NU Finishes Third at Stanford Open

<?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Palo Alto, Calif.-The No. 14 Nebraska men’s gymnastics team finished third at the Stanford Open in front of a blaring crowd at the Burnham Pavilion on Saturday night. The Huskers scored a 333.85 on the night, while Stanford notched a 361.35 for top honors and California scored a 357.90 for second place. NU fell to a 0-6 all-time record against the Cardinal and a 1-4 all-time record against the Golden Bears.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

With Stanford and Cal’s athletes in full force, Nebraska was unable to crack the top three in any event. However, several gymnastics earned career-high scores on the night.

 “We did some really good things, but we missed 60 percent of our routines,” Nebraska Coach Francis Allen said. “That’s killing us right now. We started off good today, but in our last three events we couldn’t seem to finish. We are seeing some bright spots here and there.”

Nebraska began the competition with a solid performance on still rings, pulling together a score of 56.85.  Although the team score was not the best of the season, two gymnasts notched career-high scores for the Huskers, including Garret Durst (13.85) and T.J. Schmidt (14.30). Despite the effort, NU fell quickly behind both Stanford (61.35) and Cal (58.20) in the first rotation.

NU then marched to vault, historically Nebraska’s best event of the season. However, the Huskers, who struggled to stick a landing, scored a 58.99 on the event. Nebraska managed to narrow the gap on the top two teams though, as NU held a score of 115.85 behind Stanford (118.00) and Cal (117.70) after the second rotation.

Shaking the nerves at the end of the third rotation, sophomore Daniel Br?l? and Schmidt set career-high records on parallel bars, leading the Huskers to a season-high score of 57.10 on the event. Br?l? blasted his previous score of 14.25 by notching a 14.65 at Stanford. Schmidt scored a 14.95 on the event, .05 points higher than his previous season-high set against Oklahoma and Air Force. Junior James Mauldin also made his first appearance for the Huskers on parallel bars, scoring a 12.85 on the event. After three rotations, the Huskers continued in third place with a score of 172.90, while Cal overtook the Stanford lead, 178.35-177.35.

Nebraska gained momentum in the first half of the high bar lineup, as three Huskers set career-high marks in the fourth rotation. Sophomore John Robinson started off for the Huskers, capturing a career-best 13.20. Both junior Eric Daigle and sophomore Josh Rusler blew their previous high bar scores out of the water, earning scores of 13.60 and 14.10, respectively. Despite the early boost, NU was only able to score a 54.65 on the event. Stanford regained the lead after four rotations with a score of 240.25. Cal moved to second place (239.95), while Nebraska stayed in third (227.55).

Despite inconsistencies in the fifth rotation, the Husker team was able to pull together a season-high score of 56.50 on floor exercise. Senior Stephen T?trault jump started the floor lineup, earning a career-high score of 13.90. Freshman David Spitdowski then stepped up for the Huskers, notching another career-high mark of 14.75.

Heading into the sixth and final rotation, Stanford kept the lead with a score of 300.70. Cal and Nebraska trailed with scores of 298.15 and 284.05, respectively.

The Huskers finished the meet with a score of 49.80 on the pommel horse, which would not be enough to catch up to Stanford or California. NU dropped to 2-4-0 on the season

 Both the Nebraska men's and women's gymnastics teams are on the road next weekend with a double dual against Oklahoma. The meet is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 1, at the McCasland Fieldhouse in Norman, Okla.

“We have two more road trips and then we’re home again,” Allen said. “We will do fine by the time of our second home meet. We just need to build confidence on the road.”