Huskers Begin B1G Competition

The seventh-ranked Nebraska men’s gymnastics team begins conference competition this weekend when it travels to Minneapolis, Minn., to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Jan. 30.

"I am very happy how our team is performing," head coach Chuck Chmelka said. "Last Saturday we put together our best competition in a long time and [it] led us to [a] record team score.  We now need to stay focused and continue to train hard so we can compete with perfection.  The season is still young...  We have some very good opponents ahead of us, so we need to compete at our best."

The Huskers are coming off an exceptional performance against Air Force on Jan. 23. The team shattered six school records, including four team records. Senior Ethan Lottman and sophomore Kyle King broke individual records on pommel horse and floor, respectfully and are looking to keep the momentum going heading into this weekend.

"It was a great experience to break the school record, and I think that's a good place to start, but I think there's always room for improvement," Lottman said. "I'm most excited about the team.....that it helped the team get a good victory."

King agrees that there are always ways to get better.

"[Breaking the record] was cool... and it felt really great," King said. "Building on that..[I still need to] get more comfortable with sticking my passes. I was still a little hoppy on passes I usually stick."

Nebraska has nine gymnasts ranked nationally in the top 20 across all six events and the all-around, including three in the top 10. Lottman ranks second in the pommel horse rankings.  King is ranked No. 6 in the floor rankings and Austin Epperson is tied for eighth in floor.

Other Huskers ranked in the top 20 include Sam Chamberlain, Daniel Leal, Connor Adamsick, Anton Stephenson, Jordan King and Antonio Castro.

Stephenson, who placed second in the all-around earned Big-Ten Freshman of the Week honors, becoming the first Husker men's gymnast to ever earn the award.

The No. 5 Gophers are coming off a win against Big-Ten opponent Penn State. The team claimed its first victory of the season, 432.750-418.500, against the Nittany Lions on Jan. 23.

Zach Liebler, who earned Big-Ten Gymnast of the Week, along with Justin Karstadt, Yaroslav Pochinka, Paul Montague Jr. and Jalon Stephens all earned individual event titles for Minnesota, while Tristan Duran claimed the all-around title.

The meet will take place in the Sports Pavilion and is set to begin at 7 p.m.

Fans can follow @NebraskaMensGym on Twitter for live updates, as well as watch the team's live stream at www.ustream.tv/channel/nebraskamgym.