Huskers Set for Rematch with Air Force

No. 10 Nebraska (2-2) vs.  No. 9 Air Force Academy (3-1)
Jan. 22, 1 p.m. CT
Lincoln, Neb. (Bob Devaney Sports Center Track Complex)
Series History: NU leads 23-3

After finishing third last week at the Rocky Mountain Open, the No. 10 Nebraska men's gymnastics team will return to Lincoln for a rematch with the No. 9 Air Force Academy Falcons on Sunday. The meet is tabbed for a 1 p.m. start and will be held in the track and field complex at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

The Huskers are ready to face the Falcons after being narrowly defeated last weekend in Colorado. NU is 23-3 all-time against Air Force and looks to extend their win mark this Sunday in Lincoln.

Fans can follow the match via free live stats on Huskers.com or by following the Nebraska men's gymnastics team on Twitter (@NebraskaMGym).

Nebraska in the National Rankings
NU slipped one spot to No. 10 in the latest GymInfo poll released on Monday, Jan. 16. The Huskers are also sixth among Big Ten teams in the poll and fifth in the West region. Conference foes Penn State and Ohio State took the top two positions of the latest poll, which is calculated by average team score. The Huskers are ranked 11th on floor exercise (54.20), ninth on pommel horse (53.50), ninth on still rings (56.80), eighth on vault (56.60), seventh on parallel bars (56.10) and eighth on high bar (54.10).

Four Huskers also found themselves ranked in the national poll, led by sophomore Eric Schryver, who is eighth on parallel bars (14.50) and 11th on pommel horse (14.20). Junior Wyatt Baier is ninth on vault (14.80), while sophomore C.J. Schaaf is 19th on still rings (14.50). Senior Will Eastman rounded out the Huskers in the ranking, coming in at 19th on high bar (13.70).

Scouting the Falcons
Head Coach: Kip Simons
2012 Record: 3-1
2012 High Score: 333.300 (Rocky Mountain Open, 1/14/12)

No. 9 Air Force started off its season with a second place finish at the Rocky Mountain Open last weekend. The Falcons used solid debut performances from freshmen Josh Ramos and Greg Chaput, who placed second on floor exercise and second on parallel bars, respectively.

The Falcons also had a strong start on still rings in 2012, coming in fourth in the GymInfo event rankings with an average of 59.20. They are led by senior Devin Menefee on rings, ranked fourth nationally (15.40). Menefee is accompanied by sophomore Tyler Huebner (tenth, 14.80) and freshman Gared Chapman (15th, 14.60) in the still rings rankings. The Falcons are also fourth in the team parallel bar rankings (56.60) and sixth in the team high bar rankings (54.50).

Air Force's squad is currently on a record-breaking run, as their RMO score of 333.300 was the highest season-opening score in school history. In addition, the Falcons' current No. 9 ranking is the second-highest in school history.

Looking Ahead
The Huskers will hit the road for the west coast next weekend, facing No. 8 Stanford and No. 5 California at the Stanford Open in Palo Alto, Calif. The meet is slated for a 7 p.m. PT (9 p.m. CT) start on Saturday, Jan. 28.

Last Time Out: Huskers Place Third at Rocky Mountain Open
The Nebraska men's gymnastics team opened their 2012 campaign with a third-place finish at the Rocky Mountain Open on Saturday. Sophomore Eric Schryver tied for the parallel bar event title to lead the Huskers.

NU's team score of 333.300 trailed No. 1 Oklahoma (343.700), who captured their 13th-straight Rocky Mountain Open title. No. 11 Air Force placed second (333.300), while NU finished ahead of Arizona State (314.100) and Washington (248.100). Several athletes from the U.S. Olympic Training Center competed as well, but their scores did not count for finishes.

"For the first meet of the year, we did well," Head Coach Chuck Chmelka said. "We were sharp, we were clean and we hit really well. Overall, I'm happy on how they did on the first five events."

The Huskers performed well throughout most of their rotation but struggled in their final event, floor exercise. NU's difficulties in the event would enable Air Force to slip ahead and narrowly take the second-place team finish.

"Our last event of the evening was floor and we missed four out of six routines, which cost us second place," Chmelka said. "The other misses in events were just little slip-ups. That's not any excuse. We need to get better next week."

Eric Schryver had a strong night on parallel bars, tying OU's Chris Stehl for the event title with a 14.500. Schryver also contributed a 14.200 on pommel horse, good for second place overall.

Junior Wyatt Baier also had a strong performance on vault, claiming second place with a score of 14.800. For the second consecutive year, Baier's vault score was the highest of any Husker performance at the Rocky Mountain Open.

Freshmen Grant Perdue, Gabriel Jolley and Hayden Henrioulle made their collegiate debuts on Saturday night. Perdue had a solid evening for the Big Red, seeing action in both floor and vault while notching NU's second-highest vault score (14.400).