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Nebraska Women's Gymnastics Camps

COACHING STAFF

Head Coach Heather BrinkHEATHER BRINK | HEAD COACH

Heather Brink was named the fifth head coach in the history of Nebraska women's gymnastics in February of 2019. Brink started the 2019 season as the program's interim head coach following three seasons on the Husker staff as Nebraska's associate head coach. Overall, Brink will enter her 13th season on the Husker coaching staff in 2024 including her earlier stint as assistant coach from 2011-15. She was also an 11-time All-American at Nebraska.

She has not only helped develop one of the most talented beam squads in the nation during her tenure on Nebraska's staff, but Brink has also demonstrated unprecedented leadership in and out of the gym. With over 30 years of gymnastics experience, Brink plays an important role in recruiting, program development and team building. Her dedication to the rich program tradition is unparalleled, as she looks to continue leading the Huskers to success in the years to come.

Brink coached the 2023 Huskers to a postseason berth, reaching the NCAA Denver Regional. She coached three gymnasts to All-Conference honors while Emma Spence was named Co-Regional Gymnast of the Year. Brink helped the Huskers score a 197.500, the best team score in five years while recording the 10th-best event scores in program history on floor and uneven bars. She coached individuals to 30 career-high scores while the Big Red took home 31 individual event titles throughout the season.

In 2022, Brink coached two Huskers to a postseason berth as Kinsey Davis and Clara Colombo competed at the NCAA Seattle Regional. She also coached Davis to first-team All-Big Ten honors.

In 2021, Brink and the Huskers returned to the gym for an unprecedented year after having the 2020 season cut short due to COVID-19. Brink coached two All-Conference gymnasts, Kaitlyn Higgins and Anika Dujakovich. The season ended for the Huskers at the NCAA Athens Regional where six individuals competed in seven events.

Although the 2020 year was cut short because of the COVID-19, Taylor Houchin earned All-America honors while helping NU to an 8-4 record. Sierra Hassel also continued NU’s tradition of excellence in the classroom, as she was named Nebraska’s Student-Athlete of the Year.

Brink helped Nebraska to a sixth-place national finish in 2018, when the Huskers produced eight All-America awards. Brink helped Taylor Houcin and Grace Williams to second-team All-America honors on beam. NU posted a seventh-place national finish in 2017, and the Huskers won a Big Ten regular-season championship. Brink coached Danielle Breen to second-team All-America honors on beam, as Breen finished tied for sixth at the NCAA Semifinal with a score of 9.900. The Husker beam squad came up clutch in two of NU's most important meets of the season, as Nebraska finished on the event at both the B1G Five meet and the NCAA Lincoln Regional. At the B1G Five meet, NU clinched the Big Ten regular season title following Grace Williams' career-high 9.95. The Huskers needed a strong beam performance at the regional to advance to the NCAA Championships, and Williams posted a 9.90 and Breen scored a career-high 9.95 to seal the trip to nationals. At the NCAA Semifinal, NU posted a season-high 49.3000 on the event, led by Breen's score. Brink also helped Ashley Lambert to a pair of second-team All-America honors on vault and floor and Sienna Crouse to first-team recognition on vault.

In 2016, Brink's first season as associate head coach, Nebraska finished eighth nationally at the NCAA Championships. The Huskers' beam squad was among the strongest in the country, ranking in the top-10 for most of the season. Williams captured eight beam titles on the season, including the Big Ten beam title. Brink also helped Hollie Blanske to first-team All-America honors on vault and second-team All-America honors on floor exercise and in the all-around.

In 2015, Brink helped guide the Huskers to an eighth-place national finish and a third-place finish at the Big Ten Championships. Nebraska's beam lineup posted a season-high score of 49.475 at the B1G Five qualifier, while the Huskers captured six individual beam titles on the season. Brink was instrumental in helping to develop Blanske, Jessie DeZiel and Lambert into All-America performers in the 2015 season.

Brink helped Nebraska's beam lineup to a record-breaking performance at the 2014 NCAA Championships, as the Huskers posted a 49.450 to secure their spot in the Super Six finals. In addition, Blanske, DeZiel, Jamie Schleppenbach and Emily Wong took home All-America honors on the event. NU collected nine event titles on beam including a Big Ten champion in Wong.

Brink contributed to Nebraska's continued success in 2013 as the Huskers claimed 13 beam titles including the Big Ten Championship beam title with Wong and Jennifer Lauer posting 9.90 scores. Wong went on to claim second-team All-America accolades on the event.

In her first season as an assistant with the Huskers in 2012, Brink helped coach Wong to first-team All-America honors on beam. Brink's assistance with NU's floor routines also guided DeZiel to first-team All-America honors and Wong to second-team honors on the event.

BEFORE NEBRASKA
Brink, who competed for the Huskers from 1997 to 2000, permanently etched her name in the Nebraska record books by winning two national titles at the 2000 NCAA Championships in Boise, Idaho. Brink became the first Husker female to win an all-around national title and the second to win a vault national title in leading the Huskers to the Super Six Finals and a fourth-place national finish. Brink was selected as the Honda Award winner in 2000, representing the nation's top female collegiate gymnast. Brink owns the third-highest uneven bars score in program history and the eighth-highest all-around score. She became the first Husker gymnast to score a 10.0, and recorded three perfect scores during her senior season. She closed her collegiate career as one of the most decorated gymnasts in school history, earning two NCAA titles, 11 All-America awards, six regional titles and eight conference crowns. Brink was inducted into the University of Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.

PERSONAL
Prior to joining the Nebraska staff, Brink worked for Ameritas in Lincoln as a pension administration specialist. Brink is a 2001 graduate of Nebraska with a bachelor's degree in business administration and human resource management. Heather and her husband, Jon, have a two sons, Jaxon and Hunter.

 

Assistant Coach Brian AmatoBRIAN AMATO | ASSISTANT COACH

Brian Amato will enter his fourth season with the Huskers in 2024. Amato joined the women's gymnastics program in August of 2020.

In 2023, Amato helped the Huskers to the a postseason berth, finishing the season at the NCAA Denver Regional. Amato helped the Huskers record the 10th-best uneven bars score in school history, tallying a 49.500 on the event twice. He coached three Huskers to All-Conference honors while Emma Spence was named WCGA Co-Regional Gymnast of the Year.

In 2022, Amato helped coach two Huskers to compete individually at the NCAA Seattle Regional. Amato also helped coach one All-Conference selection as Kinsey Davis was named First-Team All-Big Ten.

In 2021, Amato finished his first season as the assistant coach, and his first full season. Amato helped the Huskers to numerous individual honors. Earning two spots on the All-Championships team, Amato helped Kaitlyn Higgins and Anika Dujakovich to a successful Big Ten Championship showcase. Amato finished the season at the NCAA Athens Regional where six Huskers competed in seven events.

Amato spent seven seasons as an assistant coach at Oregon State. He helped lead Oregon State to a sixth-place finish at the 2019 NCAA Championships. The Beavers' bars team was challenged with replacing half of the previous season's lineup due to graduation and injury. Amato's squad did not suffer a fall in the final nine meets of the season. He coached Hallie Briscoe to second team All-America honors on bars in 2019.

In 2018, Amato led the Beavers' bars squad to a No. 21 ranking with a team Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 49.200 and a season high of 49.400. In 2017, Amato coached Kaytianna McMillan to Oregon State's first 10.0 score on bars since 2008.

Amato's uneven bars lineup in 2016 finished the season tied for 10th in the nation. McMillan earned NACGC/W Regular Season All-America first-team honors under Amato's guidance on the bars after ending the regular season ranked No. 7 with an (RQS) of 9.925. Amato coached his first gymnast to All-America honors in 2015 when Erika Aufiero earned first-team All-America honors.

Prior to his time at Oregon State, Amato served as the head bars coach at Brandy Johnson's Global Gymnastics in Clermont, Fla., since 2008. In 2013, Amato's team won the Level 10 Florida State Championship and was voted the nation's Level 10 Team of the Year in 2012. During his 17 years of club coaching, Amato helped 20 gymnasts earn Division I scholarships.

Amato is the current Vice-President of the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association. He received his bachelor's degree from Portland State in liberal studies with a focus on exercise physiology in the winter of 2016. Amato is currently pursuing his MBA in sports business at Saint Leo University.

Amato and his wife, Tori, have two children, Alex and Brooke.