THIS IS NEBRASKA
HISTORY
REVIEW
OPPONENTS
2015 HUSKERS
STAFF & COACHES INTRO
2015 NEBRASKA WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS
DAN KENDIG
Head Coach • 22nd Season
Kentucky (1979)
Two-Time NCAA Coach of the Year (1999, 2003)
HONORS AND AWARDS
•Two-Time NCAA Coach of the Year (1999, 2003)
•Big Ten Coach of the Year (2012)
•Seven-Time Big 12 Coach of the Year
(1997-98-2000-03-07-09-11)
•Two-Time NCAA Regional Coach of the Year
•16 NCAA Championship Appearances
•11 NCAA Super Six Finals Appearances
•134 All-Americans
•Two Big Ten Conference Team Championships
•Nine Big 12 Conference Team Championships
•Three Big Eight Conference Team Championships
•11 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans
COACHING HISTORY
•Head Coach, Nebraska (1994-present)
•Head Coach, Cornell (1993)
•Head Coach, Indiana University of Pennsylvania (1984-92)
•Assistant Coach, Nebraska (1981-83)
•Assistant Coach, Kentucky (1978-80)
NU ALL-AMERICANS UNDER KENDIG
•Shelly Bartlett (1997: AA, V, UB)
•Hollie Blanske (2014: BB)
•Heather Brink (1997: AA, V; 1998: V; 1999: AA, V, UB,
FX; 2000: AA, V, UB, BB, FX)
•Courtney Brown (1999: V, BB, FX)
•Stephanie Carter (2006: FX)
•Erin Davis (2011: V, FX)
•Kim DeHaan (1996: UB; 1997: UB, FX)
•Jessie DeZiel (2012: FX, AA, V; 2013: AA, V; 2014: AA, BB)
•Bree Dority O’Callaghan (2001: UB)
•Kristi Esposito (2004: AA, BB; 2005: BB)
•Lora Evenstad (2010: UB, FX; 2011:FX)
•Jen French (2001: BB; 2003: FX)
•Janelle Giblin (2010: UB; 2011: V, AA; 2012: V, UB)
•Brittnee Habbib (2011: BB)
•Tami Harris (2001: UB; 2002: UB; 2003: V, FX)
•Julie Houk (2000: UB; 2001: UB; 2002: UB; 2003: UB)
•Kathryn Howard (2010: UB)
•A.J. Lamb (2000: FX; 2002: AA, V, UB; 2003: AA, BB, FX)
•Libby Landgraf (2002: UB; 2003: AA, UB, FX; 2004: V, UB)
•Vanessa Meloche (2006: UB)
•Kassandra Nathe (2010: UB)
•Misty Oxford (1997: V, BB, FX, 1999: AA, FX)
•Emily Parsons (2005: AA, V, BB, FX; 2006: AA, V, FX; 2007: V, FX;
2008: UB, BB)
•Amy Ringo (2000: FX)
•Jamie Schleppenbach (2011: V; 2014: BB)
•Maria Scaffidi (2011: UB)
•Richelle Simpson (2002: AA, V, UB, BB; 2003: AA, V, UB, BB, FX)
•Brittany Skinner (2010: V; 2011: BB)
•Desiré Sniatynski (2005: UB; 2006: UB; 2007: UB; 2008: UB)
•Maddie Steinauer (2011:BB)
•Kylie Stone (2006: V; 2009: UB)
•Joy Taylor (1995: UB)
•Nicole Wilkinson (2000: BB)
•Emily Wong (2011:UB; 2012: BB, FX, AA; 2013: AA, V, FX, BB;
2014: AA, FX, BB)
•Tricia Woo (2006: BB, FX; 2007: BB)
•Michele Zabawa (2004: V; 2005: UB; 2006: UB; 2007: V, UB)
When Nebraska Head Coach Dan Kendig was hired in 1993,
his goals were to return the Nebraska gymnastics program to
national prominence and to have Nebraska in a position to win
a national title, while also maintaining the highest standards of
academic excellence for Husker student-athletes.
Kendig has not only accomplished those goals, but made
them a standard for excellence in his 21-year tenure, as
Nebraska is considered among the nation's elite in both the
gym and the classroom.
In the 21 seasons of the existence of the NCAA Super Six Finals,
Nebraska is one of only six programs, along with Georgia, Alabama,
UCLA, Utah and Michigan, to qualify for nine or more team finals,
and the Huskers have earned NCAA Championship berths in 14 of
the past 18 years. Under Kendig, 39 NU gymnasts have combined to
earn 134 All-America honors since 1995, nearly 10 times NU's total
during the program's first 18 seasons.
At the conference level, the results are equally as impressive.
Nebraska has won 15 of the past 21 conference titles, including
an unprecedented six straight Big Eight/Big 12 crowns from 1994
to 1999. In addition, Nebraska has had at least one individual
conference champion in each of the past 19 seasons and 10 allaround champions, while seven gymnasts have been conference
newcomers of the year.
Since Kendig arrived at NU, his teams have compiled an
outstanding 486-186-4 (.722) record, including a 320-74-2
regular-season record and a 166-112-2 postseason mark. He has
also earned national, regional or conference coach-of-the-year
honors in 11 of the past 19 seasons.
Eleven of Nebraska's nation-best 15 CoSIDA Academic AllAmerica awards in women's gymnastics have come under
Kendig, while he has also produced two NCAA Woman of the
Year finalists -- Shelly Bartlett in 1997 and Richelle Simpson
in 2005. In addition, Kendig coached Joy Taylor when she
became the 1996 CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year,
as well as Simpson, who was recognized with a 2005 NCAA Top
Ten Award. Kendig has guided numerous other academic allconference and NACGC/W Scholastic All-America honorees in
his time at Nebraska.
For his accomplishments with the Husker gymnastics
program, Kendig was honored by his peers as the NCAA Coach of
the Year in 1999 and 2003.
CONTINUED BIG TEN SUCCESS IN 2014
The 2014 season was an exciting one for Kendig and the
Huskers, as Nebraska battled its way into the Super Six Finals
for the 11th time in school history. NU finished the season with
a 27-11 overall record, a sixth-place finish at Nationals and
another Big Ten Conference title. Four Huskers took home seven
All-America honors at the NCAA C hampionships, as Jessie DeZiel
came away with first-team honors on beam and second-team in
the all-around. Hollie Blanske and Jamie Schleppenbach both
added first-team honors on beam, as Schleppenbach finished
third overall at the event finals. Emily Wong tacked on three
honors, finishing eighth on floor, 14th on beam and fifth in the
all-around competition.
Under Kendig’s leadership, Wong capped one of the most
successful seasons by a Nebraska gymnast in school history.
Through the regular-season she captured 32 event titles and
remained undefeated in the all-around. Wong was the 2014
AAI Award winner, an honor given annually to the nation’s top
gymnast on the basis of athleticism, academic excellence and
civic responsibility.
THE FIRST DECADE: SETTING A STANDARD
Kendig's first decade at Nebraska produced its share of
memorable moments, including nine conference titles, eight
NCAA Championships appearances and the NACGC academic
team title in 1995.
In his first season as head coach in 1994, Kendig led the Huskers
to their first Big Eight title since 1990, while earning conference
coach-of-the-year honors. Seven gymnasts, including Kim DeHaan,
who was selected the Big Eight Newcomer of the Year, earned allconference honors, and Nebraska's fourth-place regional finish was
its best in four years.
In 1995, Nebraska continued to move toward national
prominence. Behind conference titles from Martha Jenkins and
DeHaan, Nebraska repeated as Big Eight champions. At the
Midwest Regional held in Lincoln, NU finished second, allowing
the Huskers to return to nationals for the first time since 1990.
The Huskers placed 11th at the NCAA Championships, and Taylor
became the sixth Husker in school history to earn All-America
honors, placing 15th on bars.
Kendig's 1995 squad also earned considerable praise in the
classroom. Nebraska was named NACGC academic gymnastics
team champions, compiling a 3.561 team grade-point average,
while seven Huskers were named to the Big Eight Academic
Honor Roll, including Nicole Duval, who repeated as a first-team
CoSIDA Academic All-American, and Taylor, who was named a
second-team CoSIDA Academic All-American.
The 1996 Huskers closed the book on the Big Eight with a
dominating performance at the final conference meet. Kendig
was named coach of the year for the third straight season, and
NU won its 12th and final Big Eight title. Individually, DeHaan
and Taylor combined to win all four individual event titles,
marking the first time that NU swept all four crowns at the
conference meet. Taylor also won the all-around, while Misty
Oxford was named Big Eight Newcomer of the Year.
After advancing to the NCAA Championships for the second
straight season, the Huskers barely missed a bid to the Super Six
by the slimmest of margins -- .025 of a point -- finishing 10th.
DeHaan earned All-America honors on bars by finishing 11th. The
1996 squad also boasted a pair of first-team CoSIDA Academic
All-Americans in Taylor and DeHaan, marking the third straight
season NU had at least one academic All-American. Taylor, who
was selected as the CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year, and
DeHaan both sported perfect 4.0 GPAs.
In 1997, Kendig's Huskers rewrote the record book, setting
school records on each apparatus in posting a 22-2 regularseason mark, NU's best record in seven years. The Huskers, behind
seven all-conference selections, captured the inaugural Big 12
title, as Shelly Bartlett won the all-around title and two event
titles, while Heather Brink tied Bartlett for the bars crown and
was selected as the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.
After finishing third at regionals, the Huskers recorded one
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