Huskers Hunt for Win over Gophers, Hawkeyes

After a two week break from competition, the No. 9 Nebraska men’s gymnastics team returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 14, at Iowa City, Iowa, against No. 14 Iowa and No. 6 Minnesota at 7 p.m.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

The Huskers are 1-3 on the road this season and are eager to be back in action this weekend, hoping to break a losing streak to Minnesota that dates back to the 2005 season. Despite falling to Minnesota for the past several season, the Huskers defeated Iowa in a dual last season for the first time since the 2005 season.  NU is on the winning end of a 16-14-1 all-time record with Minnesota, while Iowa leads the NU series 12-9-1.

 

NU’s highest team score appeared nearly a month ago in the Huskers’ loss to Oklahoma, 337.600-354.300. Several Husker gymnasts will play key roles in increasing the score, including senior co-captains T.J. Schmidt and James Mauldin. Schmidt is returning to team competition after advancing to the finals of the 2009 Winter Cup last weekend. Juniors Kyle Shanahan and Daniel Br?l? hope to be back in action for the triangular after sitting out the first several meets due to injury.

 

Last NU Meet: Huskers Place Third in Stanford Open
Palo Alto, Calif.-The No. 8 Nebraska men’s gymnastics team finished third at the Stanford Open in front of a full house at the Burnham Pavilion on Saturday, Jan. 26. The Huskers scored a 334.700 on the night, while California notched a 356.450 for top honors and Stanford scored a 352.300 for second place. NU fell to a 0-8 all-time record against the Cardinal and a 1-5 all-time record against the Golden Bears.

Nebraska senior All-American T.J. Schmidt was the only Husker to crack the top-three in any event, with a third-place finish on pommel horse, while junior all-arounder John Robinson placed fifth in the all-around with a score of 82.65.

Nebraska began the competition on vault, historically NU’s best event of the season. Although the Huskers struggled to stick a landing, the team pulled together a score of 60.20 on the event, which bested last year’s Stanford Open score by nearly two points. Redshirt freshman Cory Baumgarten led the way for Nebraska, setting a career-high of 15.25 on the event. Sophomore Bear Danley tried his hand at vault for the first time in his collegiate career, notching a score of 14.75, while junior Josh Rusler also scored a 14.75. Freshman Josh Dilworth earned a score of 15.05, while Robinson rounded out the event with a score of 15.15.

NU struggled on parallel bars in the second rotation, putting together a score of 54.25. Junior Daniel Br?l? made his first appearance on parallel bars this season, scoring a 13.45 on the event. Schmidt remained consistent on parallel bars, notching a 14.05, which marks the third consecutive time this season he has scored above 14.00 on the event.

Shaking the nerves in the third rotation, the Huskers notched a season-high score of 56.90 on high bar, which blasted their previous high score of 53.50. High bar was fueled by season-high performances by all six Husker gymnasts, including NU’s top high bar scorer Br?l?, who notched a season- and career-high score of 14.55. Danley (14.15), Dilworth (12.70), Rusler (13.50), Robinson (14.25) and junior Kyle Shanahan (13.95) each earned season-high scores on the event.

Nebraska continued to gain momentum on floor exercise as the team posted a 55.45 on the event. Robinson topped the Husker performers with a season-high score of 14.55 on floor.

The Huskers suffered several falls on pommel horse in the fifth rotation, putting up an unusually low score of 50.55 on the event. Despite the low team score, Schmidt kept swinging late in the rotation, posting a season-high score of 14.55 on pommel horse.

NU finished the competition with a solid performance on still rings, notching a team score of 57.35. Although the team score wasn’t the best of the season, two Huskers earned season-high scores, including sophomore Anthony Ingrelli (14.85) and junior Tony Maras (14.75). Nebraska’s last push would not be enough to overtake Stanford and California. The Huskers fell to 1-4 on the season.

Schmidt Places Eighth on Pommel Horse at Winter Cup
Las Vegas, Neb. ? Senior T.J. Schmidt made Nebraska gymnastics history on Saturday, Feb. 7, by becoming the first-ever Husker to advance to the final round of the Winter Cup for two consecutive years. After putting up high numbers in the preliminary rounds on Thursday, Feb. 5, Schmidt was one of only 42 athletes to qualify for the final round on Saturday, Feb. 7.

Despite competing against some of the best gymnasts in the nation, Schmidt placed in the top-15 in two of his four events.

 

Schmidt’s best finish came on pommel horse, where he placed eighth with a combined preliminary and final score of 28.30. His score topped some of his fellow Mountain Pacific Sports Federation competitors, including Oklahoma’s Chris Brooks and Steven Legendre, and Cal’s Kyle and Kyson Bunthuwong. Schmidt also placed 13th on parallel bars with a combined score of 27.95.

 

He also tallied a score of 27.70 on floor exercise for 22nd place and 27.50 on still rings for 30th place.

 

Although Schmidt was unable to crack the national team lineup, five current and former MPSF competitors were named to the U.S. Men’s Senior National Team based on the national team points ranking system from the Winter Cup Challenge, including current Oklahoma competitors Chris Brooks and Steven Legendre. Current Stanford gymnast Sho Nakamori earned a spot on the national team, while former Stanford gymnast David Sender and former OU gymnast Jonathan Horton also named to the national team.

 

Two other gymnasts were named to the U.S. Men’s Senior National Team, including Minnesota gymnast Guillermo Alvarez and U.S. Olympic Training Center gymnast Joseph Haggerty. Six additional gymnasts will be named to the team at a later date. The 15 gymnasts named to the team will comprise the U.S. Men’s Senior National Team until the 2009 Visa Championships in August.