Recruiting Breakdown: Seven Join Nebraska

Recruiting Breakdown: Seven Join Nebraska

Get to know the seven new faces who will be competing for Nebraska in 2018.

Aug 3, 2017 by Lauren Green
Recruiting Breakdown: Seven Join Nebraska
The 2018 NCAA gymnastics season is still months away, but it's never too early to get to know the incoming freshman class for each team. Here's a breakdown of the new additions Nebraska has made for next year.

Nebraska was agonizingly close to a spot in the Super Six this year. The Huskers finished less than four-tenths out of the third spot advancing to Super Six with a solid meet. Nebraska counted just one score that was below the 9.8 mark and brought in several vaults starting from a 10.0.

Outgoing: Jennie Laeng, Ashley Lambert
Nebraska loses seven routines between Laeng and Lambert. Laeng consistently brought in solid scores particularly on vault, floor, and bars. Lambert didn't score lower than a 9.800 on vault all season and scored a 9.875 or better on floor in seven of nine routines. With two openings in the lineup on vault, bars, and floor and one spot on balance beam, there will be plenty of competition for those spots.

Incoming: Anika Dujakovich, Torri Hutchinson, Kynsee Roby, Rachel Thompson, Makayla Curtis, Karley Hutchinson, Megan Verceles-Carr

Anika Dujakovich

Lenexa, Kansas
Trains at Fuzion Gymnastics
Coached by Jackie Flanery-Heredia and Michael Heredia

Dujakovich comes to Nebraska after competing sparingly in 2017. She finished tied for ninth on vault and tied for 10th on floor exercise at the 2016 J.O. National Championships. She finished sixth in the all-around and third on floor at the Region 4 championships. Dujakovich took second place in the all-around and on vault, uneven bars, and floor exercise and third on balance beam at the 2016 Missouri state championships. She missed parts of the 2014 and 2015 seasons due to injury.

Video courtesy of Tracey Dujakovich

Impact events: vault and floor exercise

Torri Hutchinson

Pearland, Texas
Trains at Pearland Elite
Coached by Tasha Beale and Nick Cedillo

Hutchinson competed at the 2017 J.O. National Championships where she tied for 10th on balance beam. The Pearland, Texas, native competed at the Region 3 championships four straight seasons from 2014-17. In 2016, she tied for seventh on balance beam and in 2015 she finished fifth on floor. She finished ninth on balance beam at the 2014 Region 3 championships. She will compete at Nebraska with her twin sister Karley.

Impact event: balance beam

Kynsee Roby

Windsor Heights, Iowa
Trains at Triad Gymnastics
Coached by Tom and Donna More

Roby attended the J.O. National Championships in back-to-back seasons in 2015 and 2016. She grabbed silver in the all-around both years. In 2016, she also finished second on the uneven bars and took third on both balance beam and floor exercise. She was the Iowa state champion on both uneven bars and balance beam in 2016. Roby competed in the Nastia Liukin Cup in 2015 where she grabbed second on beam and sixth on bars. She took second at the Region 4 championships and was the regional champion on both bars and beam.

Video courtesy of USA Gymnastics

Impact events: uneven bars and balance beam

Rachel Thompson

Lincoln, Nebraska
Trains at Nebraska School of Gymnastics
Coached by Vanessa Meloche and Owen Field

Thompson competed at the 2016 J.O. National Championships and the 2016 Nebraska state championships. At states, she finished third in the all-around and on both vault and uneven bars. She tied for fourth on balance beam and took fifth on floor exercise. A year earlier, Thompson took third in the all-around and on bars and floor at the state championships. She tied for fourth and sealed sixth on vault. She earned ninth on floor exercise at the 2015 Region 4 championships.

Impact event: floor exercise

Makayla Curtis

Savannah, Georgia
Trains at Summit Gymnastics
Coached by Shelley Davis and Dave Anderson

Curtis is a two-time J.O. nationals qualifier. She tied for 12th on floor exercise in 2016. She finished fourth on vault and eighth on floor at the 2015 J.O. National Championships. During the 2017 season, Curtis earned eighth in the all-around, third on vault, and sixth on balance beam at the Georgia state championships. She tied for second on vault and tied for 10th on balance beam at the Region 8 championships.

Impact events: vault and balance beam

Karley Hutchinson

Pearland, Texas
Trains at Pearland Elite
Coached by Tasha Beale and Nick Cedillo

Hutchinson is a four-time Region 3 championship qualifier and competed at the 2015 J.O. National Championships. She tied for 12th on floor exercise at regionals in 2017. She finished fifth on bars and tied for seventh on vault at the 2016 Region 3 championships. She placed in the top 10 on all four events and in the all-around at the 2016 Texas state championships. Her best finish was fifth place on uneven bars and a seventh place in the all-around. Hutchinson tied for eighth place in the all-around at the 2015 Region 3 championships and was the regional champion on floor exercise.

Video courtesy of Karley Hutchinson

Impact event: floor exercise

Megan Verceles-Carr

Los Gatos, California
Trains at West Valley Gymnastics School
Coached by Paul Duron and Judy Sun

Verceles-Carr is a four-time J.O. nationals qualifier. She finished eighth in the all-around and tied for third on balance beam in 2017. She was the Region 1 balance beam champion in 2017 and finished third in the all-around for the second time. She also finished third on floor exercise, second on vault, and tied for fourth on uneven bars. She was the regional champion on balance beam in 2015 and took third in the all-around, fifth on vault, and seventh on floor exercise. She finished her Level 10 career as a Northern California state champion in the all-around (2013), uneven bars (2013), and vault (2014).

Video courtesy of Megan Verceles-Carr

Impact event: all-around