(BigTen.org) Entering its first season as a member of the Big Ten, Nebraska has been selected by the conference’s coaches as the preseason favorite in the Big Ten Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The Huskers won the Big 12 Championship a season ago and finished fourth at the NCAA Championships. Defending Big Ten Champion Michigan follows Nebraska in second, while Penn State, Ohio State and Illinois round out the top five. Iowa stands in sixth in the poll, followed by Minnesota in seventh and Michigan State in eighth.

Michigan State’s Kathryn Mahoney suffered a life-altering injury doing what she loved most: competing in gymnastics. One moment, she’s honing her craft on the vault, and the next she’s motionless. Mahoney fractured her C6 vertebra one day in practice, leaving her paralyzed and wheelchair-bound. Ever since the incident, Mahoney has received support in all walks of life. “It’s been incredible,” Mahoney said, “I can’t even thank all of the people who have been supporting me.” Watch her inspiring story.

Michigan’s run of dominance at the Big Ten Women’s Gymnastics Championships was in serious doubt until the very end of the 2011 meet in Minneapolis. The Wolverines (196.600), however, finished strong on the beam and floor to edge out Penn State (196.375) and Illinois (196.075) en route to claiming their fifth straight Big Ten crown. The fact the victory was so close and that it came down down to the very end made it all the more rewarding, Michigan coach Bev Plocki said: “That makes it that much sweeter, because they did it under pressure.”