Huskers claimed their eighth Big 12 Conference title

[Eric the Red]

Nebraska Captures Big 12 Championship

 

Columbia, Mo. – The No. 7 Nebraska women’s gymnastics team posted a score of 196.475 to capture its eighth Big 12 Conference team title Saturday night at the University of Missouri’s Hearnes Center. The Huskers swept all five Big 12 individual event titles, including four crownsfrom Big 12 all-around champion Emily Parsons.

 

Nebraska improved to 19-4 on the season after defeating No. 10 Oklahoma (195.325), No. 18 Missouri (194.45) and No. 15 Iowa State (193.975).

 

Parsons was dominant for the Huskers, claiming four event crowns with wins on vault (9.95), beam (9.95), floor (9.90) and the all-around with a career-high 39.65. Parsons also tied her career best on bars with a 9.85 to finish third, and earned All-Big 12 awards on every event – just the second gymnast in Nebraska history to accomplish that feat.

 

Parsons was named Big 12 Co-Gymnast of the Year with Iowa State’s Janet Anson, while Nebraska head coach Dan Kendig was honored as Big 12 Coach of the Year for the seventh time in his 14 years at NU.

 

In addition, senior Michele Zabawa took the bars title with a season-high 9.90. The Omaha, Neb., native was the 2005 Big 12 bars champion and earned her third career All-Big 12 nod on the event.

 

Seven Huskers garnered a total of 11 all-conference honors, as Parsons led the way with five awards on vault, bars, beam, floor and the all-around. NU had six gymnasts earn one honor on each event: Zabawa (bars), senior Stephanie Carter (bars), juniors Desire’ Sniatynski (bars) and Brittney Williams (bars), sophomore Kylie Stone (vault) and freshman Kathryn Howard (beam).

 

Nebraska opened the meet on bars, where Zabawa set the pace with a season-high score of 9.90 to claim her second career conference bars title with Anson of ISU. Carter, Sniatynski, Parsons and Williams landed in a tie for fourth with matching scores of 9.85, which tied Carter and Parsons’ career bests. Stone added a 9.80, and NU finished with an event score of 49.30. After one rotation, Nebraska stood in first place over Oklahoma (49.00), Iowa State (48.40) and Missouri (48.90).

 

NU then moved on to beam and was led by Parsons’ winning score of 9.95. Howard took third-place honors with a career-high-tying 9.875, while Stone, Sniatynski and sophomore Tricia Woo posted matching marks of 9.70. Nebraska earned a rotation total of 48.925 and topped the standings with a 98.225, ahead of the Sooners (97.975), Cyclones (97.20) and Tigers (97.75) at the halfway point.

 

The Huskers continued on to the third rotation on floor, where Parsons was the team’s event leader with a 9.90 to secure her a share of the individual title with Oklahoma’s Brittney Koncak-Schumann. Stone’s performance earned her a fifth-place 9.85, and freshman Maria Scaffidi notched a 9.825 to finish seventh. Sniatynski added a 9.775, and Williams, in just her second floor appearance of the year, contributed a 9.575. NU finished floor with a 48.925, a running score of 147.15 and first-place standing over OU (146.50), ISU (146.075) and MU (146.45).

 

Nebraska capped the evening on vault, and Parsons walked away with her third event title with a 9.95. Stoned tallied a score of 9.875 to place fourth, while Carter and Zabawa followed up with a pair of 9.85s for fifth. Scaffidi added a 9.80, and the Huskers finished the rotation with a 49.325 event score and a 196.475 final team score to claim the Big 12 team championship.

 

Nebraska, which has won a total of 20 conference titles in school history, will await word regarding its journey to NCAA Regionals when the fields are announced on Monday, April 2.

 

Name Vault Bars Beam Floor All-Around

Stephanie Carter 9.85 9.85 9.275

Kathryn Howard 9.875

Sabrina Long

Vanessa Meloche

Molly Ohnoutka

Emily Parsons 9.95 9.85 9.95 9.90 39.65

Maria Scaffidi 9.80 9.825 39.025

Desire’ Sniatynski 9.70 9.85 9.70 9.775 39.225

Kylie Stone 9.875 9.80 9.70 9.85

Brittney Williams 9.85 9.575

Tricia Woo 9.70

Michele Zabawa 9.85 9.90 9.175

Team Scores Vault Bars Beam Floor Total

Nebraska 49.325 49.30 48.925 48.925 196.475

Oklahoma 48.975 48.525 48.825 49.00 195.325

Iowa State 48.90 48.85 48.40 48.00 194.45

Missouri 48.875 47.90 48.40 48.80 193.975

 

All-Around: 1. Emily Parsons, NU (39.65); 2. Janet Anson, ISU (39.55); 3. Kiara Redmond, OU (39.475); 4. Adrianne Perry, MU (39.45)

 

Vault: 1. Emily Parsons, NU (9.95); 2. Adrianne Perry, MU (9.90), Janet Anson, ISU (9.90); 4. Kylie Stone, NU (9.875)

 

Bars: 1. Michele Zabawa, NU (9.90), Janet Anson, ISU (9.90); 3. Kiara Redmond, OU (9.875); 4. Stephanie Carter, NU (9.85), Desire’ Sniatynski, NU (9.85), Emily Parsons, NU (9.85), Brittney Williams, NU (9.85), Adrianne Perry, MU (9.85), Alicia Hatcher, MU (9.85), Brittney Koncak-Schumann, OU (9.85), Ceilia Maccani, ISU (9.85), Katie Lasher, ISU (9.85)

 

Beam: 1. Emily Parsons, NU (9.95); 2. Kiara Redmond, OU (9.90); 3. Kathryn Howard, NU (9.875), Janet Anson, ISU (9.875)

 

Floor: 1. Emily Parsons, NU (9.90), Brittney Koncak-Schumann, OU (9.90); 3. Kiara Redmond, OU (9.875), Janet Anson, ISU (9.875)

[BIGREDIOWAN]

I always wanted to be with a gymnast just once!!!!