Nebraska Open 2020 Season with Meets in Utah

No. 15 Nebraska Cornhuskers (0-0, 0-0 Big Ten) vs. No. 23 BYU Cougars (0-0, 0-0 MRGC)
Monday, Jan. 6, 6:30 p.m. CT -- Provo, Utah (Marriott Center)
Live Scores: BYUCougars.com
Stream: BYUtv.org (Paid Subscription)

No. 15 Nebraska Cornhuskers (0-0, 0-0 Big Ten) vs. Southern Utah Thunderbirds (0-0, 0-0 MRGC)
Thursday, Jan. 9, 1 p.m. CT -- Cedar City, Utah (America First Event Center)
Live Scores: SUUTBirds.com

The Nebraska women's gymnastics team will start the 2020 season on the road for a pair of meets in Utah. The Huskers will travel to Provo, Utah to face off with the No. 23 BYU Cougars on Monday, Jan. 6 before heading to Cedar City, Utah for a meet against Southern Utah on Thursday,  Jan. 9.

The Huskers were chosen No. 15 in the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) preseason coaches' poll, and were selected third in the Big Ten Conference preseason coaches' poll. Senior Taylor Houchin and sophomore Adnerys De Jesus were named to the Big Ten Gymnastics to Watch list. 

Returning 10 letter winners from last year's team, the Huskers will look to build upon the foundation set from last season. Nebraska finished No. 14 in the country under first-year head coach Heather Brink and reached a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional.

NU starts off the season against two programs from the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference (MRGC). BYU and Southern Utah both will begin their respective seasons against the Huskers. 

Following the Huskers' trip to Utah, Nebraska will return for its home opener against No. 25 Penn State on Jan. 16 at 6 p.m. CT. Penn State will also be NU's first Big Ten Conference opponent of 2020.

Season tickets are now on sale. 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 @HuskersWGymnastics and Facebook at facebook.com/NebraskaWGym

Notes:

SCOUTING BYU
BYU opens its season against NU as the No. 23 ranked team in the country according to the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) preseason coaches' poll. The Cougars finished the 2019 season as the No. 21 ranked program in the country under head coach Guard Young. This will be the first meeting between Nebraska and BYU since April 5, 2014 at the NCAA Seattle Regional and the first dual meet between the programs since March 13, 2000. 

SCOUTING SOUTHERN UTAH
Southern Utah enters the 2020 season as the No. 26 ranked program in the country according to the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) preseason coaches' poll. The Thunderbirds are led by head coach Scott Bauman, who enters his 29th season at the helm of Southern Utah's program. Last season, the Huskers defeated the Thunderbirds at home last season by a score of 196.825-195.050. 

SEASON-OPENING SUCCESS
Nebraska owns a stellar 75-23-1 record in season-opening meets. The Huskers have been victorious in five of their last six season-opening meets defeating a total of six teams in the process, including a 195.55-195.05 win over Penn State in 2018
 
NEBRASKA OPENS SEASON RANKED NO. 15
Nebraska will enter the season as the No. 15 ranked program in the country, as decided by the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) preseason coaches' poll. Nebraska is one of five Big Ten Conference programs ranked within the top 25, along with No. 6 Michigan, No. 14 Minnesota, No. 24 Ohio State and No. 25 Penn State. 

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
Nebraska will return to the Bob Devaney Sports Center for its season opener on Thursday, Jan. 16. The Huskers will compete against No. 25 Penn State, who will be NU's first Big Ten Conference opponent. The meet will be broadcast on ESPN2.

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 January of 2020.