Huskers Face Flames, Falcons in Final Regular Season Meet

The No. 9 Nebraska men’s gymnastics team will travel to Chicago, Ill., on Friday, March 20, to take on No. 11 UIC and No. 15 Air Force in its final regular season meet of the 2009 season. The meet is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Central.

Nebraska faces the University of Illinois at Chicago for the first time since the 1977 season, where NU defeated UIC, 209.35-195.35. Should Nebraska prevail, the Huskers will lead the series 2-0. NU faces familiar foe Air Force for the second time this season. The Huskers and the Falcons first met at the Rocky Mountain Open on Jan. 10, where Nebraska prevailed, 332.400-317.900. Nebraska is on the winning side of a 17-2-0 series with Air Force.

The Huskers are 2-7-0 on the year after falling to Minnesota last weekend at home. Despite the loss, NU posted its highest score of the season against Minnesota with a score of 349.400.

Friday’s meet will be the last regular season competition for Nebraska. The Huskers will have a two-week break following the meet to prepare for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships on Saturday, April 4, at 6 p.m. Central.

Scouting the Flames
No. 11 UIC
2009 Record: 2-9-0
Head Coach: CJ Johnson (35th Season)

A Quick Look at the Flames
No. 11 UIC holds a 2-9-0 record on the 2009 season with a three-score average of 339.333, which is more than six points less than Nebraska’s three-score average. Junior all-arounder Nikolai Korepanov ranks fifth overall on still rings with a three-score average of 15.217. UIC last competed against the University of Illinois at Champaign, Ill., on March 7, where the Flames fell, 342.800-357.850.

Scouting the Falcons
No. 15 Air Force
2009 Record: 4-12
Head Coach: Kip Simons (4th Season)

A Quick Look at the Falcons
Air Force ranks 15th nationally with a three-score average of 334.150. One of Air Force’s top events is still rings, where the Falcons rank ninth nationally with a 57.550 average. Senior Jacob Schonig is rated sixth in the nation on still rings with a three-score average of 15.200. The Falcons last competed at the Southwest Cup on Feb. 27, where they scored a 342.550,

Huskers Keep Ninth-Place Ranking in National Poll
For the ninth-consecutive week, the Nebraska men’s gymnastics team holds on to its top-nine ranking in the GymInfo weekly poll. NU was rated ninth by the latest GymInfo Poll released Monday, March 17.

In addition, the Huskers rank 10th nationally on floor exercise (57.933), 11th on pommel horse (55.633), sixth on still rings (58.767), ninth on vault (62.050), ninth on parallel bars (56.767) and eighth on high bar (56.817).

Individually, senior T.J. Schmidt ranks 13th on pommel horse (14.633) and moved up to third on parallel bars (15.000). Junior Tony Maras ranks 15th on still rings (15.000) and freshman Josh Dilworth ranks 11 on vault (15.861). Junior Robinson also ranks 19th in the all-around with an average of 83.750.

Last Meet Recap: Huskers Earn Four Event Titles in Home Finale
Lincoln, Neb. ? Three Husker gymnasts combined for four event titles as the ninth-ranked Nebraska men’s gymnastics team took second against Minnesota and Arizona State on Sunday, March 15, in front of 591 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Minnesota topped the standings with a score of 353.30, while Nebraska finished second with a season-high score of 349.40 and Arizona State placed third with a score of 325.90.

Junior John Robinson captured both the all-around and vault standings with scores of 83.90 and 15.95, respectively. Senior T.J. Schmidt wowed the Nebraska crowd on Senior Day with a top finish on parallel bars with a season-high score of 15.30. Sophomore Anthony Ingrelli also topped the still rings standings with a season-high score of 15.00

Nebraska opened the meet on floor exercise with a score of 58.15. The Huskers were led by freshman Josh Dilworth, who posted a score of 14.85 for third place on the event. Schmidt followed close behind with a near-season-high score of 14.80. Junior Daniel Br?l? earned a new season-high score of 14.25, while junior Kyle Shanahan tied his season-high with a score of 14.25. After the first rotation, Nebraska led both Minnesota (57.15) and Arizona State (50.80).

The Huskers continued on to pommel horse in the second rotation, where they captured a season-best score of 56.30. Despite a rocky start to the lineup, Shanahan sparked a series of excellent routines with his career-high score of 14.75 for third place. Mauldin then notched a score of 13.90, his best since the first meet of the season. Schmidt also posted a season-high score of 14.70 for the Huskers.

NU posted a score of 58.90 on still rings in the third rotation, as two Huskers claimed the top two event results. Ingrelli notched a season-high score of 15.00, which was good for his first event title of the 2009 season. Maras followed close behind with a score of 14.95 for second place. Robinson scored a season-high of 14.65, while Shanahan, who competed on still rings for the first time this season, tallied a score of 13.00. After three rotations, Minnesota led the standings with a score of 175.95, while Nebraska was in second with a score of 173.35 and Arizona State trailed with a score of 159.65.

Nebraska kept up the momentum in the fourth rotation, scoring a new-season high of 62.50. Several Huskers captured season-high scores, starting with Br?l?, who posted a season-high score of 15.00. Maras tied his season-high with a 15.65, while Dilworth notched a season-high of 15.90. Robinson captured his first vault title of the season with a season-high and team-best score of 15.95.

The Huskers moved to parallel bars in the fifth rotation, where they posted a score of 56.65. Schmidt stepped up for Nebraska at the end of the lineup, notching a season-high score of 15.30, which was nearly .50 points higher than his previous high score. Schmidt’s efforts led him to his second parallel bars title of the season. Mauldin also earned third place with a score of 14.30. Following the fifth rotation, Minnesota continued to lead the standings with a score of 297.05, while Nebraska remained in second (292.50) and Arizona State stayed in third (265.00).

NU finished the meet with a season-best score of 56.90 on high bar. Shanahan led the way for Nebraska with a season-high score of 14.75 for second place. Despite the late surge, Nebraska’s score would not be enough to overcome the Gophers, who improved to 16-16-1 all-time against the Huskers.

Flashback to the 2008 Air Force Dual: Nebraska Sweeps Air Force in Final Home Dual
The No. 10 Nebraska gymnastics team ended its regular season on a high note on Saturday, March 22, 2008, as it captured a 353.650-335.100 victory over No. 15 Air Force in front of 300 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The Huskers not only ended the year with a season-high team score, but they also finished with a 5-7 record, which is their best since 2006.

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

Sophomore Kyle Shanahan captured the all-around title for the second week in a row, posting a career-high 87.45 on the event. Shanahan also captured his second high bar title of the year with a career-high score of 15.10.

Sophomore all-arounder John Robinson also did an impressive job at the meet, claiming his second first-place title on vault (16.00) before finishing second in the all-around with a career-high of 86.30.

Freshman David Spitdowski earned his first event title of his career on floor exercise with a career-high score of 15.20, while junior T.J. Schmidt notched titles on both pommel horse (15.30) and parallel bars (15.20).

Nebraska started the meet with a solid performance on floor exercise, as all six gymnasts set career-high scores en route to a season-high team score of 59.55 on the event. Nebraska earned all top-three finishes, as Spitdowski earned his first top finish of the season with a score of 15.20. Shanahan claimed second with a score of 15.05, while sophomore Daniel Br?l? placed third with a score of 14.70.

The Huskers kept the momentum on pommel horse, as they set another season-high of 58.20. NU swept the top-three again, as Schmidt topped the field with a career-high score of 15.30. Freshman Bear Danley and senior Stephen T?trault tied for second place with career-high scores of 14.40. After two rotations, the Huskers led the Falcons, 117.750-109.800.

NU kept swinging on the still rings, pulling together a score of 59.05. Sophomore Tony Maras finished second on the event with a score of 14.85, while Shanahan made his first appearance in the top-three with a career-high score of 14.80.

Nebraska made a clean sweep on the vault in the fourth rotation as the Huskers scored a 61.35. Robinson claimed his first career event title with a score of 16.00. Br?l? tied his career-high score of 15.70 for second place, while Maras cracked the top-three on vault for the first time this season with a score of 15.50. At the end of four rotations, NU was ahead of Air Force, 238.15-223.75.

Schmidt claimed his fourth parallel bars title of the season with a career-high score of 15.20, as the Huskers earned a solid score of 58.45 on the event. Br?l? made another appearance in the top-three as he claimed second with a score of 14.60. Shanahan rounded out the top-three with a score of 14.35.

Nebraska finished up the meet on high bar, where they scored a season-high 57.05. Shanahan blasted his previous high bar score of 15.10, as he placed first with a score of 15.10. Sophomore Josh Rusler also made an appearance in the top-three as he placed third with a career-high score of 14.40.