Ingrelli Advances to Event Finals

West Point, N.Y. - Junior Anthony Ingrelli notched a fourth-place finish on still rings in Friday's event preliminaries to earn a spot in the 2010 NCAA Event Finals. The finals will take place Saturday, April 17, at 6 p.m. Central at the Holleder Center in West Point. N.Y. Ingrelli, who earned his second-best score of the 2010 season with a 15.20, will compete against 10 other still rings qualifiers to vie for NCAA All-American status.  

"I'm so proud of him," Nebraska Coach Chuck Chmelka said. "It's huge. He was steady. It kind of helped us at MPSFs we got hit really hard on rings. We thought unfairly at the time, but we made some adjustments in practice and because of that he hit a great routine. He has a great shot now to get in the top-eight tomorrow. We start from scratch so we have to do it over again. He did a beautiful job and I'm real proud of him."

Ingrelli is the first Husker since 2007 to advance to the event finals. Should Ingrelli capture NCAA All-America honors, he would be the first Husker to become a still rings All-American since Josh Rasile in 2004.

Although Ingrelli advances to the finals, the night was bittersweet as seniors Kyle Shanahan, Daniel Brule and Tony Maras competed in scarlet and cream for the last time in their gymnastics careers. Shanahan competed in the all-around for the Huskers, where he earned a 14th-place finish with a score of 82.90. Maras notched a solid score of 14.65 on still rings, while Brule posted a score of 12.35 on parallel bars.

Freshman Andreas Hofer also ended his stellar season with a 13th-place finish in the all-around with a score of 83.45.

In addition to tonight's event preliminaries, six teams competed for the 2010 NCAA Championship title. Michigan captured the team title with a score of 360.100.

All-arounders Hofer and Shanahan started on parallel bars and high bar in the first rotation, respectively. Hofer traveled with Michigan, while Shanahan competed along with the California team. Hofer notched a score of 13.90 on parallel bars, while Shanahan earned a 14.50 on high bar.

Hofer and Shanahan moved to high bar and floor exercise, respectively, while Tony Maras and Anthony Ingrelli took to the still rings. Maras ended his Husker career on a high note, posting his third-highest score of the season with a 14.65 on still rings. Junior Anthony Ingrelli came out swinging on still rings, earning his second-best score of the 2010 season with a 15.20. Ingrelli's score earned him a fourth-place finish in the event qualifiers, which earned him a spot in Saturday's event finals. Hofer and Shanahan earned matching scores of 14.10 on their respected events. Shanahan's floor score was .65 less than his performance last night, while Hofer's high bar score was .20 higher than his qualifying score.

While Shanahan sat out with a bye in the third rotation, Hofer competed on floor exercise. He stepped out-of-bounds on his first pass, which led him to an unusually low score of 13.00. Hofer had not placed below a 13.50 since the first meet of the 2010 season. During the third rotation, Illinois gymnast Tyler Williamson was in the middle of his still rings routine when one of the rings broke. The complication caused a half-hour delay in the meet, which forced a momentum change in the competition.  

Husker senior Daniel Brule competed on parallel bars following the delay. He suffered a fall early in his routine and earned a score of 12.35 on the apparatus. Shanahan also suffered several falls on pommel horse in the fourth rotation and was only able to post an 11.00 on the event.  

Despite a rough go on pommel horse, Shanahan came out on strong on still rings and vault in the next two rotations. He earned score of 13.60 on rings, while posting his second-best vault score of the season with a 15.20. Hofer earned a 13.20 on pommel and a 14.05 on still rings.

Hofer wrapped up his 2010 NCAA appearance with a score of 15.20 on vault, which earned him a score of 83.45 in the all-around. Shanahan finished up the night on parallel bars with a solid score of 14.50, which earned him a score of 82.90 in the all-around.

Tonight's event preliminaries and team finals will be tape-delayed on ESPN2 on Friday, April 23, at 12:30 p.m. Central.

Kyle Shanahan
Floor Exercise - 14.10
Pommel Horse - 11.00
Still Rings - 13.60
Vault - 15.20
Parallel Bars - 14.50
High Bar - 14.50
All-Around - 82.90

Andreas Hofer
Floor Exercise - 13.00
Pommel Horse - 13.20
Still Rings - 14.05
Vault - 15.20
Parallel Bars - 13.90
High Bar - 14.10
All-Around - 83.45

Anthony Ingrelli
Still Rings - 15.20

Tony Maras
Still Rings - 14.65

Daniel Brule
Parallel Bars - 12.35