NU women's gymnastics sets opening record in first meet

It was a record-breaking team score and a stunning debut by a freshman that helped the Nebraska women's gymnastics team begin the 2012 season 1-0.

This past Friday the No. 6 Huskers defeated the Denver Pioneers, 197.375-195.225, in the squad's season opener at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

The Nebraska women crushed their previous opening-meet record of 196.55 set in 2004.

NU coach Dan Kendig said he was impressed with his team's debut performance.

"Wednesday, I came to practice not sure if we had a team to put on the floor today," he said. "But tonight we came out and competed as one. Momentum was on our side. We started out great and this is the best we've ever started."

The Wednesday prior to the meet, the squad was hit with news that junior Kassandra Nathe and freshman Desire' Stephens would not be able to perform due to injuries.

But the Huskers didn't let that bother them, as seven different gymnasts performed, including a premier performance by sophomore Deanna Barmore.

In her first career regular season start, Barmore kicked-off the meet with a vault score of 9.875. Kendig said her potent start led the team to a strong finish.

"Deanna started this whole thing on vault," he said. "She stepped up and gave us a good vault. When you give the team that good of a starting point, the rest of the team will score big."

The team finished the event with a 49.375 score, including a 9.925 performance by Janelle Giblin, who won the vault crown.

But the Husker rally would not stop there.

Giblin led the team with a career-high 9.90 performance on uneven bars, helping her capture her second crown of the night. The junior ended the evening in second place in the all-around with a score of 39.500.

Nebraska then moved to the balance beam which was conducted by sophomore Emily Wong. Wong took home the event crown when she hit a 9.925 score to preserve the Husker's lead against the Pioneers, 148.025-146.600, after three events.

The Huskers concluded the meet on floor and began the event with scores of 9.850 and 9.800 by Giblin and sophomore Jamie Schleppenbach.

But it was freshman Jessie DeZiel who secured the meet for the Huskers when she ended the night with a score of 9.925.

The freshman said she was happy to get her first college meet out of the way.

"It felt great and the team atmosphere is awesome here," she said. "We were all cheering for each other, getting upbeat and it was just fun being surrounded by all the excitement."

DeZiel took the spotlight as she won first place in the floor event and came in second in every other event, scoring a 9.875 on bars and beam, and a 9.90 in the vault event.

"When the flag went up, she was all business," Kendig said. "She is that talented and I'm hoping we get to see her this way the rest of the season."

The freshman from Rogers, Minn., also won the all-around with an impressive score of 39.575, the highest debut in school history.

DeZiel said it felt great winning the honor and knowing her coach felt confident in her performing in all the events.

"All of us train in all the events because if someone gets hurt, we know we have back up," she said. "It's a big accomplishment and I'm excited for the rest of the year."

On Jan. 16, DeZiel was named Big Ten's Gymnast of the Week and Freshman of the Week for her performance in the season opener.

Besides DeZiel and Giblin, Nebraska had three other gymnasts contribute in the All-Around, including sophomores Schleppenbach and Wong who tallied scores of 37.925 and 39.475.

Senior Lora Evenstad was the fifth to perform in all events and also finished with a score of 39.475, racking up at least a 9.850 in all her events.

Kendig said that it wasn't just the high numbers and records set from his team that he thought was positive from the meet.

"I think the fact that we could still be a little sore and perform at a high-level speaks volume," he said. "We made mistakes and still competed confidently. I know when they see the video they're going to be eager to head back into gym and practice.

"They're more critical on themselves than I am. We have a lot of work to do and this team's willing to make those adjustments to get better. I think we're off to a great start and we're excited."

NeduIzu@dailynebraskan.com