No. 10 Huskers Host Air Force on Senior Night

The No. 10 Nebraska men’s gymnastics team will host No. 15 Air Force in NU’s final regular season meet of the 2008 season this Saturday, March 22 at the Devaney Center beginning at 7 p.m. The dual will be held in the Indoor Track and Field complex located on the west side of the sports complex. Nebraska will honor two gymnasts on Senior Night with postmeet activities, including Stephen T?trault and Eric Daigle.

The Huskers hold an all-time record of 15-2-0 against Air Force, including two wins earlier this season. NU last hosted a triangular with Air Force and Oklahoma on Jan. 20, where the Huskers defeated the Falcons, 341.40-323.65.

Nebraska is 4-8-0 on the year after upsetting Iowa at the Devaney Center on March 14. The Huskers posted their highest score of the season against the Hawkeyes, 353.60-349.40. Nebraska continued to make impressive strides in the meet, as five Huskers combined for five event titles. Junior T.J. Schmidt picked up two event titles in both pommel horse (15.05) and parallel bars (15.10), while sophomore Kyle Shanahan earned his first all-around title in just his second all-around competition with a score of 87.30. Sophomore Tony Maras and freshman Anthony Ingrelli tied for first on still rings with a score of 15.15, as freshman Bear Danley earned his first career title on high bar with a score of 14.60

Although Saturday’s meet is the last regular season competition for the NU men’s gymnastics team, Nebraska will return to the Devaney Center on April, 5 to play host to the 14th-annual Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference Championships. No. 1 Stanford, No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 4 California and No. 15 Air Force will all join Nebraska for the championships at 2 p.m.

Scouting the Competition
Husker-Falcon History
Nebraska-Air Force dual history first started in 2000 when the Huskers hosted the Falcons for a 223.925-214.425 win. However, NU-Air Force history dates back to 1991, when the Falcons first invited Nebraska to the Rocky Mountain Open. Since then, NU leads the series, 15-2-0.

Last Meeting
The Huskers last competed against the Falcons on Saturday, Jan. 26, as NU hosted a triangular against Air Force and Oklahoma. NU placed second with a score of 341.40, as Air Force finish third with a score of 323.65

Quick Hits
-Two of the Falcon gymnasts ranked within the top seven in the latest national rankings. Greg Stine is rated fourth on the still rings with a three-score average of 15.60, while Jacob Schonig is ranked seventh with an average of 15.40. Stine is also ranked sixth in the all-around with an 87.583 average.

-On March 9, Air Force closed out the home portion of its schedule with its best score of the season. It tallied a 340.200, which improved its season high by nearly three points. In addition, the Falcons upped the program standard on the floor exercise (58.350) and pommel horse (53.050).

-Air Force will begin postseason action on Saturday, March 29, when it makes a return trip to Springfield, Mass., for the USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championships. The USAG meet will be followed by the Falcons’ conference (April 5) and national championship (April 17-19) meets.

No. 15 Air Force Quick Facts
2008 Record: 3-12-0
Head Coach: Kip Simons, Third Season
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 8/2
Top Returner: Brian Boardman
2007 NCAA Finish: DNQ

Good Friday: Huskers Upset Hawkeyes
The No. 11 Nebraska men’s gymnastics team stunned the No. 10 Iowa Hawkeyes, 353.60-349.40, Friday, March 14, in front of 2,072 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Not only did the Huskers capture their first dual win of the season, but they also defeated Iowa for the first time since 2005.

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.

Senior Night Honors T?trault, Daigle
Two Husker gymnasts will be honored on Senior Night, including Stephen T?trault and Eric Daigle.

Three-time All-American T?trault has been a strong fixture in Husker gymnastics for four years. He first earned All-America accolades at the end of his freshman season after placing fifth on vault at nationals. After battling an injury-filled sophomore year, he bounced back and earned All-America titles on both pommel horse and the all-around during his junior year.

T?trault is a three-time College Gymnastics Association First-Team All-America Scholar Athlete and a six-time Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll honoree. Last spring, T?trault was not only named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Men’s At-Large Team, but then went on earn prestigious third-team CoSIDA Academic All-America honors. A mathematics major, T?trault is set to graduate in May 2008.

Eric Daigle will also be joining T?trault in Senior Night activities. Although Daigle, an industrial technology major, is a junior eligibility-wise, he will be completing classes in May before student teaching during fall of 2008.

Daigle joined the NU team in the spring of 2006 and competed on high bar, floor and vault consistently throughout his career. Not only did Daigle earn Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll honors four times throughout his career, he was also an MPSF Academic All-Conference honoree in 2007 for his academic success.

Schmidt Snags Two More Event Titles
Last weekend Junior T.J. Schmidt added two more event titles to his slate for a total of eight titles in just seven competitions. Not only did he capture event titles on both pommel horse and parallel bars, the Blair, Neb. native also set new career-high scores of 15.05 and 15.10, respectively. Schmidt’s scores moved him to 11th place on pommel horse nationally with a three-score average of 14.767 and 12th place on parallel bars with a three-score average of 14.983. With one more regular season meet left, Schmidt could earn more than 20 event titles in two years.