Huskers Head to Final Road Test at Iowa

The No. 9 Nebraska men’s gymnastics team heads to <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Iowa City this Saturday, Feb. 24, to take on No. 11 Iowa at 7 p.m. for NU’s final road dual of the 2007 season. The Huskers enter the meet well rested after enjoying a two-week reprieve from competition, with their last dual taking place on Feb. 2 against Oklahoma. The Hawkeyes are also coming off an extended break that dates back to their Feb. 4 dual against Minnesota.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

The last time these two programs met was on Feb. 12, 2006, with Iowa edging the Huskers, 209.60-209.45, at the DevaneyCenter in Lincoln. However, the last time Nebraska traveled to Iowa the Huskers posted a 215.325-214.15 upset of the higher ranked Hawkeyes. Overall, Iowa still owns the lead in the 11-8-1 series record.

 

Saturday’s meet is actually the only road dual for Nebraska, which has otherwise competed in two opens at the Rocky Mountain Open and Stanford Open, as well as a triangular against Oklahoma and Air Force. The Huskers are looking to add to their two road wins this season and improve on a 2-5 record in 2007.

 

Meanwhile, Iowa will push for its third win of the season after posting a 200.35-186.40 victory over Illinois-Chicago in Iowa City on Jan. 27.

 

Senior Jason Wassung, junior Stephen T?trault and sophomore T.J. Schmidt rejoin the Husker lineup this weekend after the trio took on some of the nation’s top gymnasts at the Winter Cup on Feb. 8. Wassung entered the group’s highest finish, placing 10th overall in the all-around in Session I, however, none of the NU competitors advanced to the event finals.

 

Following its trip to Iowa, the Huskers will return to Lincoln for a three-week home stand, starting with Stanford on March 4 at 2 p.m., before finishing out the regular season with duals against Minnesota on March 11 and Air Force on March 18.  

 

 

Wassung Climbs to Fourth in National All-Around Standings

Nebraska senior Jason Wassung improved to fourth in the national all-around standings as released by GymInfo this week, the highest the Lincoln native has ranked in his four years with the Huskers. Wassung, who owns a three-score average of 50.583, is tied with Army’s Mike Assenmacher for the position.

 

In both of the previous two seasons, Wassung had risen as high as sixth in the standings, but a stellar senior year has the 5-5 all-arounder already reaching new heights. He has been NU’s most consistent all-arounder this season and has easily shouldered the responsibility. Four meets into the season, Wassung has finished either first or second in the all-around each time, earning the third all-around title of his career against Oklahoma and Air Force on Jan. 20.

 

Nebraska’s only fourth-year competitor, Wassung set a season-high mark of 51.06 for second place in the all-around against Oklahoma in NU’s last competition on Feb. 2. The all-around mark was just one of Wassung’s major accomplishments of the meet. The Lincoln native also set career-high marks on the parallel bars 9.40 and high bar (9.20), with his parallel bars score earning him his first event title of the season.

 

In addition to Wassung’s accomplishments, the Huskers improved from 10th to ninth in the national team standings with an average of 204.45, their highest team ranking this season.

 

Individually, sophomore T.J. Schmidt hung on to his 12th-place spot on the pommel horse (8.75) and added an eighth-place ranking on the parallel bars (9.133). Junior Stephen T?trault made his debut on the pommel horse poll at 20th (8.483) and Wassung finished Nebraska’s list of individual placers at 20th on the parallel bars (8.867).

 

 

GymInfo Changes to Three-Score Average

The GymInfo national polls made the change this week from averaging all of a team’s or individual’s scores to a true three-score average. This system will be in place until March 19, at which time the polls will again be reformatted using a modified three-score average. This new system selects a team or individual’s four highest scores, counting no more than two home meets, and drops the highest score. The average is then taken of the remaining three scores to establish the rankings.

 

With the change, Nebraska improved in the team standings from 111th to ninth, its highest ranking this season. Additionally, sophomore T.J. Schmidt debuted at eighth on the parallel bars, while junior Stephen T?trault ranked 20th on the pommel horse. Senior Jason Wassung improved from 12th to fourth in the national all-around standings.

 

 

Scouting the Iowa Hawkeyes

2007 Record: 2-6

Head Coach: Tom Dunn, 27th season

Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 12/3

All-Americans Returning/Lost: 2/0

Top Returner: Curtis Kleffman

2006 NCAA Finish: Sixth

 

?? A Quick Look at the Hawkeyes

The 2007 Hawkeyes have struggled to recover from the loss of several of its key competitors, including 2006 Nissen-Emery Award finalist Michael Reavis. Iowa owns a record of just 2-6 this season, with both of its wins coming over 14th ranked Illinois-Chicago.

 

The Huskers and Hawkeyes have more than just proximity in common this season; they also share similar team scores with Nebraska owning a three-score average of 204.05 and Iowa a 203.283. These scores have placed the two teams just steps apart in the national polls with the winner of this weekend’s competition gaining ground.

 

The Hawkeyes have relied heavily on its all-around contingent this season, including freshman Jonathan Buese and senior Curtis Kleffman. Buese owns a pair of all-around crowns this season behind a season average of 48.55, while Kleffman has been strong on the pommel horse, earning two event titles with an average score of 8.617.

 

Iowa’s strongest team event is the floor exercise, where it has posted a season-high mark of 36.65 and averages a 35.762. The Hawkeyes are led on floor by sophomore Geoff Reins, who boasts an impressive season average of 9.375 on the event. Iowa is also strong on the still rings, where it has tallied an event-high score of 36.80 this season. 

 

?? Last Meeting

The stage for Nebraska’s last meeting with Iowa was set much as it is this season as both teams had just come off bye weeks and were returning several competitors from the Winter Cup. The meet featured the first home dual for the Huskers of 2006 and ended in NU’s most closely contested competition of the season, as the Huskers fell 209.60-209.45.

 

Although Nebraska posted a then season high team score in the meet and improved on all six events, it wasn’t enough to catch the Hawkeyes and NU opened its dual schedule at 0-1. The Huskers swept the top three spots on both the vault and the parallel bars, with Tony Burtle and Derric Wood earning event titles. Jason Wassung also finished second in the all-around.

 

?? Husker History vs. Iowa

The Iowa Hawkeyes are part of an elite group of programs nationwide that boast a winning all-time dual record against Nebraska.  The Hawkeyes, who currently own an 11-8-1 record over the Huskers, are one of just five active programs, joining Illinois, Michigan, Oklahoma and Stanford to own such a statistic.

 

The Hawkeyes took the lead in 2002 when they topped Nebraska 210.65 to 202.175 in Iowa City, Iowa.  With the win, Iowa took control of the nearly 40 year history between the programs that began with a 186.70 to 157.90 Hawkeye win in 1968. Overall, NU is 2-7 all-time on the road at Iowa, with its most recent win at the Fieldhouse coming in 2005 with a 215.325-214.925 Nebraska upset of the higher-ranked Hawkeyes. The win broke NU’s road losing streak that had extended back to the 2000 season.

 

Unfortunately, the Huskers couldn’t pull a repeat performance last season at the DevaneyCenter in Lincoln, as the Hawkeyes extended their edge in the series history to a three with a nail biting 209.60-209.45 win over Nebraska.

 

 

Reviewing the Rankings: Nebraska vs. Iowa

Event                          Nebraska (Season Average)           Iowa (Season Average)

Floor Exercise             12th (34.30)                                                   5th (36.30)

Pommel Horse             10th (32.75)                                                11th (32.617)

Still Rings                   11th (34.633)                                                 8th (35.80)

Vault                           10th (33.80)                                                 11th (33.60)

Parallel Bars                8th (34.50)                                                 11th (33.967)

High Bar                      9th (34.067)                                                 13th (32.10)

Team                          9th (204.50)                                              11th (203.283)

 

 

Adding to the All-Around

A team’s success can largely rely on the performance of its all-arounders. Saturday’s meet against Iowa will give Nebraska two more opportunities to claim that success, as junior Stephen T?trault and freshman John Robinson join senior Jason Wassung to create NU’s three-man all-around lineup.

 

After a four-week absence, T?trault will return to the all-around lineup for Nebraska this Saturday. A 2005 All-American on the vault, T?trault suffered a knee injury while warming up on that event against Oklahoma on Jan. 20. He has since been kept from the vault and floor exercise lineups to prevent furthering injury, but is expected to make a full return against the Hawkeyes.

 

Along with T?trault, the Huskers will welcome an unfamiliar face to its all-around squad as Robinson will be entered in the event for the first time in his collegiate career. Robinson has been competing on five of six events all season for Nebraska and with the addition of the floor exercise; he will perform across the board on Saturday.

 

 

Last Meet Repeat: 2007 Winter Cup

Nebraska senior Jason Wassung, junior Stephen T?trault and sophomore T.J. Schmidt went head to head against some of the nation’s top gymnasts at the Sports Center Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. on Feb. 8 for the preliminary round of the 2007 Winter Cup. All three Husker gymnasts performed as part of 42 competitors in Session I.

 

Despite solid performances from the Nebraska trio, none of the Huskers advanced to the event finals, which consisted of the top 42 competitors from the combined preliminary sessions. Wassung finished 10th overall in Session I with a score of 81.70. The senior’s top performance came on the pommel horse, where he tied for 11th (13.70), while he also put up strong finishes on the vault (15.15) and high bar (13.80), tying for 13th in both events. 

 

Schmidt and T?trault finished 27th (54.70) and 28th (54.60), respectively, with neither gymnast competing in all six events. Schmidt, normally an event specialist, continued that trend at the Winter Cup. The Blair, Neb., native, who owns a pair of parallel bars titles this season, put up an especially solid routine on that event to finish eighth (14.55) in the session. Schmidt also finished 14th on pommel horse (13.45).

 

After a lengthy absence from the all-around due to a knee injury suffered during a vaulting warm-up, T?trault was again held from the floor exercise and vault at the Winter Cup. But the Lincoln, Neb., native gave a strong performance on the four remaining events, gaining the highest event finish of the three Huskers with a seventh-place showing on the pommel horse (14.20).

 

 

Schmidt Hits

While the Huskers may have yet to reach their full potential this season, sophomore T.J. Schmidt has consistently surpassed expectation.

 

In the last five weeks, Schmidt has set career high scores seven times, besting his own high scores on floor exercise (8.60), pommel horse (9.00), still rings (8.95) and parallel bars (9.35). Schmidt’s success is not simply a case of making the leap from an often times limited freshman campaign to that of a more experienced sophomore. In fact, the Blair, Neb., native earned his share of the spotlight even in 2006 as NU’s top parallel bars specialist, earning a team-high score of 9.10 and advancing to the event preliminaries at the NCAA Championships. Instead, Schmidt’s outstanding start could more accurately be attributed to hard work and determination.

 

At the Rocky Mountain Open on Jan. 12-13, Schmidt tied his career high of 8.20 on the floor exercise and set new bests on the pommel horse (8.55) and still rings (8.65). Additionally, Schmidt’s performance earned him the first event title of his collegiate career with a first-place finish on the pommel horse. He also finished third on the floor exercise and second on the parallel bars.

 

Against Oklahoma and Air Force on Jan. 20, Schmidt again hit routine after routine, besting his scores on the pommel horse (9.00) and still rings (8.95) and setting a new career high on the parallel bars (9.35), while adding two more event titles to his collection with crowns on the pommel horse and parallel bars.

 

The Blair, Neb., native stayed the course at the Stanford Open on Jan. 27, taking home the parallel bars title with a score of 9.10 and setting a new career high mark of 8.60 on the floor exercise.

 

Schmidt debuted at 13th on the pommel horse in GymInfo event rankings this season and this week improved to the 12th-place spot. He also earned his first top-20 ranking on the parallel bars this week at eighth.

 

 

Huskers Draw Largest Crowd of 2007

Nebraska’s home opener against Oklahoma on Feb. 2 featured a crowd of 4,125 fans, the largest crowd to view an NCAA men’s gymnastics meet this season. In fact, the mark is more than double any other dual in the nation and is rivaled only by the West Point Open, which combines attendance over a three-day period.

 

 

T?trault Selected to Inaugural Husker 24

Nebraska junior Stephen T?trault was honored on Feb. 16 by the Nebraska Alumni Association as a member of the inaugural Husker 24, an award that recognizes students for displaying the association’s core values of leadership, service, integrity and spirit.

 

T?trault was among 24 University of Nebraska juniors to receive the honor. He was chosen from a group of 65 nominees who were nominated by a faculty or staff member. The inaugural group was recognized with at a banquet with the winners later being awarded a Nebraska Ring at the annual Nebraska Ring Ceremony in April.

 

T?trault is a 2005 All-American for Nebraska, and competes as an all-arounder for the Huskers this season. The Lincoln, native also serves as the men’s gymnastics Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representative and is a member of the 2006 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Academic All-Conference team. 

 

T?trault was among six Husker student-athlete selected for the honor, including Sarah Pavan (volleyball), Mark Hightower (baseball), Meghan Hungerford (soccer), Imke Reimers (women’s tennis) and Issar Yazhbin (track and field). 

 

 

Cal to Host 2007 MPSF Championships

The 2007 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championships for men’s gymnastics will be hosted by California on Saturday, March 31 at Haas Pavilion. The MPSF meet will feature five teams ? Air Force, California, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Stanford. At last year’s national meet, three of the top five teams came from the MPSF, as Oklahoma won the NCAA title, while Stanford and Cal finished third and fifth, respectively.