Huskers Earn Four Event Titles in Home Opener

Lincoln-In their first home meet at <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska, three NU gymnasts earned four event titles in route to a second-place finish against Oklahoma and Air Force at the BobDevaneySportsCenter this afternoon. Despite the loss, the Huskers closed in on the Sooners, 349.70-341.40, while Air Force placed third with a score of 323.65.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

“Compared to the Rocky Mountain Open, we did a better job today,” Assistant Coach Chuck Chmelka said. “We hit cleaner routines and had less falls, which was the goal.”

 

Nebraska set new season-high team records in every event while also capturing four out of the six event titles. Junior T.J. Schmidt earned his second pommel horse title of the year with a score of 14.60 before capturing first-place on parallel bars with a score of 14.90. Sophomore Kyle Shanahan tied Oklahoma’s Jason Laughton for Shanahan's first career event title on high bar with a season-high 15.00, while freshman Anthony Ingrelli claimed his first career title on still rings with a score of 15.30. Senior Stephen T?trault also finished third in the all-around for the Huskers with a score of 83.00, five points above his performance last weekend.

 

Following Olympic order from start to finish, the Huskers got off to a solid start on floor exercise, posting a season-high team score of 56.10. Shanahan led the way for NU, setting a new career-high score of 15.00, and earning a third-place finish in the event. Freshman Bear Danley also blew his Rocky Mountain Open score of 12.60 out of the water, recording a new career- high of 14.00.

 

Nebraska moved to pommel horse in the second rotation, notching another season-high score of 53.15.  Despite a series of falls by the first five competitors, All-American junior Schmidt stepped up in front of the Lincoln crowd and earned a career-high score of 14.60. Schmidt’s score earned him first-place honors on pommel horse for the second week in a row.

 

“T.J. is always the unsung hero,” Chmelka said. “He just goes out and hits his routines. He is a fighter and has always been a fighter. He won’t fall when he gets in trouble, which makes him a great competitor for our team.”

 

NU kept the momentum in rotation three, earning a season-high score of 57.40 on still rings.  Newcomer Ingrelli had a stellar performance at his first home meet, taking first-place with a score of 15.30.

 

Nebraska moved to the vault in the fourth rotation, one of NU’s best events this season. The trend held true as the Huskers posted another season-high score of 62.35 in the event.  Junior Eric Daigle (15.75) and sophomore Daniel Br?l? (15.70) posted outstanding scores to earn second- and third-place in the event, respectively. After four rotations, Nebraska’s score of 229.00 led both Oklahoma (228.20) and Air Force (209.60).

 

The Huskers saw great improvement on the parallel bars in the fifth rotation with a score of 56.20, nearly two points over last week’s score at the Rocky Mountain Open. Schmidt continued to impress the judges, earning first-place with a score of 14.90. However, the Huskers were unable to keep the early lead, falling behind the Sooners after the fifth rotation, 287.15-285.20.

 

On pace to better its season-high team score, Nebraska entered the final high bar rotation. Shanahan’s first-place performance helped NU set a new season-high event score of 56.20 on high bar. Despite holding season-high records on all six events and the final team score, Nebraska fell short to Oklahoma, 349.70-341.40. 

 

The Huskers will begin their road tour again next weekend with the Stanford Open in Palo Alto, Calif., on Friday, Jan. 25 through Sunday, Jan. 27.  No. 1 Stanford and No. 5 California will join Nebraska for a 7 p.m. start on Friday at the Burnham/Maples Pavilion.

 

 

 

Team Results                                       Score

1. Oklahoma                                          349.70
2. Nebraska                                          341.40

3. Air Force                                           323.65

 

All-Around Results                               Score

1. Steven Legendre                                87.65

2. Kyle McNamara                                 83.75

3. Stephen T?trault                              83.00

 

 

Individual Event Results

 

Floor Exercise                                     Score

1.Steven Legendre                                15.45

2.Bobby Shortle                                    15.40

3.Kyle Shanahan                                15.00

 

 

Pommel Horse                                     Score

1. T.J. Schmidt, Nebraska                    14.30

2. Jason Laughton                                  14.25

3. Corey English                                    14.00                                       

 

Still Rings                                            Score

1. Anthony Ingrelli                               15.30

2. Jacob Messina                                   14.45

3. Tagiy Abdullah-Simmons                    14.35

 

Vault                                                    Score

1. Bobby Shortle                                    15.90

2. Eric Daigle                                       15.75

3. Daniel Br?l?                                     15.70

 

Parallel Bars                                        Score

1. T.J. Schmidt                                     14.90

2. Kyle McNamara                                 14.65

3. Steven Legendre                                14.60

 

High Bar                                              Score

1T. Kyle Shanahan                              15.00

      Jason Laughton                               15.00

3. Steven Legendre                                14.90