Nebraska Weighs In at Intrasquad

Lincoln - The <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska men’s gymnastics team rang in the new season on Friday with its annual intrasquad competition at the Bob DevaneySportsCenter.  But this year things were a little different for the Huskers, who are still adopting the NCAA’s latest scoring changes.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

“The rules have all changed so that the emphasis is on clean lines and smooth routines,” Senior Nic Matthews said.  “You can’t focus on the big tricks and release combinations that used to get bonus points in the past.  It’s really going to take some getting used to.”

 

One of the most influential scoring changes is the switch from five-tenths to an eight-tenths deduction for a fall on any apparatus.  Now even if a gymnast begins the event with a 10.0 start-value, one fall would knock them down to a 9.20.

 

The Huskers put a full six-man squad on each event at the intrasquad while assistant coach Jim Hartung, a former NCAA judge, rated their routines.  Hartung, who is also still learning the new style of judging, was generally happy with the team’s performance but said there is still a lot of hard work to do before Nebraska’s season-opener at the Rocky Mountain Open on Jan. 13, 2006.

 

“I was pretty psyched about floor and we had a good set on vault,” Hartung said.  “We’ve got some work to do on still rings and I really feel like parallel bars and high bar have some good potential if we just keep pushing.  But from here on out our guys have to eat, sleep and think gymnastics.  They’ve got to make every practice count.”