Nebraska Cornhuskers women's gymnastics

The Nebraska Cornhuskers women's gymnastics team represents the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the Big Ten Conference. Since being established in 1975, the program has won 23 conference championships and qualified for the NCAA Championships 26 times. The Cornhuskers have had five individual national champions and 163 total All-Americans.

Nebraska Cornhuskers women's gymnastics
Founded1975
Head coachHeather Brink (1st season)
ConferenceBig Ten
LocationLincoln, Nebraska
Home arenaBob Devaney Sports Center (Capacity: 7,907)
ColorsScarlet and Cream[1]
         
Super Six appearances
1989, 1990, 1997, 1999–2003, 2005–07, 2011, 2014, 2018
NCAA Regional championships
1982, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
NCAA Tournament appearances
1982, 1983, 1987–90, 1995–97, 1999–2007, 2010–12, 2014–19
Conference championships
Big Eight: 1978–80, 1982, 1983, 1987–90, 1994–96

Big 12: 1997–99, 2001–03, 2005, 2007, 2011

Big Ten: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017

The team is coached by former all-around national champion Heather Brink.

History

The team was established in 1975, initially without a head coach. After the program's first season, Nebraska hired Karen Balke to lead a team of entirely freshmen and sophomores. Judy Schalk took over in 1977, leading the Huskers to five conference titles and an AIWA bid in six seasons as head coach. In 1983, Rick Walton was hired as head coach, and under his guidance the program won its first NCAA individual event title, when Michele Bryant came in first place on the vault in 1990. From 1987 to 1990, Walton captured four straight Big Eight titles, taking the Huskers to the NCAA Championships each year, including a program-best fourth-place national finish in 1989.

After the 1993 season, Walton left the program and the Cornhuskers hired Dan Kendig. In his first year, he led NU to a conference championship and was named Big Eight Coach of the Year. In 1997, the Huskers reached the Super Six Finals for the first time under the new NCAA Championship format, beating No. 1 Utah to claim the final spot. Kendig was named national coach of the year in 1999 after winning a sixth consecutive conference title. Before leaving for the Big Ten in 2011, the Huskers claimed more Big 12 gymnastics titles than any other program.[2]

In 2019, amid compliance issues, Kendig retired and assistant Heather Brink was named head coach.

Coaches

Coaching history
No. Coach Tenure Overall Accomplishments
1 Karen Balke19769–12 (.429)
2 Judy Schalk1977–83135–70–2 (.657)Big Eight champion (1978–80,1982,1983)
3 Rick Walton1984–93136–65 (.675)Big Eight champion (1987–90)
4 Dan Kendig1994–2018438–101–2 (.811)Big Eight champion (1994–96)
Big 12 champion (1997–99,2001–03,2005,2007,2011)
Big Ten regular season champion (2014,2017)
Big Ten Tournament champion (2012,2013)
5 Heather Brink2019–27–11 (.711)


Coaching staff
Name Position First year Alma mater
Heather BrinkHead coach2019Nebraska
Brian AmatoAssistant coach2020Portland State University
Robert LadanyiAssistant coach2019Romanian National School of Coaching

Awards

All-Americans

Nebraska has had 33 athletes earn 58 first-team All-American selections and 165 total All-American awards.

  • Patty Carmichael-Gerard – 1979
  • Renee Reisdorff – 1979
  • Tami Bair – 1989
  • Michele Bryant – 1989, 1990
  • Crystal Savage – 1989
  • Shelly Bartlett – 1997
  • Heather Brink – 1997, 1999, 2000
  • Misty Oxford – 1997
  • A.J. Lamb – 2000, 2002, 2003
  • Gina Bruce – 2001, 2003
  • Tami Harris – 2001
  • Alecia Ingram – 2001
  • Julie Houk – 2002, 2003
  • Jess Wertz – 2002
  • Richelle Simpson – 2003
  • Kristi Esposito – 2004, 2005
  • Libby Landgraf – 2004
  • Emily Parsons – 2005–08
  • Vanessa Meloche – 2006
  • Tricia Woo – 2006, 2007
  • Desire Sniatynski – 2008
  • Lora Evenstad – 2010, 2011
  • Brittany Skinner – 2010
  • Erin Davis – 2011
  • Janelle Giblin – 2011, 2012
  • Maria Scaffidi – 2011
  • Jamie Schleppenbach – 2011, 2014
  • Emily Wong – 2011–14
  • Jessie DeZiel – 2012, 2014, 2015
  • Hollie Blanske – 2014–16
  • Sienna Crouse – 2017, 2018
  • Taylor Houchin – 2018

Individual NCAA Champions
  • Michele Bryant – Vault (1990)
  • Heather Brink – All-Around (2000), Vault (2000)
  • Richelle Simpson – All-Around (2003), Floor Exercise (2003)

Results by season
Conference regular season champion Conference tournament champion
Year Coach Overall Conf.
Tournament		 Regional AIAW/NCAA
Tournament
Big Eight Conference (1976–1996)
1976Karen Balke11–215th10th
1977Judy Schalk18–72nd4th
197828–101st3rd
197929–21–31st2ndT–11th
198032–231st2nd16th
198113–223rd4th
198227–141st2nd8th
198324–251st1st10th
1984Rick Walton19–102nd
198514–102nd5th
198614–143rd6th
198718–201st4th10th
198818–191st3rd10th
198926–71st2nd4th
199030–61st2nd5th
199110–112nd6th
199212–112nd5th
199312–132nd7th
1994Dan Kendig17–81st4th
199525–91st2nd11th
199625–81st3rd10th
Big 12 Conference (1997–2011)
1997Dan Kendig28–11–11st3rd6th
199816–81st5th
199926–101st2nd6th
200036–92nd1st4th
200126–7–11st1stT–5th
200223–81st1st5th
200332–41st1st4th
200415–9–14th2nd10th
200521–131st2nd6th
200626–11–12nd2nd5th
200726–121st2nd6th
200813–94th3rd
200916–72nd3rd
201023–82nd2nd7th
201122–121st2nd4th
Big Ten Conference (2012–Present)
2012Dan Kendig24–71st2nd8th
201319–51st3rd
201427–112nd2nd6th
201528–93rd2nd8th
201628–92nd2nd8th
201729–104th2nd7th
201828–152nd2nd6th
2019Heather Brink12–54th2nd
20208–4Canceled
Total: 738–257–4

References
  1. The Power of Color (PDF). Nebraska Athletics Brand Guide. July 1, 2019. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  2. "Nebraska Women's Gymnastics History". Retrieved 3 September 2015.
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