No. 11 Huskers Upset No. 10 Hawkeyes

<?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Lincoln, Neb. ? The No. 11 Nebraska men’s gymnastics team stunned the No. 10 Iowa Hawkeyes, 353.60-349.40, Friday evening in front of 2,072 fans at the BobDevaneySportsCenter. Not only did the Huskers capture their first dual win of the season, but they also defeated Iowa for the first time since 2005.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

“I liked that we were behind after two events and we fought hard to come back,” Head Coach Francis Allen said. “I thought that it was going to be terrible if we fell apart, but we got to the rings and the vault and just nailed them. We put it away.”

 

“I predicted Iowa was a good team before the meet,” Allen said. “But since we were playing at home we should beat them and we did. Now we need to enter the conference meet with nothing but confidence.”

 

Nebraska took top honors on four events, two of which saw the Huskers in all top three spots. NU also claimed the top-two spots on the all-around for the first time this season.

 

Junior T.J. Schmidt started the winning trend for the Huskers tonight, as he claimed event titles on pommel horse (15.05) and parallel bars (15.10). Sophomore Tony Maras and Anthony Ingrelli tied for first on still rings with a score of 15.15, while freshman Bear Danley also captured his first career title on high bar with a career-high score of 14.60.

 

In just his second all-around competition of the season, sophomore Kyle Shanahan topped the standings with a career-high score of 87.30. Senior Stephen T?trault finished in a close second with a career-high score of 86.70.

 

Following Olympic order from start to finish, Nebraska came out exceptionally strong on the floor exercise to start the meet, earning a team score of 57.20, just shy of its season high of 57.50. Maras made his first appearance on floor exercise a good one, as he set a career-high score of 13.30. Maras launched a series of career-highs on floor, as sophomore John Robinson (14.10) and T?trault (14.15) also blasted their previous career-high scores. Shanahan was the floor exercise stand-out for the Huskers as he tied for second with a score of 14.60.

 

Nebraska moved to pommel horse in the second rotation, scoring a season-high of 57.85, which bested their former season-high of 55.80. Schmidt stole the show, placing first for the second week in a row with a career-high of 15.05. Several Huskers scored career-bests, including T?trault (14.55), Shanahan (14.55), Maras (12.55), Danley (13.70). After two rotations, the Huskers were behind the Hawkeyes, 115.05-116.45.

 

NU kept the momentum in rotation three, with another season-high score of 59.30 on still rings. Nebraska swept the top-three, as Maras and Ingrelli tied for first with a score of 15.15. Junior James Mauldin cracked the top-three for the second week in a row as he set a career-high mark of 14.65 for third-place. Sophomore Garret Durst (14.35) and T?trault (14.00) also set career-high scores for the Huskers.

 

Nebraska moved to the vault in the fourth rotation, traditionally one of NU’s best events of the year. The trend held true as the Huskers posted another season-high score of 62.70 in the event. Robinson’s career-high score of 16.10 led him to a second place in the event, which was his first career top-three finish. He also set a new event-high score for the Huskers on vault. In addition to Robinson’s stellar performance, the entire lineup set career-highs, including Shanahan (15.15), sophomore Josh Rusler (15.20), freshman David Spitdowski (15.65), Maras (15.75) and T?trault (15.80).

 

The Huskers jumped ahead of Iowa, 237.65-236.10, as both teams headed into the fifth rotation.

NU kept the good fortune rolling, as they set yet another season-high score of 58.95 on parallel bars. Schmidt set his second career-high of the night with a score of 15.10 on parallel bars en route to his eighth event title of the season. The Huskers rounded out the parallel bars top-three as Shanahan scored a career-high 14.85 for second place, while T?trault finished third with a career-high 14.70.

 

With no room for error, the Huskers took to the high bar in the final rotation. Danley notched a first-place finish with a career-high score of 14.60 to lead NU to a season-high score of 57.00 on the event. The score would be enough to carry the Huskers to the 353.60-349.40 win. The Huskers are now 4-8-0 on the year.

Next weekend, Nebraska will return to Lincoln to host its final meet of the 2008 regular season as it welcomes Air Force to the BobDevaneySportsCenter on Saturday, March 22 at 7 p.m. Nebraska seniors Stephen T?trault and Eric Daigle will be honored following the meet in a special Senior Night ceremony.

 

Team Results                                       Score

1. Nebraska`                                          353.60

2. Iowa                                                  349.40

 

All-Around Results                               Score

1. Kyle Shanahan, Nebraska               87.30

2. Stephen T?trault, Nebraska                        86.70

3. Curtis Kleffman, Iowa                          85.45

 

Individual Event Results

 

Floor Exercise                                     Score

1. Geoff Reins, Iowa                               15.10

2T. Kyle Shanahan, Nebraska             14.60

    Danny Kuklinski, Iowa                        14.60

     

 

Pommel Horse                                     Score

1. T.J. Schmidt, Nebraska                    15.05

2T. Jacob Becker, Iowa                          14.90

      Curtis Kleffman, Iowa                        14.90               

 

Still Rings                                            Score

1T. Tony Maras, Nebraska                   15.15

    Anthony Ingrelli, Nebraska              15.15

3. James Mauldin, Nebraska                14.65

 

Vault                                                    Score

1. Geoff Reins, Iowa                               16.30

2. John Robinson, Nebraska                16.10

3. Ben Ketelsen, Iowa                            15.90

 

Parallel Bars                                        Score

1. T.J. Schmidt, Nebraska                    15.10

2. Kyle Shanahan, Nebraska               14.80

3. Stephen T?trault, Nebraska             14.70

 

High Bar                                              Score

1. Bear Danley, Nebraska                    14.60

2. Joel Snyder, Iowa                               14.55

3. Curtis Kleffman, Iowa                          14.40