Huskers To Take On Michigan in Top-20 Matchup

Lincoln, Neb. -- The No. 17 Nebraska women's gymnastics team returns to the Bob Devaney Sports Center for a top-20 Big Ten Conference dual meet with the No. 8 Michigan Wolverines. The meet will take place on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 6 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN2

The Huskers are coming off of a Big Ten Conference victory at Michigan State on Jan. 26. Nebraska set a season-high overall team score and season-high team scores on vault, bars and beam to take a 197.100-196.550 victory in East Lansing. Sophomore Adnerys De Jesus won the all-around title with a score of 39.450 and shared the vault title with junior Anika Dujakovich as both recorded career-high scores of 9.95. Junior Megan Verceles Carr won the balance beam title with a career-high score of 9.95

Nebraska is currently ranked No. 17 in the Road To Nationals poll, as well as No. 7 on vault and floor exercise. NU enters the meet with a 3-1 record and 2-0 against Big Ten Conference opponents.

Michigan enters the meet atop the Big Ten Conference with a 4-0 record and a 2-0 conference record. The Wolverines are coming off a 197.300-192.950 victory at home against Rutgers on Jan. 24. Michigan is currently tied at No. 8 in the country.

Senior Taylor Houchin ranks No. 2 in the country on vault with an average score of 9.913 and a season-high of 9.975 on the event. 

Following Nebraska's matchup with Michigan the Huskers will take on Maryland in another Big Ten Conference dual. The meet will take place on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

Fans are encouraged to come early as the first 450 fans through the doors will receive a color changing cup.

Season tickets for 2020 are still available. General admission season tickets are $26 for adult general admission and $14 dollars for youth and senior general admission. Single event tickets are $5 for adult general admission, and $3 for youth and senior general admission. Children six and under may attend the meet for free, as well as NU students with N-card. Tickets include access to both men's and women's gymnastics meets.

Fans can follow the Huskers on Twitter at @HuskersWGym, Instagram at @HuskersWGymnastic and Facebook at facebook.com/NebraskaWGym

NOTES:

SCOUTING MICHIGAN
Michigan has gotten off to a strong start to the 2020 season, as the Wolverines bring a 4-0 record to Lincoln. Michigan sits atop the Big Ten standings, having won both of its conference matchups. The No.8 ranked Wolverines will look to extend their all-time series lead of 26-28-1 against the Huskers under 31st year head coach Bev Plocki. 

HUSKERS SHINE ON VAULT AND FLOOR EXERCISE
Nebraska is ranked No. 7 in the nation on both vault and floor exercise. On vault, NU holds an average team score of 49.144, while senior Taylor Houchin ranks No. 2 individually with an average score of 9.913. On the floor, the Huskers have a 49.256 average score. Senior Sierra Hassel is ranked No. 14 in the country on floor with an average score of 9.906 with a high of 9.95.

NU RANKED NO. 17 IN THE NATION
Nebraska is currently ranked No. 17 in the Road To Nationals poll, as well as No. 7 on both vault and floor exercise. NU's No. 17 ranking and 196.056 average team score is third in the Big Ten Conference, behind Michigan and Minnesota who are tied at No. 8.

VERCELES CARR NAMED BIG TEN EVENT SPECIALIST OF THE WEEK
Junior Megan Verceles Carr was named Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week by the conference on Jan. 28. Hassel won the balance beam event title at Michigan State with a career-high score of 9.95 on Jan. 26. She also recorded a score of 9.875 on uneven bars, which placed her on the podium for the event. This is the first time she has been honored as Specialist of the Week and she is the second Husker to receive the honor after Sierra Hassel on Jan. 14.

HUSKERS PICKED THIRD IN BIG TEN PRESEASON POLL
Nebraska was selected third in the Big Ten preseason coaches' poll ahead of the 2020 season. In 2019, NU finished third in the Big Ten regular season standings behind Michigan and Minnesota, who place above NU in the preseason poll. Ohio State and Iowa round out the top five. 

STRONG SCHEDULE IN 2020
NU will face seven teams ranked in the national preseason coaches' poll top 25 in 2020, including meets with No. 6 Michigan, No. 7 Denver, No. 14 Minnesota, No. 16 Missouri, No. 23 BYU, No. 24 Ohio State and No. 25 Penn State.

HOUCHIN, DE JESUS NAMED GYMNASTS TO WATCH
The conference announced that senior Taylor Houchin and sophomore Adnerys De Jesus were selected as Big Ten Women's Gymnasts to watch for the 2020 season. Houchin was named a NACGC/W regular reason second-team All-American on uneven bars and was selected as a first-team All-Big Ten honoree in 2019. De Jesus was named a second-team All-Big Ten pick after an impressive freshman season in 2019. 

UP NEXT
Following Nebraska's matchup with Michigan the Huskers will take on Maryland in another Big Ten Conference dual. The meet will take place on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

STRONG SENIOR CLASS LEADS HUSKERS
The Huskers welcome back two standout seniors, All-American and WCGA Academic All-American Taylor Houchin and First-Team All-Big Ten and WCGA Academic All-American Sierra Hassel. Houchin concluded the 2019 campaign with solo competition at the NCAA Nationals in Fort Worth, Texas after tying her career high on vault with a 9.975 at the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional. Hassel is coming off a career high year as well where she posted career highs on balance beam and floor exercise with scores of 9.975 and 9.925, respectively. NU will rely heavily on their two veteran seniors throughout the 2020 season.

HUSKERS INTRODUCE TRIO OF 2020 SIGNEES
Head Coach Heather Brink announced the signing of three future Husker gymnasts to the 2020 women's gymnastics signing class. Caroline Williams (Roswell, GA), Chloe Lorange (Laval, Quebec) and Kinsey Davis (Cornelius, NC) have signed their letters of intent and will join the roster for Nebraska women's gymnastics' 2021 season.

CORNHUSKERS GROW ACROSS UNITED STATES AND BEYOND
Nebraska features gymnasts from 10 states: California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey and Texas. The Huskers also welcome their first international gymnast since 2011, Clara Colombo of Italy. Colombo will become the first Italian-born gymnast to compete in NCAA competition.

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 February of 2020.