DanKENDIG
Head Coach • 21st 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
•14 NCAA Championship Appearances
•10 NCAA Super Six Finals Appearances
•127 All-Americans
•Two Big Ten Conference Team Championships
•Nine Big 12 Conference Team Championships
•Three Big Eight Conference Team Championships
•14 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)
•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)
•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, B B, 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)
•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)
•Tricia Woo (2006: BB, FX; 2007: BB)
•Michele Zabawa (2004: V; 2005: UB; 2006: UB; 2007: V, UB)
12 | NEBRASKA WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS | 2014
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 20-year tenure, as Nebraska
is considered among the nation's elite in both the gym and the
classroom.
In the 20 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 13 of
the past 17 years. Under Kendig, 38 NU gymnasts have combined
to earn 127 All-America honors since 1995, nearly 10 times NU's
previous total during the program's first 18 seasons.
At the conference level, the results are equally as impressive.
Nebraska has won 14 of the past 20 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 18 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 459-175-4 (.719) record, including a 303-62-2
regular-season record and a 156-105-2 postseason mark. He has
also earned national, regional or conference coach-of-the-year
honors in 11 of the past 18 seasons.
Ten of Nebraska's nation-best 14 CoSIDA Academic All-America
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 all-conference and NACGC/W Scholastic AllAmerica 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 2013
Kendig continued his impressive coaching career in 2013 as the
winningest coach in NU women’s gymnastics history. With another
Big Ten conference title, the Huskers earned six All-America awards
at the NCAA Championships and compiled a 19-5 overall record.
The Huskers qualified for the NCAA postseason competition for
the 29th time in program history, finishing third at the NCAA
Morgantown Regional. The 2013 squad posted three of the highest
team scores in school history throughout the year while spending
consistent time ranked as one of the nation’s top-10 teams.
Under Kendig’s guidance, Nebraska earned its third consecutive
conference title at the 2013 Big Ten Championships, where it
posted a conference record high score of 197.800. Emily Wong
captured her second consecutive Big Ten all-around title, and the
team hit an event high 49.725 score on vault with four girls tying
for top honors.
Nebraska sent three girls to the 2013 NCAA Championships,
including Emily Wong, Jessie DeZiel and Brittany Skinner. Wong
finished third overall in the all-around competition, third on floor
and 10th on vault. Wong also took home four All-America awards
and DeZiel claimed two honors.
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 secondteam 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 regular-season
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
of the most memorable moments in school history at the NCAA
Championships in Gainesville, Fla. After missing the Super Six Finals
in 1996, the Huskers claimed a berth in the team championship
by hitting all 24 routines in the preliminary session, forcing a tie