Nationals poll. They are currently ranked No. 20 on vault, No. 8 on uneven bars, No. 20 on balance beam and No. 28 on floor exercise. Sophomore Lexy Ramler will be the gymnast to watch on the Minnesota squad as she has been named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week four weeks in a row. She is currently ranked No. 9 in the individual all-around with an average of 39.535.

The Huskers currently lead the all-time series against the Golden Gophers 33-11-1. The last meeting between the two teams came last season when the Huskers hosted Minnesota and won 196.850-196.375 in a tight duel. 

Fans are encouraged to arrive early, as 1,000 t-shirts with the team's motto, "Building Our Empire", will be given away to the first fans through the doors. 

Nebraska will continue Big Ten competition with back to back road trips. First, the Huskers will head to Columbus, Ohio to take on the Buckeyes on Feb. 16 at 3 p.m. CT before traveling to Toledo, Ohio to compete in the Elevate the Stage competition featuring Iowa, Maryland, Penn State and Michigan State on Friday, Feb. 22 at 6 p.m.

SCOUTING MINNESOTA

Minnesota comes to Lincoln with an overall record of 5-2 and is currently undefeated in Big Ten competition, 3-0. Their last meet was a win over Michigan State where they put up a team score of 196.725 defeating the Spartans. The Golden Gophers are currently ranked No. 18 in the Road to Nationals poll. They are currently ranked No. 20 on vault, No. 8 on uneven bars, No. 20 on balance beam and No. 28 on floor exercise. Sophomore Lexy Ramler will be the gymnast to watch on the Minnesota squad as she has been named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week four weeks in a row. She is currently ranked No. 9 in the individual all-around with an average of 39.535.

 

SERIES HISTORY

The Huskers currently lead the all-time series against the Golden Gophers 33-11-1. The last meeting between the two teams came last season when the Huskers hosted Minnesota and won 196.850-196.375 in a tight duel. 

 

LAST TIME OUT

Last time out, Nebraska fell to defending Big Ten Champions Michigan. In that meet, the Huskers posted a season high on vault in the second rotation, however, it was not enough as Michigan pulled away in the third and fourth rotation to ultimately take the victory. Senior Sienna Crouse took home the vault event title after hitting with a score of 9.95, a new season high. Michigan would go on to win the rest of the event titles.

 

UP NEXT

Nebraska will continue Big Ten competition with back to back road trips. First, the Huskers will head to Columbus, Ohio to take on the Buckeyes on Feb. 16 at 3 p.m. CT before traveling to Toledo, Ohio to compete in the Elevate the Stage competition featuring Iowa, Maryland, Penn State and Michigan State on Friday, Feb. 22 at 6 p.m.

 

DE JESUS NABS BIG TEN CO-FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK HONORS

The freshman from Greenwich, Conn. is having a phenomenal season for the Huskers, especially on vault where she has set career highs in back to back weeks. Against Illinois, she had the best meet of her young career setting career highs in all three events she competed in; on vault, 9.90, as well as taking home her first career event title, on bars, 9.875 and on floor, 9.825. She would break that career high on vault against Michigan where she posted a score of 9.925 and was also feature on SportsCenters’ Top 10 Plays of the day for her vault, as well as finishing with scores of 9.70 on bars and 9.825 on floor, tying her career high.

She shares this honor with Colby Miller from Ohio State. Lexy Ramler of Minnesota earns Gymnast of the Week honors and Gabirella Douglas from Michigan State earns Event Specialist of the Week honors. The last Nebraska Freshman of the Week was Kynsee Roby the week of Jan. 16 last season.

 

BRINK NAMED WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS 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, 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 as an 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 athletes 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.