Gymwomen shaky in loss to Nebraska

It was a setting the Penn State women's gymnastics team will have to get accustomed to now that the regular season is over.

Sharing the Rec Hall floor with the men's squad and with television cameras around the gym, the Lady Lions will be seeing more of this kind of activity next week as they compete in Big Ten Championships and regionals in early April.

Saturday's meet against No. 13 Nebraska taught No. 15 Penn State that it has to concentrate on each routine and ignore added pressure when it faces the top teams in the nation. Coming off a third-place finish March 6 at LSU, the Lions fell to the Cornhuskers 195.55-194.125 before a crowd of 3,246.

Although the all-around was dominated by Nebraska, Penn State junior Missy Leopoldus took first place with a 39.1. Cornhusker sophomore Heather Brink was second with a 38.925 and received first-place honors on vault (9.875) and beam (9.8). Brink's teammate, sophomore Nicole Wilkinson, was third in the all-around (38.8) and was tied for second with Leopoldus on beam (9.75).

Nebraska coach Dan Kendig described Brink as a "talented athlete" and thinks she will be an important facet of the team in the next few weeks.

"She's a big-time player and she is going to be a big player for us in the postseason," he said.

Penn State started strong on vault as senior Christi Huch began the rotation with a 9.65. Freshman Heather Duggan and senior Joanna Knox followed with a 9.55 and 9.65, respectively. Junior Ellen Casey nailed both of her vaults and was awarded a 9.8. Leopoldus scored a 9.725 while freshman Gemma Cuff earned a score of 9.85.

The Cornhuskers started their evening off with a bang on their first event, bars. Aside from the 9.325 Brink received, no Nebraska gymnast scored below a 9.7. Junior Laurie McLaughlin got a 9.8, junior Jess Swift scored a 9.85 and junior Misty Oxford performed a flawless routine and was rewarded for her efforts with a 9.95.

"The ones that hit did a great job and got us started on the right foot," Kendig said. "We've been struggling there the last couple of meets and it was good to get five hits under our belts on that event."

The competition was close after the second rotation with Nebraska leading 97.9-97.4. Penn State was up and down on bars as sophomore Nikki Smith and Casey both got a 9.9 while senior Carey Hoyt led off with a 9.75 after a solid routine. Cuff suffered two falls on the event and scored an 8.85. Shephard said the performance was uncharacteristic of Cuff.

"I think Gemma's a much better gymnast than that and she needs to show it," he said, "And she needs to do it on a consistent basis."

The Lions finished the evening on a bright note on floor as Smith notched a 9.925 and Leopoldus tied the school record with a 9.95. Knox got a 9.7 and Duggan followed with a 9.725. Casey had a golden opportunity to receive a near perfect score on the event but fell on her last pass.

"One judge told me she would have given her a 10 if she stayed on her feet on her last pass so that was disappointing that she over-rotated," Shephard said.

Leopoldus said the competition was a chance to get out the last minute jitters heading to Big Tens. Despite the hectic atmosphere during the events, she said the home crowd helped the Lions throughout the meet. However, this will not be the case in the coming weeks.

"Nationals will be loud like that and we're going to have to deal with it," Leopoldus said. "We need to work for it and fight through the whole meet."