No. 12 Huskers Head to No. 2 Stanford for Round Two

After a two week break from team competition, the No. 12 Nebraska men’s gymnastics team will be on the road this weekend with a meet against No. 2 Stanford. The competition will be held at the Burnham Pavilion in Palo Alto, Calif., at 9 p.m. central.

The Huskers are eager to battle the Cardinal again for the second time this season. NU first met up with Stanford at the Stanford Open on Jan. 26, where the Huskers placed third with a score of 333.85 behind both Stanford (361.35) and Cal (357.90).

Should Nebraska prevail over Stanford this weekend, the Huskers will break a five meet losing streak to the Cardinal.

Several Husker gymnasts will play key roles in helping Nebraska gain momentum on the Cardinal, including last weekend’s stand out gymnast T.J. Schmidt. The junior from Blair, Neb., was the first gymnast in Nebraska history to advance to the finals of the Winter Cup, a competition held to determine national team members. Senior Stephen Tetrault and junior Kyle Shanahan will also make a strong impact on the Nebraska all-around competition.

NU’s last team contest was against Oklahoma, where the Huskers fell to the Sooners, 355.55-337.75.

Stanford enters the meet following a top-notch showing at the Winter Cup in Las Vegas, as seven Cardinals advanced the the final round of competition. Stanford has not had a team competition since the Stanford Open on Jan. 26.

Scouting the Competition
A Glance at the Cardinal
>Last weekend, seven Cardinals advanced to the final round of the Winter Cup, while six placed in the top half of the competition. Stanford’s David Sender placed sixth in the all-around.

>Stanford has not had a team competition since the Stanford Open on Jan. 26, where the Cardinal scored a 361.35 to top both Cal (357.90) and Nebraska (333.85).

>Stanford is only ranked behind No. 1 Penn State in GymInfo’s National Rankings. Stanford owns a season average of 354.183, while Penn State averages a 355.087.

Husker-Cardinal History
Compared to the long history of Nebraska men’s gymnastics, the Nebraska-Stanford relationship is relatively new. The Huskers and the Cardinal competed for the first time at Palo Alto in 1994 for a five-team competition hosted by Stanford. Since 1994, the programs have met six other times, including one time this season. Unfortunately for Nebraska, in six regular-season meets against Stanford, the Huskers have not won a match, making Stanford one of just three teams to boast an undefeated record over Nebraska.

Last Meeting
Nebraska last met with Stanford in regular-season competition when the Huskers traveled to Stanford for the Stanford Open on Jan. 26, 2007. NU fell to both Stanford and California.

No. 2 Stanford Quick Hits
2008 Record: 8-1-0
Head Coach: Thom Glielmi, Sixth Season
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 7/4
All-Americans Returning/Lost: 3/1
Top Returner: David Sender, Senior
2007 NCAA Finish: Third

Schmidt Makes Husker History at Winter Cup
Junior T.J. Schmidt made Nebraska gymnastics history by becoming the first-ever Husker to advance to the final round of the 2008 Winter Cup on Feb. 9. After putting up stellar numbers in the preliminary rounds on Thursday, Feb. 7, the Blair, Neb. native was one of only 42 athletes to qualify for the final round on Saturday, Feb. 9.

Competing against some of the best in the nation, including former Olympians Paul Hamm and Blaine Wilson, Schmidt shined in his three events of pommel horse, still rings and parallel bars.

Schmidt’s best finish came on pommel horse, where he placed 15th with a combined preliminary and final score of 27.25. His score topped some of his fellow Mountain Pacific Sports Federation competitors, including Cal’s Kyle Bunthuwong (19th) and Stanford’s David Sender (20th).

Schmidt also tallied a score of 28.60 on parallel bars for 18th place and 27.95 on still rings for 22nd place.

Nebraska senior Stephen T?trault also joined Schmidt for the Winter Cup. T?trault, a four-time Winter Cup competitor, finished Session One with a score of 53.25 in the all around. A regular all-around competitor for the Huskers, T?trault did not compete on floor exercise or still rings in the Winter Cup. His top performance came on the vault, where he tied for 42nd place with a score of 14.70. T?trault also notched scores of 12.50 on pommel horse, 13.10 on parallel bars and 12.95 on high bar.

After Saturday night’s final rounds, Team Chevron’s Paul Hamm was crowned the top spot in the all-around with a score of 185.85, while teammates Rej Bhavsar (178.60), Alexander Artemey (173.10), David Durante (177.20) and Joseph Hagerty (176.45) placed third through fifth, respectively. Stanford’s David Sender rounded out the top six with a score of 175.20.

The Winter Cup is used to select seven members for the U.S. National Team, including the top four finishers from the meet as well as three additional athletes as selected by the Men’s Program Committee.

Last Team Meet Repeat: Huskers Fall to Sooners in Oklahoma
The No. 10 Nebraska men’s gymnastics team scored a team mark of 337.75 in front of 1,238 fans at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., against the No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners on Friday, Feb. 1. Despite strong team and event scores, NU’s performance wasn’t quite enough to prevail over OU, which posted a score of 355.55 for the win.

Junior T.J. Schmidt earned his third pommel horse title on the year, tying Oklahoma’s Jason Laughton for first place with a score of 14.35. In addition to his title, Schmidt recorded a second-place finish on parallel bars with a score of 14.70. Senior captain Stephen T?trault posted a third-place finish in the all-around with a score of 83.40.

Despite a season-high score of 53.80 pommel horse, the first three competitors lost points due to falls. However, Schmidt was able to lead the bottom half of the rotation to better luck, as he tied for first with a score of 14.35. In addition to Schmidt’s stellar performance, T?trault and sophomore Kyle Shanahan each tallied career-high scores of 13.85 and 13.60, respectively.

NU continued on to floor exercise in the second rotation, where the Huskers notched a team score of 56.40. Floor exercise was full of highs for Nebraska, as junior Eric Daigle first posted a career-high score of 13.80 before sophomore Josh Rusler, a native of Norman, Okla., wowed his hometown crowd with another career-high score of 13.70. T?trault also tied his career high with a mark of 13.90. Despite the record-breaking scores, Nebraska was unable to crack the top-three in the event.

Nebraska struggled on vault for the second week in a row, tallying a team mark of 60.86. Sophomore John Robinson had a breakthrough performance though, carrying the Huskers in the third rotation with a career-high 15.70 on the vault, which blew his previous high of 15.00 out of the water. After three rotations, Nebraska fell slightly behind Oklahoma, 176.10-171.15.

NU kept swinging on the still rings in the fourth rotation, tallying a team mark of 56.80. Although Huskers were not able to crack the top-three on still rings, two Huskers claimed career-highs on the event. In just his first try on still rings this season, Shanahan scored a 14.35, while junior James Mauldin notched a career-high score of 14.35. As Nebraska wrapped up its fourth rotation, Oklahoma spread its lead, 239.30-227.95.

The Huskers had a rocky fifth rotation, as it scored a 53.35 on the event. Again, Nebraska was unable to crack the top-three and the Sooners kept forging ahead, 297.30-281.30.

Despite several rough rotations, Nebraska finished strong on parallel bars with a score of 56.46. Schmidt earned a second-place finish with a score of 14.70.

Shanahan Tests New Waters
After a year-long absence from all-around competition, sophomore Kyle Shanahan will return to the all-around once again against Stanford. Shanahan has certainly made his mark on NU gymnastics this season, as he holds team highs in both floor exercise (15.00) and high bar (15.00). He also claimed a high bar event title with a score of 15.00 against Oklahoma and Air Force on Jan. 20.

Shanahan’s last all-around showing was at the Stanford Open on Jan. 27, 2008, where he scored a 47.65 in the former scoring system.