Huskers Open Home Schedule with Ohio State, UIC and Air Force

Following one month on the road, the No. 9 Nebraska men's gymnastics team returns home to host No. 6 Ohio State, No. 13 Air Force and No. 11 UIC on Sunday, Feb. 21. The competition is slated to begin at 2 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Live stats will be available at Huskers.com.

Nebraska will celebrate UNL student and faculty/staff appreciation day, as the first 50 students and faculty/staff to present identification cards to the marketing representatives in the North entrance will receive a FREE slice of Valentino's pizza. This weekend's competition will also be a sorority appreciation day. The UNL sorority to bring the greatest percentage of its chapter members to the meet will win a $100 Valentino's gift card.

The Huskers are 4-3 on the road this season, with wins over Air Force, Arizona State and Washington and losses to Oklahoma and Minnesota. The Huskers and the Falcons clash for the third time this season.

#9 Nebraska (4-3) vs. #6 Ohio State (3-3)
Series History: Tied, 9-8
Last Meeting: Ohio State won, 223.975-216.60, at Columbus, Ohio, on Feb. 18, 2005
2009 Big 12 Finish: Third
2009 Final NCAA Ranking: Sixth

Scouting No. 6 Ohio State
The Buckeyes come to Nebraska after a three-week break from team competition. In its last meet, Ohio State lost to top-ranked Illinois, 341.350-349.700, on Jan. 30, at Columbus, Ohio. Individually, six Buckeye gymnasts rank in the top-15 nationally on four different events. Brandon Wynn holds a first-place ranking on still rings with a 15.975 average, a fifth-place ranking on vault with a 15.825 average and a sixth-place ranking in the all-around with a 86.25 average. Steven Spencer ranks 11th on pommel horse (14.00), while Mike Behles ranks third on vault (15.90) and Justin Myers ranks sixth on vault (15.80). Philip Onorato has a fourth-place ranking on still rings with a 15.10 average and a sixth-place ranking on vault (15.80), while Tai Lee ranks fifth on high bar (14.650) and 10th in the all-around (85.950). Ohio State is the top-ranked team nationally on still rings with a 58.650 average and the third-ranked team on vault with a 62.400 average.

#9 Nebraska (4-3) vs. #11 UIC (1-8)
Series History: Nebraska Leads, 2-0
Last Meeting: Nebraska won, 340.050-334.200, at Chicago, Ill., on March 20, 2009
2009 ECAC Finish: First
2009 Final NCAA Ranking: 10th

Scouting No. 11 UIC
The Flames enter this weekend's matchup after an already tough 2010 regular season, including losses to Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio State and Minnesota. Andrew Stover is the only UIC gymnast to rank nationally, as he is rated 11th on vault with a 15.750 average. The Flames rank 10th on pommel horse with an average of 53.125, 10th on still rings with an average of 55.975 and tenth on parallel bars with a 54.975.

#9 Nebraska (4-3) vs. #13 Air Force (2-4)
Series History: Nebraska Leads, 18-2
Last Meeting: Nebraska won, 342.400-329.800 at Minneapolis, Minn., on Jan. 30, 2010
2009 MPSF Finish: Fifth
2009 Final NCAA Ranking: 15th

Scouting No. 13 Air Force
Air Force will compete in its first team competition since the Falcons met up with Minnesota and Nebraska on Jan. 15. Air Force is 2-4 on the season, with two of its losses coming from Nebraska. Nash Mills ranks 10th nationally on vault with an average of 15.775, while the Falcon vaulting squad is ranked fifth in the nation with an average of 61.700.

Huskers Add 2009 NCAA National Champions to Schedule
Nebraska will have a two-week break from competition following this weekend's meet before hosting No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 4 Stanford on Sunday, March 7, at 2 p.m. Stanford, the 2009 NCAA National Champions, will compete against Air Force and UIC on Friday, March 5, at Colorado Springs, Colo., before stopping by Lincoln for the March 7 showdown. The Cardinal holds an 8-0 all-time record against Nebraska, while Oklahoma is 40-28-1 all-time against the Huskers.

Newcomers Making Impact
Four newcomers bolster the 2010 lineup, including Andreas Hofer, David Jacobs, Michael Heredia and Mark Ringle.

"Our newcomers bring new blood to the team," Nebraska Coach Chuck Chmelka said. "They're a fun group of gymnasts and they're exciting and work hard. They're doing exactly what we're asking. We don't have to worry about these guys working hard. They have that focus on how they want to get better and every day they come in and do what they need to do. Sometimes, we have to stay slow up a little bit. It's nice. They're doing great."

Hofer, a 5-7 gymnast from Heidelberg, Germany, is one of three all-arounders for the Huskers. Hofer, who has competed in in the all-around competition at every meet this season, has a high score of 82.65. He holds NU's best finish on vault with a score of 15.90 posted against Minnesota on Jan. 30. Hofer has three top-three finishes on the season, including a third-place finish on high bar with a score of 13.85 at the Rocky Mountain Open, a second-place finish on vault with a score of 15.90 against Minnesota and a third-place finish in the all-around with a score of 80.75 against Oklahoma.

David Jacobs, a 6-0 sophomore from the Atlanta School of Gymnastics, competed on pommel horse at the Rocky Mountain Open and at Minnesota, but added parallel bars and high bars in NU's competition against Oklahoma last weekend. Jacobs holds a season-high score of 13.40 on pommel horse, at 13.90 on parallel bars and a 12.00 on high bar.

Sophomore Michael Heredia, a Reno, Nev., native has helped the Huskers on floor exercise and vault at every meet this season. His season-high score of 15.70 on vault is the third-highest vault score on the team this season. Heredia recently posted a season-high score of 13.80 on floor exercise against Oklahoma last weekend.

Although Mark Ringle, a freshman from San Ramon, Calif., has only competed in exhibition this season, he continues to travel with the team to competitions, providing valuable depth to the Husker lineup.