NU Clashes with Nation?s Best at MPSF Championships

The ninth-ranked Nebraska men’s gymnastics team kicks of postseason action this weekend as it heads to Palo Alto, Calif., for the 2009 MPSF Championships. The one-day event, hosted by Stanford, will be held on Saturday, April 4, at 6 p.m. Central at Maples Pavillion.

The Huskers enter the postseason after topping both UIC and Air Force at Chicago, Ill., on March 20. With the win, Nebraska improved to 4-7 on the season and 2-5 in the MPSF.

Nebraska clashes against three of the nation’s top-three teams on Saturday, including No. 1 Stanford, No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 3 California. NU will go against Air Force for the third time this season after defeating the Falcons two previous times. The MPSF championships also feature some of the nation’s best individual talent in Oklahoma’s Steven Legendre and Chris Brooks, who are No. 2 and No. 3 national all-arounders.

The Huskers will bring their own competition to the conference championships as well, including senior T.J. Schmidt, who is ranked 11th on pommel horse and seventh on parallel bars. Junior John Robinson is ranked 14th in the all-around, while sophomore Anthony Ingrelli is rated 20th on still rings. Freshman Josh Dilworth will also be a vital competitor for NU on both floor exercise and vault, as he ranks eighth on vault and claimed titles on both events two weeks ago at Chicago.

Since joining the MPSF conference in 1994, Nebraska has captured two team titles in 1997 and 1999. After 1999, Oklahoma topped eight of the last nine conference championships. Nebraska has placed fourth at the MPSF championships for six-consecutive seasons and hopes to break the top-three individual standings this season for the first time since the 2002 season when Josh Rasile took top honors on vault. Individually, NU is also looking for its first event title at a conference championship since the 2002 season. Schmidt came close last season, earning a third place finish on parallel bars with a score of 15.40.

NU’s fate for the 2009 NCAA Championships relies heavily on this weekend’s competition, as the national qualifying averages take into account conference scores. The NCAA advances 12 full teams to the championship competition. The Huskers are currently ninth in the nation and need a solid score at the MPSFs to secure a spot at nationals. The NCAA Championships, hosted by Minnesota, will be held April 16-18 in Minneapolis, Minn.

Huskers Remain in Ninth Place in National Poll
For the 11th-consecutive week, the Nebraska men’s gymnastics team holds tight to its top-10 ranking in the GymInfo weekly poll. NU was rated ninth by the latest GymInfo Poll released Monday, March 30.

In addition, the Huskers rank 10th nationally on floor exercise (57.583), 13th on pommel horse (54.700), eighth on still rings (58.350), ninth on vault (61.667), ninth on parallel bars (56.333) and eighth on high bar (56.600).

Last Meet Recap: No. 9 Huskers Sweep UIC, Air Force at Chicago
Chicago, Ill. ? The ninth-ranked Nebraska gymnastics team ended its regular season on a high note as it swept No. 11 UIC and No. 15 Air Force at the University of Illinois at Chicago on Friday, March 20. The Huskers posted a total team score of 340.05, blasting both UIC (334.20) and Air Force (325.30).

Nebraska took top honors on three of seven events, while seven Husker gymnasts earned top-three individual results on seven different events. Freshman Josh Dilworth stepped up big for the Huskers, earning event titles on both vault and floor exercise, while sophomore Anthony Ingrelli tied for first on still rings.

The Huskers got off to a rough start on pommel horse in the first rotation with a score of 53.30, which was nearly three points less than their score last weekend against Minnesota and Arizona State. Despite the low team score, senior James Mauldin earned a second-place finish on the apparatus, posting a score of 13.75 for the Huskers. Junior Kyle Shanahan helped NU with a score of 13.35, while senior T.J. Schmidt and junior Josh Rusler also added matching scores of 13.20 to the team total. After the first rotation, UIC led the standings with a score of 56.00, while Air Force was in second (55.35) and Nebraska was in third (53.50).

Nebraska couldn’t seem to stick a landing on still rings in the second rotation, pulling together a score of 56.80. Ingrelli was a highlight to the Husker lineup, tying for his second still rings title of the season with a score of 14.70. Junior Tony Maras was close behind with a score of 14.50 for fourth place. Robinson and Mauldin also added scores of 13.65 and 13.95, respectively. Shanahan improved last weekend’s effort, posting a new season-high score of 13.30. Despite the unusually low still rings score, Nebraska moved into first place after the second rotation with a score of 110.30. UIC dropped to second with a score of 110.20, while Air Force moved to third with a score of 109.30.

NU shook its nerves in the third rotation, notching a score of 57.95 on floor exercise. Dilworth led the way for Nebraska, earning the first event title of his collegiate career with a score of 15.00. Shanahan followed close behind in second place with a season-high score of 14.70 for the Huskers, blasting his pervious high of 14.25. Schmidt and Rusler also added to the team total with scores of 13.85 and 14.40, respectively. Midway through the meet, Nebraska continued to lead the standings with a score of 168.25, while UIC remained in second (166.00) and Air Force stayed in third (161.85).

Nebraska kept on the right track in the fourth rotation, posting a score of 56.50 on parallel bars. Shanahan was again a top competitor for NU, notching another season-high score of 14.25. Sophomore Bear Danley wowed his hometown Chicago crowd with a career-high of 13.85. Schmidt contributed a 14.10, while Robinson posted a 14.15. Senior Jacob Ives also earned a new career-high with a score of 13.45. After four rotations, UIC took the lead with a score of 225.30, while Nebraska fell to second (224.75) and Air Force remained in third (212.95).

The Huskers continued on to high bar in the fifth rotation, earning a score of 54.55. Nebraska nearly swept the top-five spots on high bar, as Rusler placed second with a score of 13.75, Shanahan placed third with a score of 13.70 and Danley placed fourth with a score of 13.65. Redshirt freshman Cory Baumgarten also contributed to the NU standings with a career-high of 13.45.

Nebraska was in a neck-and-neck battle with UIC, as the Flames led NU, 280.20-279.30 heading into the sixth and final rotation. However, Nebraska was able to surge ahead of the Flames with an outstanding effort on vault. The Huskers posted a score of 60.75 on vault behind Dilworth and Baumgarten. Dilworth captured his second event title of the night with a score of 15.85, while Baumgarten cracked the top-three with a score of 15.25 for third place.

Nebraska’s win over UIC and Air force marks the end of the regular season for the Huskers, who finish 2009 with a record of 4-7. The Huskers also advance to a 2-0-0 series record with the Flames and an18-2-0 series with Air Force.

Flashback to 2008: Huskers Finish Fourth at MPSF Championships
Lincoln, Neb. ? The Nebraska men’s gymnastics team finished fourth with a team score of 337.750 at the 2008 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in front a crowd of 259 at the Devaney Sports Center on Saturday, April 4, 2008.

No. 2 Oklahoma captured the team title for the fourth consecutive year with a score of 359.150. No. 1 Stanford finished second with a score of 357.200, while No. 4 California came in third (356.050) and No. 15 Air Force placed fifth (328.500).

Nebraska’s T.J. Schmidt was the only Husker to make the top-three in the event standings with a third-place finish on parallel bars with a career-high mark of 15.40. Sophomore John Robinson was also the only gymnast to compete in the all-around for Nebraska as both senior Stephen T?trault and sophomore Kyle Shanahan are out with injuries.

The Huskers started the meet off on the parallel bars, one of their strongest events of the year. Nebraska put together a team score of 58.50, while Schmidt was the stand-out on the event, posting a career-high score of 15.40 for third place. Robinson also set a new career-high of 14.60 on the event. After one rotation, Oklahoma led the meet with a score of 64.150, with California in second (59.100), Air Force in third (58.600), Nebraska in fourth (58.500) and Stanford in fifth (54.400).

NU was unable to pull together a full lineup on high bar in the second rotation. The Huskers posted a score of 50.10, which is seven points lower than their highest high bar score of the season. After rotation two, Oklahoma kept the lead with a score of 124.600, Air Force moved into second (118.100), Cal was in third (115.350), Stanford was fourth (115.00) and Nebraska fell to fifth (108.600).

Nebraska moved to floor exercise in rotation three and notched a rocky score of 56.250, nearly three points lower than their season-high score. Freshman David Spitdowski led the Huskers on the floor exercise with a score of 14.40. At the end of the third rotation, California took the lead with a score of 191.600, while Oklahoma fell to second (180.150), Stanford was in third (178.400), Air Force moved to fourth (172.750) and Nebraska remained in fifth (164.850).

The Huskers struggled again on pommel horse in the fourth rotation, only notching a score of 51.35, which is seven points lower than their season-high. T?trault was the stand-out on the event, posting a score of 14.10. After four rotation four, Oklahoma regained the lead with a score of 242.100, while Cal battle in second (238.550), Stanford remained in third (238.500), Air Force stayed in fifth (222.550) and Nebraska was in fifth (216.200).

After four rocky rotations, NU regained momentum on the still rings in the fifth rotation. Freshman Anthony Ingrelli’s career-high score of 15.50 helped the Huskers set a new team-high score of 59.65 on the event. Ingrelli finished fourth in the event. Sophomores Garret Durst and John Robinson also posted career-high scores of 14.45 and 14.70, respectively. Heading in to the last rotation, California was in the lead with a score of 300.300, while Oklahoma was in second (298.450), Stanford was in third (295.300), Air Force remained in fourth (279.450) and Nebraska stayed in fifth (275.850).

Nebraska ended the meet on vault, historically NU’s best event of the season. The trend held true as the Huskers posted a score of 61.90 on the event. Spitdowski led the Huskers with a score of 15.60. Freshman Bear Danley tried the event for the first time this season and posted a score of 15.25. However, the late surge was not enough to place the Huskers in the top-three teams.