Husker All-Arounders Advance to NCAA Finals

<?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>State College, Pa.? Nebraska all-arounders Jason Wassung and Stephen T?trault will represent the Huskers at the 2007 NCAA Championships all-around finals Friday, April 13, at 6 p.m. Wassung and T?trault advanced to the finals by finishing among the top three all-arounders not among a team qualifier from Thursday’s Session II.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

T?trault advances to the all-around finals for the third consecutive season with a score of 52.35, while Wassung qualified for the second time in four years with a mark of 52.70.

 

“I’m extremely proud that both of these athletes will compete in the all-around finals,” Head Coach Francis Allen said. “They have led this team as a duo all season, and it is only fitting that they finish out their season alongside one another tomorrow night.”

 

Neither Husker all-arounder has finished higher than 10th at the NCAA finals, and each will be working toward his first All-America certificate as an all-arounder. T?trault has one previous All-America award, which he earned with a fifth-place finish on the vault in 2005.

 

Additionally, sophomore T.J. Schmidt will represent Nebraska on the pommel horse and parallel bars at the 2007 NCAA Individual Event Qualifier, which will be held along with the team and all-around finals tomorrow night at 6 p.m.

 

“T.J. deserves to compete in the finals,” Allen said. “He has worked harder than just about anyone this season and made tremendous improvements. It will be interesting to see how that pays off for him on an individual level tomorrow.”

 

As a team, Nebraska certainly believed in saving the best for last, as it posted a season-high team score of 209.10, easily beating its previous high of 207.75. However, the mark wouldn’t be high enough to place the Huskers among the session’s top three teams, ending NU’s season. PennState (218.90), Oklahoma (218.60) and Minnesota (216.90) will go on to compete in the NCAA team finals.

Session I Team Results Individual Results Quotes PhotosSession II Team Results Individual Results Quotes Photos

Nebraska got off to a fast start with a high-energy set on the still rings that led to an event score of 35.10, its highest on the event since March 5. Sophomore James Mauldin kicked off the Championships in fitting form for the Huskers, marking a career-high score of 8.65. Mauldin was followed by a season-high of 8.70 from T?trault.  But the highlight of the opening event for Nebraska was the surprising return of freshman Tony Maras, who has been out of competition since March 5 with a broken hand. Just over one month later, Maras was back on the rings and led Nebraska with a team-high mark of 9.00.

 

Nebraska went full speed ahead on the vault, scoring a 34.70 as a team behind a top score of 8.90 from Wassung and an 8.85 from T?trault. The Huskers also enjoyed a mark of 8.65 from freshman John Robinson, which is a career best in the event for the Charlotte, N.C., native.

 

NU was dealt a disappointing blow in the third rotation, as its top parallel bars competitor, sophomore T.J. Schmidt, suffered a fall. Schmidt, who was ranked 11th on the event coming into the NCAA Championships, slipped his left hand off the bar and tumbled off the apparatus, costing the normally consistent competitor a major deduction. Fortunately, the rest of Schmidt’s routine was clean and ended in a score of 9.05. Wassung added a 9.10 to end the order and finish the event with a team score of 34.95.

 

After three rotations, Nebraska sat in third place with a score of 104.75 behind Oklahoma (110.20) and PennState (107.75). Trying to hold on to that top-three spot and advance to Friday’s team finals, the Huskers moved on to the high bar, where they put together their second-highest high bar score of the season with a mark of 34.75.

 

Senior Jon Charter began the floor exercise for Nebraska in the fifth rotation and ended his collegiate career on a high note, tallying a career best score of 8.75. Wassung added a score of 8.90 to end the order and give the Huskers an event score of 35.05.

 

After resting in the sixth rotation with a bye, the Huskers finished the meet on the pommel horse with an event score of 34.55, behind a team-high score of 8.80 from T?trault.

 

Session I of the 2007 NCAA Qualifier ended with a surprising twist as top-ranked Ohio State failed to finish among the top three teams and will not compete in the team finals tomorrow evening. Instead, Stanford (216.35), Illinois (216.30) and Michigan (215.35) will meet up with Oklahoma, PennState and Minnesota of Session II on Friday at 6 p.m. to determine the 2007 NCAA team champion. The NCAA all-around crown will also be determined at that time, while individual event champions will be crowned on Saturday, April 14 at 6 p.m.

 

 

Session II Results

All-Around Qualifiers                   Score

Kyson  Bunthuwong, California    53.80

Jason Wassung, Nebraska         52.70

Stephen T?trault, Nebraska         52.35   

 

Event Qualifiers (Nebraska Only) Score

Pommel Horse ? T.J. Schmidt                 8.65

Parallel Bars ? T.J. Schmidt                    9.05