Huskers Notch Career-High Scores in Third-Place Finish

Lincoln, Neb. - Behind several career-high performances, ninth-ranked Nebraska posted a score of 347.500 for third place as it took on No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 2 Stanford at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Sunday afternoon. The Cardinal placed first in the triangular with a season-high and NCAA season-best score of 361.650, while OU earned a second-place finish with a score of 360.300.

"This was a tough competition for Nebraska," Head Coach Chuck Chmelka said. "I'm awfully proud of how we fought through until the very end. We really could have given up many times, but we kept fighting. Overall, we did what we were trying to do. Realistically, we knew what Stanford and Oklahoma were going to put up against us, but we did what we needed to do. I'm really happy with this team today."

Oklahoma and Stanford dominated the individual standings. Senior Kyle Shanahan was the only Husker to place in the top-three finishers at the competition, earning a second-place finish on high bar with a mark of 14.95.

Despite the team's third-place finish, nine Huskers earned career-high marks in the competition, including freshmen Andreas Hofer, sophomores Cory Baumgarten, Michael Heredia, Matthew Forrest and David Jacobs, junior Bear Danley and seniors Kyle Shanahan,Josh Rusler and Stefan Wallof. In addition to numerous career-highs event scores, Shanahan and Hofer both posted career-high all-around scores of 87.05 and 86.90, respectively.

Nebraska opened the meet on floor exercise with a season-high team score of 58.95. Baumgarten, who competed on the event for the first time since NU's last meet against Oklahoma, sparked a series of floor high scores with his career-high 14.45. Heredia set a career-high with a score of 14.60, while junior Bear Danley and freshman Andreas Hofer posted career-high scores of 14.35 and 15.05, respectively. Shanahan rounded out the floor lineup with a solid score of 14.85. After the first rotation, Stanford (59.70) led both Nebraska (58.95) and Oklahoma (56.80).

The Huskers struggled on pommel horse in the second rotation, posting a score of 52.20. Rusler came out swinging with a strong pommel horse routine, tallying a score of 13.25, which is his best mark of the 2010 season. Hofer and Jacobs highlighted NU's horse lineup with matching scores of 13.35. Following the second rotation, Stanford maintained the lead with a 121.00, while Oklahoma moved to second (114.65) and Nebraska slipped into third place (111.45).

Despite a rough second rotation, the Huskers came out strong on still rings in the third rotation with a score of 57.70. Wallof, who has not competed on still rings since the 2007 season, earned a career-high score of 13.30. Baumgarten notched another career-high score on still rings with a 14.40, while Hofer posted his second-highest score of the season with a 14.15. Ring specialist Anthony Ingrelli suffered an equipment malfunction, but managed to post a score of 14.10, while seniors Shanahan and Tony Maras placed fourth (14.60) and fifth (14.55) on the event, respectively.

Behind several career-high performances, Nebraska earned a team-best score of 63.05 on vault in the fourth rotation. Baumgarten notched his third career high of the day with a mark of 15.70. Maras tied his career-high of 15.75, while Shanahan blasted his previous career-high score of 15.10 with a score of 15.85. Forrest made his collegiate debut on vault, earning a score of 14.75, but suffered a knee injury on his landing. Following the fourth rotation, Oklahoma overtook the lead with a score of 237.00, while Stanford moved to second (236.60) and Nebraska remained in third (232.20).

"Matt did a good job," Chmelka said. "He was ready to go and I commend him for that. He came out fighting. He did get hurt, which is sad, but he put forth a really great effort."

Nebraska kept up the momentum in the fourth rotation, notching another season-high team score of 57.50. Four Huskers posted career-high scores on the apparatus, including Shanahan (14.90), Hofer (14.70), Jacobs (13.75) and Wallof (14.15). After the fourth rotation, Stanford took the lead with a 302.15, while Oklahoma moved to second (295.95) and Nebraska stayed in third (289.70).

NU finished the meet with a score of 57.80 on high bar. Shanahan led the way for Nebraska with a mark of 14.95 for second place. Rusler notched a career-high score of 14.50, while Jacobs posted a career-high mark of 14.45. Despite the late surge, Nebraska's score would not be enough to overcome the Sooners or the Cardinal. The Huskers fall to 7-5 on the season and 41-28-1 all-time against Oklahoma and 9-0 all-time against Stanford.

The Huskers will return to action on Friday, March 12, at Berkeley, Calif., where they will take on California and Penn State at 7 p.m. Nebraska will then return home on Saturday, March 20, for Senior Night against Iowa and Minnesota at 7 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

"We have Cal and Penn State next weekend," Chmelka said. "We want to keep getting better and hitting. This is a chance to do well and we have to be mentally ready. It will be a hostile environment at Cal, so we need to be mentally and physically prepared."