NU Set for Big Ten Matchup Against Minnesota

 No. 4/7 Nebraska vs. No. 5/7 Minnesota (with Minnesota Club Team)

Saturday, Feb. 4 • 2:30 p.m. (CT)

Sports Pavilion • Minneapolis, Minn.

Live Stats: http://www.gophersports.com/livestats/m-gym/index.htm

Live Stream: BTN Plus http://www.btn2go.com/game/nebraska-at-minnesota-on-02042017

Twitter Feed: @NebraskaRifle

The No. 4/7 Nebraska men’s gymnastics team begins a long stretch of away meets this weekend when the team travels to Minneapolis, Minn., for a conference matchup against the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Minnesota Club Team on Feb. 4. The competition will be held in Sports Pavilion and is set to begin at 2:30 p.m. The meet will also be live streamed on BTN Plus.

Last Rotation:
The Huskers had an extra week to prepare for Minnesota, after last competing on Jan. 21. Chris Stephenson and Antonio Castro claimed individual event titles with season-high scores in the Huskers home opener against No. 1 Oklahoma at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Stephenson earned the floor title with 14.75, while Castro grabbed his on pommel horse with 14.80. This was the second consecutive meet that Castro claimed an event title, after the Pinecrest, Fla., native earned the vault title at the West Point Open on Jan. 14. Stephenson also won the all-around with a score of 82.95.

Connor Adamsick, Evan Hymanson, Austin Epperson, Daniel Leal, Jordan King, Sanjaya Roy, Brenon Sommers, Alex Magsam, Anton Stephenson and Coleman Tokar each scored season-bests on one or more events against the Sooners.

Despite a terrific day for the Huskers, Oklahoma topped Nebraska 426.600-414.400.

Huskers in the Rankings
Nebraska’s highest-ranked events as a team are floor, still rings vault and parallel bars. The Huskers are ranked fourth in all events. Individually, three Huskers rank in the top 10. Antonio Castro is ranked the highest, holding the fourth place spot in the pommel horse rankings. Kyle King is tied for fourth on vault, while Daniel Leal is ranked ninth on parallel bars.

Scouting the Minnesota Golden Gophers
Minnesota is ranked fifth in the coaches poll and seventh in the rankings. The team is coming off of a 416.500-413.750 loss to Illinois on Jan. 28 in Champaign, Ill. Vitali Kan was the only Golden Gopher to claim an individual event title. The sophomore took first on vault with a score of 14.85. Kan also placed second on pommel horse. Shaun Herzog (floor), Tristan Duran (pommel horse), Mitchell Soukup (still rings), Justin Karstadt (vault), Jalon Stephens (parallel bars) each finished in the top three in their respective event against Illinois.

Minnesota has three gymnasts ranked in the top 10. Yaroslav Pochinka is the highest ranked Golden Gopher, holding the No. 3 spot in the vault rankings. Soukup is ranked seventh on still rings, while Kan ranks ninth on vault.

The Golden Gophers are led by seniors Zach Liebler and Mitchell Soukup. Liebler is a three-time All-American after placing eighth on floor and seventh on vault at the 2016 NCAA Championships. Additionally, the Pine Island, Minn., native took third on floor at the 2015 NCAA Championships. Soukup is a still rings specialist who currently ranks in the top 10 on the event with an average of 14.45.  Other gymnasts to watch include returning All-Americans Joel Gagnon and Justin Karstadt, along with Yaroslav Pochinka, Jalon Stephens, Vitali Kan and Alex Wittenberg.

Next Routine
NU continues its series of away meets on Feb. 11 when the team travels to Berkeley, Calif., to go up against Stanford, California and Arizona State. The meet is set to begin at 9:30 p.m.

Recent News
On Jan. 24, Chris Stephenson claimed NCAA Gymnast of the Week, becoming just the second Husker to earn the award following in the footsteps of Wyatt Aycock. Stephenson, a junior on the Nebraska men’s gymnastics team, adds this award to the Big Ten Gymnast-of-the-Week honor that he earned on Jan. 23.

“I feel really blessed to receive these awards,” Stephenson said. “I’m just excited that I’m healthy enough this year to go out and perform all six routines. It means a lot to get to compete in the all-around for this team and this university.”

The Fishers, Ind., native was rewarded by both the conference and the NCAA for his stellar performance against the top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners on Jan. 21. Stephenson claimed the floor and all-around individual titles on Jan. 21 against Oklahoma, with season-best scores of 14.75 and 82.95, respectively.

Stephenson also led the Huskers on vault, parallel bars and high bar as well, earning season-high scores on all three. Stephenson scored 14.45 on vault, 14.25 on parallel bars and 13.95 on high bar, helping NU to a season-high team score of 414.400.

“We are extremely proud of Chris for the honors he won,” Coach Chuck Chmelka said. “He has worked extremely hard to get back to elite form after his surgery last year and we could not be more happy for this outstanding young man.”