Huskers Travel to Oklahoma for MPSF Championship

No. 11 Nebraska will clash against the nation's top teams this weekend as it heads to Norman, Okla., for the 2010 MPSF Conference Championship. The one-day event is hosted by Oklahoma on Saturday, April 3, at 7 p.m. Central at the Howard McCasland Field House.

"We are looking forward to competing at the MPSFs this weekend," Nebraska Coach Chuck Chmelka said. "We are in good shape and should have a good meet.  Our goal is to hit 80% of our routines, not count a miss and score 350 points again."

The Huskers enter postseason action after placing second against Minnesota and Iowa with a season-best score of 350.55 on Saturday, March 20. NU wrapped up the 2010 regular season with an 8-6 record.

NU will go against No. 1 Stanford, No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 8 California and No. 12 Air Force on Saturday. The Huskers will match up against Air Force for the fourth time this season after defeating the Falcons three previous times. Nebraska fell to OU (twice) and Stanford (once) in the regular season.

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 10 conference championships. Nebraska has placed fourth at the MPSF championships for seven-consecutive seasons. Individually, NU is looking for its first event title at a conference championship since the 2002 season. T.J. Schmidt came close last season, earning a second place finish on pommel horse with a score of 15.05. 

NU's fate for the 2010 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 11th in the nation and need a solid score at the MPSFs to secure a spot at nationals. The NCAA Championships will be held April 15-17 at West Point, N.Y.

Scouting No. 1 Stanford
Stanford, who captured the 2009 MPSF Championship, enters this weekend after wrapping up an undefeated dual season with a 360.000-342.60 win at UIC last Friday, March 26.

Scouting No. 2 Oklahoma
The Sooners look for their 10th conference championship in the last 12 years this weekend. In its last meet on March 20, Oklahoma defeated then-No. 8 Penn State, 359.250-354.450, for its eighth win of the season. Freshman Alex Naddour earned his first career all-around title with a score of 87.6, as Oklahoma has earned every individual all-around crown during the 2010 season.

Scouting No. 8 California
Cal upset No. 6 Penn State, 354.650-344.300, at home in its last meet on March 13. Glen Ishino recorded an all-around score of 90.90 in the dual, and has earned MPSF Gymnast of the Week honors twice this season. 

Scouting No. 12 Air Force
Air Force won its first-ever USAG national title in the 23-year history of the event at home last Friday, March 26 with a score of 342.350. Junior Nash Mills won the all-around with a score of 85.45 and went on to earn MPSF Gymnast of the Week honors for his efforts.

Shanahan Named 2010 Nissen-Emery Award Finalist
Senior Kyle Shanahan was announced as one of eight finalists for the 2010 Nissen-Emery award, as announced by the Nissen-Emery award committee on Wednesday, March 24. Since 1966, the Nissen-Emery Award, which is college gymnastics' highest honor, has been presented annually to that year's outstanding senior collegiate gymnast. Shanahan becomes the 19th Nebraska gymnast to earn prestigious finalist honors. T.J. Schmidt was NU's most recent nominee in the 2009 season.

Shanahan joins a talented group of award finalists, including Jon Buese (Iowa), David Chan (Michigan), Aaron Fortunato (Minnesota), Derek Gygax (William & Mary), Nick Noone (Stanford), Luke Stannard (Illinois) and Andrew Stover (UIC).

Shanahan has been a steady competitor for NU since his freshman season. He has captured one floor exercise event title, five high bar titles and four all-around titles throughout his Husker career. He has also captured multiple top-three finishes each season on floor, horse, rings, parallel bars, high bar and in the all-around.

Despite fighting a knee injury throughout the 2009 season, Shanahan worked his way back into the lineup just in time for the 2009 NCAA Championships, where he became an all-around finalist. He captured an 11th-place finish overall.

Most recently, he became just the third Nebraska gymnast to make the Winter Cup finals, as he earned a score of 162.60 over two rounds for 23rd place in the all-around competition. Shanahan also earned 22nd on still rings and high bar.

Shanahan has also captured numerous Nebraska gymnastics awards since his freshman season, including the 2009 Nebraska Inspiration Award, the 2009 Most Valuable Athlete Award, the 2008 Nebraska Perseverance Award and the 2007 Nebraska Newcomer of the Year Award.

In addition to his gymnastics honors, Shanahan celebrates success in the classroom. As a finance major, Shanahan is a two-time Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Academic All-Conference honoree in 2008 and 2009 and has been named to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll four times. In 2009, Shanahan earned prestigious College Gymnastics All-America Scholar-Athlete accolades for his performance in the classroom. He earned a spot on the 2009 College of Business Dean's List and was chosen to represent UNL at the Oxford University study abroad program in 2008 for his GPA of 3.0 and higher and his athletic and leadership accomplishments.

Often described as the "Heisman Trophy" of gymnastics, the Nissen-Emery Award is inscribed with the following motto:  "The true champion seeks excellence physically, mentally, socially, and morally." The winner of the prestigious award will be announced during the 2010 NCAA Championship banquet. Nebraska has three previous Nissen-Emery award winners, including NU Assistant Coach Jim Hartung (1982), Wes Suter (1986) and Tom Schlesinger (1988).

Last Time Out: Huskers Post Season-High Mark in Final Regular Season Meet
Four Huskers combined for five event titles as ninth-ranked Nebraska earned a season-high team score of 350.550 for second place on Saturday, March 20, in front of 600 fans for Senior Night at the Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Neb. No. 6 Minnesota took top honors with a team score of 352.150, while Iowa finished third with a score of 345.700.

Senior Kyle Shanahan had a solid showing in his final regular-season competition, earning first-place finishes on pommel horse and high bar for Nebraska. Junior Anthony Ingrelli notched his third title on the 2010 season with a season-high and team-high score of 15.40 on still rings, while senior Daniel Brûlé earned his first-career parallel bars title with a score of 14.65. Freshman Andreas Hofer also notched his first-career all-around title with a score of 88.40, the best all-around score in Nebraska gymnastics history.

Three Huskers also earned top-three finishes on the night, as Hofer posted second-place finishes on pommel horse, vault and parallel bars and senior Tony Maras notched a third-place finish on still rings.

The Huskers began the meet on floor exercise, while Iowa took to rings and Minnesota was on pommel horse. NU posted a score of 58.25 on floor, as Bear Danley started Nebraska off on floor exercise with a career-high score of 14.50. In his first meet since NU competed against Ohio State nearly one month ago, Brûlé earned a solid score of 14.45 on the event. Sophomore Josh Dilworth also returned to the floor lineup after battling an injury and posted a score 14.40, his second-highest score of the 2010 season. Hofer put together a strong routine, earning scores of 14.90 on the event. After the first rotation, Nebraska led the standings with a 58.25, while Iowa was in second with a score of 58.10 and Minnesota was in third with a score of 54.80. 

Nebraska posted a season-high mark on pommel horse in the second rotation with a score of 54.60. Shanahan and Hofer earned the top-two scores on the event, respectively. Senior Josh Rusler earned his second-highest score of the 2010 season with a 13.45, while Hofer notched a career-high score of 13.85 for second on the event. Shanahan placed first with a score of 13.95, while sophomore David Jacobs posted a 13.35 on the event. After two rotations, Iowa took the lead with a score of 118.05, while Nebraska moved to second (112.85) and Minnesota remained in third (112.50).

Behind a first-place showing by still rings specialist Ingrelli, NU notched a season-high team score on rings in the third rotation with a 59.25. Stefan Wallof, who took to the rings for just the second time this season, notched a career-high score of 13.75 on the event, while junior Cory Baumgarten tied his career-high with a score of 14.40. Hofer continued with the Huskers' solid rings routines, posting his second-highest score of the season with a 14.50. Seniors Tony Maras and Shanahan also posted their second-highest scores of the 2010 season with marks of 14.75 and 14.70, respectively. Ingrelli rounded out the lineup with a season-high and 2010 team-high score of 15.30 for first place on the apparatus. A tight team race ensued heading into the fourth rotation, as Minnesota took the lead with a team score of 173.65, Nebraska remained in second with a score of 172.10 and Iowa moved down to third with a score of 170.30.

The Huskers moved on to vault in the fourth rotation, posting a solid team score of 62.55. Hofer led the way for NU, earning a career-high mark of 15.95 on the event for second place. Maras also had a strong showing with a score of 15.65, while Baumgarten posted a score of 15.50. Dilworth rounded out the top-four Nebraska finishers with a score of 15.45. After the fourth rotation, Nebraska regained the lead with a total of 234.65, while Minnesota moved down to second with a score of 230.80 and Iowa remained in third with a team mark of 227.95.

NU kept the momentum in the fifth rotation, posting a team mark on 57.30 on the event.  Brûlé led the way for Nebraska on parallel bars, earning a season-high score of 14.65 on the event for first place. Hofer also put up a solid score for the Huskers with a 14.55, while Wallof and Shanahan earned matching scores of 14.05. Following the fifth rotation, Nebraska kept the lead with a score of 291.95, while Iowa moved up to second with a 290.50 and Minnesota was in third with a score of 288.80.

As the race for first place heated up, the Huskers moved to high bar in the fifth rotation. Danley posted a solid mark of 14.25, while Rusler tied his career-high with a score of 14.50. Brûlé tied his season-high score of 14.35, while Hofer earned a score of 14.65. Shanahan, who had not warmed up on the event, captured his second high bar title of the year with a score of 15.10 for first place. Nebraska earned a score of 58.60 on high bar, however, Minnesota's vault score of 53.35 was too much for the Huskers and the Gophers took first place.