2025 Women's Gymnastics Season Review

The Nebraska women’s gymnastics team concluded its 2025 campaign with a fourth-place finish in Session II of the second round of the NCAA Championships.

The Huskers enjoyed numerous team accomplishments, including 19 new career-high scores and 33 individual event titles. The Big Red also had seven different gymnasts notch an event score of 9.900 or higher. Emma Spence became Nebraska’s first conference champion since 2019 with her 9.975 on bars.

Spence and Sophia McClelland earned First-Team All-Big Ten honors, while Emma Simpton and Whitney Jencks were both dubbed Second-Team All-Big Ten members. This marked the first time Nebraska received four All-Big Ten honors since 2020.

Outside of the gym, 14 gymnasts notched Academic All-Big Ten honors and 19 were named to the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll. The team also had 16 WCGA Scholastic All-Americans.

2025 Individual Titles
Lauren Homecillo

• Floor - 9.950 - vs. Maryland, 1/26/25

Whitney Jencks

• Bars- 9.900 - vs. Maryland, 1/26/25
• Bars- 9.900 - vs. Michigan State, 2/15/25
• All-Around- 39.350 - vs. New Hampshire, 3/8/25

Sophia McClelland

• Beam - 9.850 - at Illinois, 1/18/25
• Floor- 9.925 - at Illinois, 1/18/25
• All-Around - 39.375 - at Michigan, 2/9/25
• Floor- 9.875 - at Michigan, 2/9/25
• Floor - 9.925 - at Minnesota, 2/22/25
• Floor - 9.925 - vs. New Hampshire, 3/8/25
• Floor - 9.950 - vs. ISU/Temple/TWU, 3/15/25

Halle Rourke

• Floor- 9.900 - vs. Iowa, 2/1/25

Isabel Sikon

• Vault - 9.875 - at Minnesota, 2/22/25
• Beam - 9.850 - vs. New Hampshire, 3/8/25
  
  Emma Simpton
• Beam- 9.900 - at Minnesota, 2/22/25
• Bars- 9.900 - vs. New Hampshire, 3/8/25
• Beam- 9.925 - vs. ISU/Temple/TWU, 3/15/25

Emma Spence

• Bars - 9.900 - at Illinois, 1/18/25
• Vault- 9.825 - vs. Maryland, 1/26/25
• Beam- 9.900 - vs. Maryland, 1/26/25
• All-Around- 39.475 - vs. Maryland, 1/26/25
• Vault - 9.900 - vs. Iowa, 2/1/25
• All-Around- 39.425 - vs. Michigan State, 2/15/25
• Bars - 9.900 - vs. Michigan State, 2/15/25
• All-Around - 39.450 - at Minnesota, 2/22/25
• Vault- 9.900 - at Big Fours, 3/2/25
• Bars - 9.900 - vs. New Hampshire, 3/8/25
• Bars- 9.900 - ISU/Temple/TWU, 3/15/25
• Bars- 9.975 - at Big Tens, 3/21/25

Four Huskers Earn All-Big Ten Honors
Emma Spence, Sophia McClelland, Emma Simpton and Whitney Jencks were given All-Big Ten honors.

Spence and McClelland were named members of the All-Big Ten First Team, while Simpton and Jencks were named to the All-Big Ten Second Team.

This marked Spence’s third all-conference honor, as she was tabbed a First-Team All-Big Ten member in 2023 and 2024. McClelland also notched her third honor, being honored as Second-Team All-Big Ten in 2023 and 2024. Simpton and Jencks both received their first selection.

Spence, a Canada native, earned a career high on bars (9.975) at the Big Ten Championships, along with posting season highs of 9.900 or above in every event. She was named a Big Ten Gymnast of the Week on January 26 for her standout performance against Maryland, where she claimed three event titles and scored a season high on beam (9.900). The senior earned 12 event titles this season – three on vault, five on bars, one on beam and three in the all-around.

McClelland, a senior from Camarillo, Calif., was a mainstay in the Huskers’ lineup in 2025, competing in every meet and claiming seven event titles along the way – one on beam, five on floor and one in the all-around. She earned career highs of 9.950 on beam and 9.950 on floor.

Simpton was a consistent competitor on bars and beam for the Big Red, where she tied her career highs with a 9.900 on bars and a 9.925 on beam. The senior from Dallas, Texas grabbed two event titles on beam and one on bars this season and competed in both events in every meet this season, along with competing on floor in two meets.

Jencks stepped up for the Huskers in her sophomore season, competing in the all-around in every meet but one. The Madison, S.D., native notched four new career highs - vault (9.800), bars (9.900), floor (9.900) and the all-around (39.350). She also claimed six event titles, including four on bars and two in the all-around.

Spence and McClelland were named to the Big Ten Conference Championship Team, due to their performance in their respective events in the first session of the conference championships. Halle Rourke was selected as the 2025 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree for the Huskers.

Huskers Excel Academically

Fourteen Huskers earned Academic All-Big Ten honors – Katelyn Barth, Olivia Burns, Emalee Frost, Allie Gard, Genesis Gibson, Lauren Homecillo, Whitney Jencks, Katie Kuenemann, Sophia McClelland, Halle Rourke, Isabel Sikon, Emma Simpton, Emma Spence and Lucy Stanhope.

To make the Academic All-Big Ten Team, athletes must be on a varsity team, be enrolled full time at their institution, and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.

Academic Medallions
Fourteen gymnasts claimed Nebraska Academic Medallions for their accomplishments in the classroom. Katelyn Barth, Olivia Burns, Emalee Frost, Genesis Gibson, Lauren Homecillo, Halle Rourke, Isabel Sikon, Emma Spence and Lucy Stanhope all earned highest honors and a Nebraska Gold Academic Medallion.

Allie Gard and Whitney Jencks were given a Nebraska Silver Academic Medallion, while Ayzhia Hall, Katie Kuenemann, Sophia McClelland and Emma Simpton earned Nebraska Bronze Academic Medallions.

Barth, Homecillo Honored With Sam Foltz 27 Hero Leadership Award
Katelyn Barth and Lauren Homecillo were named Sam Foltz 27 Hero Leadership Award honorees at the Huskers’ annual Night at the Lied. The Sam Foltz 27 HERO Leadership Award, named in honor of late Husker punter Sam Foltz, awards student-athlete leaders from each varsity sport. The criteria for the HERO Award include exceptional leadership, consistent and dedicated community service, and positive influence on the team. Nominees are identified by the Life Skills staff with approval from the Academic staff and Head Coaches.

Entire Team Chosen for Tom Osborne Citizenship Team
For the third consecutive year, everyone on the Nebraska women’s gymnastics team was named a member of the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team.

The annual Tom Osborne Citizenship Team pays tribute to legendary Nebraska Head Football Coach and Athletic Director, Tom Osborne. Under Osborne, Nebraska was among the first institutions nationwide to implement a comprehensive Life Skills program. To be named to the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team, student-athletes must complete a minimum of six new service projects, and/or mentoring activities in the academic calendar year, while being in both good academic and athletic standing.