Huskers finish 2nd at B1G Five meet

The Husker women’s gymnastics team placed second behind Illinois at the Big Ten Big Five meet Saturday afternoon at the Devaney Center in Lincoln, NE. The meet featured No. 9 Nebraska, No. 13 Illinois, No. 25 Michigan State, Maryland and Ohio State. The top three teams move on to the Big Ten championship next Saturday in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Illinois won the meet with team score of 196.050. Nebraska was close behind in second with a score of 196.000. Ohio State and Michigan State tied for third with a score of 195.250. Maryland finished in fifth with a score of 194.875.

On the heels of two highly successful meet victories, the host Nebraska Cornhuskers had great confidence going into Saturday’s competition. NU faced Illinois two weeks ago in a tri-meet with San Jose State for one of those victories. It was the first time this season that Nebraska competed against Ohio State, Michigan State and Maryland.

Despite coming in second in the meet, Husker gymnasts were bright shining stars. Senior Jessie DeZiel took home the all-around crown with a 39.425 total score. She also earned the beam title with a career best-tying 9.925. Freshman Grace Williams and sophomore Ashley Lambert continued Husker vault dominance, sharing the title with a 9.90.

For the third time in 3 weeks, Hollie Blanske flipped her way to the floor crown with a meet high score of 9.875. The only event the Huskers did not win was on bars. Giana O’Connor of Illinios won bars with a 9.90 score.

Huskers first rotation was on the uneven parallel bars. Bad news hit the Husker’s doorstep immediately. Senior Desire’ Stephens and freshman Danielle Breen both suffered falls from the bars during their routines. With low scores of 8.375 and 8.95, the Huskers were a bit rattled. Freshman Grace Williams got NU back on track with her bars score of 9.850. The high score for the Huskers came from Senior Jessie DeZiel who earned a score of 9.875. With a total team score of 48.275, Nebraska was under pressure to bring stellar performances in the rest of the events.

Nebraska moved to the beam in the 2ned rotation. This event hasn’t been their strong suit all season but the squad performed beautifully. Once again, DeZiel had the high score for the Huskers with a 9.925. A total team score of 49.425 in this event helped Nebraska make up some ground in the points count.

With renewed confidence, the Big Red moved to floor exercise. Although the Huskers were consistent, their routines did not produce top scores. Husker Hollie Blanske garnered the highest score for the Huskers of 9.875 with her near perfect routine. Total team score for this event was 48.950.

Ashley Lambert

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As one of the top vaulting teams in the nation, Nebraska was hoping their vaulting performances would put them over the top to win the meet. Ashley Lambert, who scored two perfect “10’s” earlier this season had a near perfect routine scoring 9.90. NU freshman Grace William also had a 9.90 on her vaulting pass. The vault team score was 49.350 but not enough to overtake Illinois to win the meet crown.

Since the beginning of the season in January, Husker women’s gymnastics coach Dan Kendig has had great faith in his squad. While the 2015 team is smaller in number than last season, they have great depth in talent. Coach Kendig has stated on many occasions that for his Huskers to be successful, they would need a team score on each event of 49 points or higher. When they have not won a meet crown this season, it was because they failed to achieve that score. That was true on Saturday afternoon.

Huskers move to post-season competition next weekend at the Big Ten Championships hosted by Michigan in Ann Arbor. They will compete in the Saturday, March 21st evening session which is scheduled to begin about 3:30pm (CDT). You can follow the Huskers on BTN who will have LIVE coverage all day. Last year, Nebraska placed second overall in the championships behind Michigan. Can they improve upon that this season?? Stay tuned for further updates and as always, GO BIG RED!!