March 27, 2008

Lincoln, NE (UWIRE) -- It's unfamiliar territory for the Nebraska women's gymnastics team to not be the top-ranked team in the Big 12 Conference. The Cornhuskers are 14th, behind No. 9 Oklahoma.

And because of injuries and a lack of depth at the beginning of the season, NU senior Emily Parsons said people don't expect much from the Huskers in the postseason.

"Danna (Durante, NU's associate head coach,) sent a long e-mail telling us to be the shark that attacks when no one expects," Parsons said. "I think we do a lot better when no one expects much."

The Huskers will begin their postseason assault Saturday when they travel to Norman, Okla., for the Big 12 Championships with Oklahoma, No. 18 Missouri and Iowa State.

Nebraska lost to Oklahoma in February at the Lloyd Noble Center, which could turn out to be beneficial for Nebraska, said NU senior Desire' Sniatynski.

"We'll go in with an extra fire in us which (the Sooners) won't have since they won," Sniatnyski said. "It won't be an easy win; we're just kind of excited to get in there."

This weekend Oklahoma will again be the team to beat. Nebraska Coach Dan Kendig said the Huskers will focus on themselves, but be cognizant of their opponents.

In the regular season, Nebraska beat Missouri and topped Iowa State twice.

The Huskers finished the regular season on a high note last weekend with a win in a quadrangular meet against Penn State, Maryland and Rutgers. Nebraska won four individual titles in the victory.

Parsons said it was good for the team to experience something different than a dual the week before the start of the postseason.

And regardless of rank, the team is still confident in its abilities to hit routines and come out on top. The Huskers will compete in Olympic order - vault, bars, beam, floor - the same order they compete at home meets.

It's an order the team was hoping for and a rotation that works well for the Huskers, Kendig said.

Kendig said his team has to have the confidence to hit every routine and perform the way it is capable of competing.

As the defending Big 12 champions, Parsons said the Huskers aren't even thinking of defending their title or getting high scores on their routines; they're focused on taking one skill and one event at a time.

Parsons won four out the five event titles at last year's Big 12 meet. She captured first place in the all-around, vault, beam and floor.

"I want the team to do the best job they can do." Kendig said. "We have to stay in the moment and do good routines. They only have control over their performances and need to stay aggressive."

And practices and improvements this week on the little things - landings, handstands on bars and form should help, Kendig said.

On Monday, Kendig told his team to enjoy the journey through the rest of the season, but to also be prepared and confident when it's each gymnast's turn to compete.

"No one has to play the hero," Kendig said, "everyone has an enormous amount of confidence. We just have to do what we're capable of."

(C) 2008 Daily Nebraskan via UWIRE