Four Huskers Advance to Second Day of NCAA Championships

Palo Alto, Calif.-Four Huskers will be representing Nebraska at the 2008 NCAA Individual Event Qualifier, which will be held on Friday, April 18, at 9 p.m. Central. <?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

Three-time NCAA All-American Stephen T?trault, a senior from Lincoln, Neb., looks for his fourth All-American crown on pommel horse, as he advances to day two with a score of 14.00 on the event.

 

All-American T.J. Schmidt, a native from <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Blair, Neb., also looks to pick up two more All-American titles, as he qualified on both pommel horse (14.50) and parallel bars (14.50).

 

Additionally, sophomore Tony Maras and freshman Anthony Ingrelli round out the Husker individual event qualifiers, as Maras will represent Nebraska on vault (15.75) and Ingrelli will compete on still rings (15.00).

 

As a team, Nebraska made a tough push to make it into the top-three, which would have qualified them for the team finals. However, their mark of 343.300 would not be high enough to make team finals, ending NU’s season. Oklahoma (357.500), PennState (357.300) and Michigan (354.300) will go on to compete in the NCAA team finals.

 

“We did some good things,” Head Coach Francis Allen said. “We’re our own worst enemy sometimes though. Both Michigan and OhioState were trying to help us, but then we started missing as much as they did. We had some bright sports and I’m really proud of our individuals who will compete tomorrow.”

 

The Huskers started off the 2008 NCAA championships on still rings for the second year in a row. Junior James Mauldin stepped up for the Huskers in the four spot, posting a season-high score of 14.75, which bested his previous season-high of 14.65. Rings specialists Maras and Ingrelli wrapped up the first rotation with scores of 14.70 and 15.00, respectively. Ingrelli tied for 11th to advance to the third session. After the first rotation, Nebraska sat in third place with a score of 58.65 behind first-place Oklahoma (63.55) and second-place OhioState (60.50).

 

Nebraska headed to vault in the second rotation, where the Huskers fought for a score of 62.00, which is their best vault score since their meet against Iowa on March 14. Individually, Maras posted a score of 15.75, which was good for fifth place and a chance to earn All-America accolades. Josh Rusler vaulted a score of 15.20, as both Huskers tied their season-high scores. After two rotations, the Huskers were second in the team standings with a score of 120.65, while Oklahoma held first with a score of 122.450.

 

NU trekked to parallel bars in the third rotation, where it posted an abnormally low score of 55.35. Schmidt, who was seventh-ranked on parallel bars coming in to the NCAA Championships, only managed to post a score of 14.50, which is his third lowest score of the season. However, the Blair, Neb. native managed to make it to day two with his score. Sophomore Daniel Br?l? remained consistent for NU, posting a score of 14.35. After three rotations, Oklahoma kept the lead with a score of 179.20, while PennState moved to second (176.50) and Nebraska fell to third (176.00).

 

The Huskers again struggled on the high bar in the fourth rotation, only notching a score of 55.20. Although no Huskers improved on their season-bests, Nebraska moved up to second place in the fourth rotation with a score of 231.200, while Oklahoma kept first (240.700) and Michigan moved to third (178.05).

 

Kyle Shanahan was bright spot for the Huskers in the fifth rotation, posting a score of 14.55 on floor exercise en route to NU’s team score of 57.05, which is Nebraska’s best floor score since March 22 against Air Force. Br?l? also posted a score of 14.50, which is also his best floor score since the Air Force dual.

After resting in the sixth rotation with a bye, the Huskers moved to pommel horse in the final rotation. Nebraska had several falls in the first two spots, but was able to regain their rhythm toward the end of the lineup. Schmidt was the stand-out for the Huskers, finished first overall with a score of 14.50, while T?trault finished 10th with a score of 14.00.

 

The Huskers couldn’t quite stay in the top-three as they fell to fifth in the qualifying rounds with a score of 343.300. While Oklahoma, Penn State and Michigan move on to tomorrow night’s finals, the six other teams will compete tonight at 9 p.m. to determine the final three qualifiers. The final six teams will compete on Friday at 9 p.m. to determine the 2008 NCAA team champion. The NCAA all-around crown will also be determined at that time, while individual event champions will be crowned on Saturday, April 19, at 9 p.m.

 

 

Final Team Results

1)       Oklahoma-357.50

2)       Penn State-357.30

3)       Michigan-354.30

4)       Ohio State-351.80

5)       Nebraska-343.30

6)       William & Mary-335.95

Nebraska Individual Statistics

Name	FX	PH	SR	V	PB	HB
Daniel Br?l?	14.50			15.60	14.35	14.25
Anthony Ingrelli			15.00
Tony Maras	12.65	9.30	14.70	15.75
James Mauldin		13.25	14.75		13.10
John Robinson	13.80	10.55	13.10	15.25	13.20	13.05
Josh Rusler	13.50			15.20		13.90
T.J. Schmidt		14.50	14.20		14.50
Kyle Shanahan	14.55	13.30	14.05	14.90	11.95	14.00
David Spitdowski	14.20			15.40
Stephen T?trault		14.00			13.30	13.05