Huskers Aim for MPSF Title This Weekend at Oklahoma

The sixth-ranked Nebraska men’s gymnastics team begins the postseason portion of its schedule when the Huskers travel to Norman, Okla., for the 1999 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships, Friday and Saturday, March 26-27. Friday night is the team competition and Saturday will feature the individual event finals. Competition is slated to begin at 7 p.m. each evening.

The Huskers moved to sixth in the national rankings, and No. 1 in the Western region with a season-high score of 230 in the Huskers’ 230.15-223.575 victory over New Mexico. Nebraska, 10-2 on the season, has put together back-to-back solid performances in victories over then-No. 1 Penn State on March 14 and the Lobos.

With three teams in the top 10, including eighth-ranked Oklahoma and 10th-ranked Brigham Young, the MPSF is second only to the Big Ten in terms of teams in the top 10. Lurking close behind the big three are two-time defending NCAA champion California, last season’s MPSF champion, and Stanford, which has won three NCAA titles this decade. In fact, MPSF member schools have won eight of the nine national titles this decade, including a pair by Nebraska in 1990 and 1994.

Scouting the MPSF
Nebraska, Oklahoma and BYU enter the meets as the favorites this weekend. The Huskers lead the West Region and are the only team to score 228 or better this season, accomplishing the feat four times this season, while the Sooners and Cougars are the only two teams to defeat the Huskers, in Norman, Okla, and Provo, Utah, respectively. A complete list of team and individual rankings is included later in this release.

The Sooners, 13-4 on the season, are the only team besides NU to be ranked in the top three in every event. OU is led by Todd Bishop, who leads the MPSF on pommel horse (9.775), parallel bars (9,762) and high bar (9.962). Bishop, the defending NCAA high bar champion, has two 10s on the event this season, including one in the Sooners’ victory over Nebraska last month. Nebraska is 2-1 against Oklahoma, downing the Sooners at the Rocky Mountain Open and in Lincoln before OU’s win in Norman on Feb. 26.

With a record of 12-2, BYU has not lost a meet since a third-place finish, behind NU and OU, at the Rocky Mountain Open in January. The Cougars are led by All-American Guard Young, who is ranked seventh in the region in the all-around (56.05). Young is ranked in the top 10 in the region on four of the six individual events, including fourth on vault and fifth on floor exercise. In addition, junior Courtney Bramwell earned All-America honors on rings last season and leads the region in that event. Nebraska came the closest of any opponent to downing the Cougars, falling 226-225.95 in Provo on March 6.

In addition to those teams, Caliornia, the two-time NCAA Champion, is led by senior Alexander Nissen, who is third in the region in the all-around (56.875), while Stanford and New Mexico both have individual who could vie for event titles.

Last Week’s Recap: Huskers Top 230 In Win over Lobos
Behind the highest regular-season road score in school history, the eighth-ranked Nebraska men’s gymnastics team improved to 9-2 on the season with a 230.15-223.575 victory over No. 14 New Mexico March 21 in Albuquerque, N.M. The Huskers’ season high broke the previous regular-season record of 230.125, set at Iowa last season as NU set team highs on pommel horse (38.825), still rings (38.80) and parallel bars (38.50) en route to the victory over the Lobos.

Nebraska gymnasts took the top three positions in the all-around as sophomore Jason Hardabura won his sixth all-around title of the season with a score of 58.075, the fourth score of 58 or better this season. The sophomore from Oakville, Ontario, tied for first on floor exercise with New Mexico’s Justin DeLaHunt (9.65), and was second on pommel horse (9.775), still rings (9.75) and high bar (9.75).

Junior All-American Derek Leiter earned runner-up honors for the third-straight meet with a score of 57.60 tying his career high set last season in a triangular meet against the Lobos and Oklahoma. Leiter placed first on vault with a career high of 9.90, tying former NCAA champions Jim Hartung and Steve Elliott for the third-highest score in school history. Leiter also set or tied career bests on parallel bars (9.85) and pommel horse (9.80), winning both events, and on still rings, where he was fifth with a score of 9.65.

Sophomore Grant Clinton also turned in a strong performance in the win, taking first on high bar with a 9.875 and finishing tied with senior Jim Koziol for third on still rings with a 9.70, setting career bests in both events. In addition, freshman Martin Fournier was third in the all-around with a career-high score of 56.40, placing third on high bar (9.65) and fourth on parallel bars (9.40), while junior Blake Bukacek was third on pommel horse (9.65) and parallel bars (9.55).

1998 Recap: Huskers Earn Runner-Up Finish at MPSF
No. 2 Nebraska finished second at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif., on March 27. The Huskers finished with a team score of 227.85, placing behind top-ranked California’s score of 229.05. Ninth-ranked BYU (225.95), No. 13 New Mexico (224.775) and 10th-ranked Oklahoma rounded out the top-five finishers.

The Huskers, the defending MPSF champions, were led by sophomore Derek Leiter, who finished sixth in the all-around competition with a score of 56.35. Freshman Jason Hardabura finished eighth in the all-around with a 56.050, while senior Bill Mulholland placed 10th with a score of 55.325.

The Huskers crowned a pair of individual champions at the individual finals. Marshall Nelson and Hardabura captured individual event titles on horizontal bar and floor exercise, respectively. Nelson successfully defended his MPSF title on the horizontal bar, tying California’s Oleg Kosyak for first place on the event with a score of 9.80. A four-time All-American, Nelson finished second on the pommel horse with a 9.75 and was selected as the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation’s Gymnast of the Year in a vote of the conference athletes.

Hardabura placed first on the floor exercise with a career-high score of 9.725, bettering his score of 9.70 set against Ohio State. The freshman from Oakville, Ontario, also placed sixth in the still rings with a 9.50. Junior Jim Koziol earned a top-three finish, placing third on the still rings with a 9.625. Leiter finished in the top four in three individual events after placing sixth in the all-around. He was third on the pommel horse (9.725), fourth on the parallel bars (9.65), and fourth on floor exercise (9.55).

Huskers in the Rankings
Four Nebraska gymnasts are listed in this week’s NCAA rankings, released March 23. Sophomore Jason Hardabura is ranked third in the all-around with an NCAA three-score average of 57.337 and is also ranked in the top 20 on four different individual events, high bar (9.75, sixth), still rings (9.725, eighth), pommel horse ( 9.725, ninth) and floor exercise (9.587, 18th). Junior All-American Derek Leiter also is in the top-10 in the all-around with a three-score average of 57 to ranks seventh nationally. Leiter is first in the country on vault (9.787), eighth on floor exercise (9.70), 11th on parallel bars (9.662) and 15th on high bar (9.625). Freshman Martin Fournier, coming off three straight career highs in the all-around is 20th nationally (56.125), and also is 16th on parallel bars and 20th on high bar (9.562). Sophomore Grant Clinton rounds out the Huskers as he is ranked 20th on still rings (9.60).

As a team, the Huskers are ranked in the top 10 on all six events for the first time all season. NU is No. 1 on high bar (38.537), fourth on pommel horse (38.45), eighth on both still rings (38.062) and parallel bars (37.737) and ninth on both floor exercise (37.725) and vault (37.575).

NU Plays Host to 1999 NCAA Championships
This April, the college gymnastics world will ascend on Lincoln as the University of Nebraska will play host to the 1999 NCAA Championships, April 22-24. It is the 10th time that the Bob Devaney Sports Center has hosted the NCAA Championships, the most of any facility in the nation. Tickets for all three evenings can be purchased by calling 1-800-8BIGRED or (402) 472-3111. Sessions each evening will begin at 7 p.m.

NU Coach Francis Allen
One of the most successful men’s gymnastics coaches in college gymnastics history, Nebraska men’s gymnastics coach Francis Allen is completing his 30th season at the helm of the Husker program. During his illustrious career, Allen, a two-time United States Olympic head coach, has compiled a 168-71-3 (.700) dual-meet record and has guided Nebraska to eight NCAA titles. He has coached 38 NCAA individual champions, nine U.S. Olympic gymnasts (earning 11 positions), nine GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-Americans and three Nissen Award winners. The longtime Husker coach has led NU to 13 conference titles, including the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation crown in 1997, and was selected as one of two recipients of the College Gymnastics Association Honor Coach Award in 1998. Allen, a three-time NCAA Coach of the Year, was a former co-caption, along with current NU assistant coach Jim Howard, at Nebraska in 1965 after winning the Big Eight Conference title on parallel bars in 1964.

Hometown Huskers
Five of the nine members of the 1999 roster are Nebraska natives, including Derek Leiter, Blake Bukacek, Dusty Jakub from Lincoln, Jeff Kelly from Grand Island and Jim Koziol from Omaha. The rest of the Huskers and their hometowns are as follows: Grant Clinton (Katy, Texas); Jason Hardabura (Oakville, Ontario); Martin Fournier (St. Hubert, Quebec) and Marshall Nelson (Greeley, Colo.).

Meeting the Challenge
Heading into the postseason, the Huskers have faced five of the top 10 teams in dual meets this season, including No. 2 Penn State, No. 4 Iowa, No. 7 Michigan State, No. 8 Oklahoma (twice) and No. 10 Brigham Young, Nebraska is 3-0 against teams from the East Region, which features seven of the top 10 teams in this week’s rankings. Counting the Rocky Mountain Open where NU defeated OU and BYU, the Huskers are 6-2 against teams in this week’s top 10.

Huskers Tidbit
Nebraska, Penn State and Michigan are the only three schools in the nation with men’s and women’s teams ranked in the top 10 nationally. The Husker women, ranked seventh nationally, are also at their conference meet this weekend, competing at the Big 12 Championships in Columbia. Nebraska and Oklahoma are the only two schools with teams in the Big 12 and MPSF.

Koziol Triumphs over Pain
Senior co-captain and Nissen Award candidate Jim Koziol has battled back from injuries throughout his Husker career. Shoulder and bicep injuries have not stopped the fifth-year senior from Omaha from excelling in the NU lineup. In 1998, Koziol earned All-America honors with a fourth-place finish on still rings. Koziol, who graduated in December, has been one of NU’s top performers on still rings, pommel horse and floor exercise this season. A GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-America nominee this season, Koziol was recently accepted into the University of Nebraska Medical School.

Husker Health Watch
With three-time NCAA champion Marshall Nelson sidelined for the season with a torn left ACL, the Huskers were relatively healthy until their last trip to Norman. While the Huskers fell from the ranks of the unbeaten with loss to OU, more importantly, freshman Dusty Jakub sublexed his left ankle and senior Jim Koziol suffered a strained left bicep. Jakub has not competed since the OU meet and is highly doubtful for the rest of the season, while Koziol has returned to the lineup in the past two meets, competing on four and five, respectively, against Penn State and New Mexico.

In addition, freshman Jeff Kelly suffered a back injury in NU’s win over Minnesota on Feb. 19, and is not expected to compete the rest of the season. The injuries have left Nebraska with just six healthy gymnasts on its roster.

Huskers Post High Scores in the Classroom As Well
Seven of the eight Husker gymnasts earned 3.0 or better GPAs last semester. Freshman Martin Fournier led the Huskers with a 3.958, missing a 4.0 by one B+. Senior Jim Koziol (3.70) and junior Derek Leiter (3.541) had grade-point averages of 3.50 or higher. In 1997-98 the Huskers finished fourth nationally with a 3.159 team grade-point average as both Koziol and Leiter earned NACGC Scholastic All-America honors.

NACGC Team Rankings
Team Team GPA
1. MIT 3.553
2. Illinois 3.306
3. Ohio State 3.212
4. Nebraska 3.159
5. Iowa 3.151

Tickets Available for NCAA Championships
Tickets are still available for the 1999 NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships, April 22-24, at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Tickets range from $3 to $22 and can be purchased at the NU Ticket Office, across the street from Memorial Stadium, or by calling 1-800-8-Big Red.

Up Next
The Huskers travel to Provo, Utah, for the1999 West Regional on April 10, beginning at 8 p.m.