Phillips, Christopulos, Doherty-Herwitz Named 2023 Captains

The Nebraska men's gymnastics team announced their captain selection for the 2023 season. Head Coach Chuck Chmelka, who enters his 14th season, announced the team and coaches voted this fall and selected Sam Phillips, Taylor Christopulos, and Liam Doherty-Herwitz to lead the team for the upcoming season.

Sam Phillips enters his senior year as one of three captains selected for the 2023 season. Phillips competed on the floor and high bar in the 2021 NCAA Team Qualifier and Finals and added on rings, vault, and parallel bars in the 2022 NCAA Team Qualifier and Finals. His performance in these events helped the Huskers to a fourth-place finish in both post-season competitions. Phillips is also a six-time member of the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll and a recipient of the Nebraska Gold Academic Medallion. The Big Ten Conference has also recognized his academic success earning Academic All-Big Ten in 2021 and 2022, and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honors in 2022.  The College Gymnastics Association (CGA) has awarded Phillips with CGA All-America Scholar-Athlete honors in 2021 and 2022. Most recently, Phillips was named to the First-Team All-Big Team in 2022 and Big Ten High Bar Bronze Medalist in 2021. Phillips competed regularly during the 2022 season earning five individual titles and five career-high scores. Phillips is a leader in the community earning a spot on the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team for his dedication to serving the Lincoln community in 2021 and 2022.

Taylor Christopulos enters his junior year leading as a captain for the 2023 season. Christopulos has competed consistently for the Huskers since joining the team in 2021, featured as an All-American on vault, and earning a total of 7 combined titles on vault and rings in his career thus far. Christopulos competed at the NCAA Team Qualifiers and Team Finals in 2021 and 2022, helping the Huskers to a fourth-place finish at both competitions. In his debut year, Christopulos won Nebraska Athletic's Outstanding Male Newcomer honors and was named four-time NCAA Rookie of the Week and three-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week in 2021. The Big Ten Conference has also recognized the junior's success earning the 2021 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and Big Ten Silver Medalist. Christopulos is a four-time member of the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll, a high-achieving exemplar in the classroom following his honors of Academic All-Big Ten, Nebraska Silver Academic Medallion and ultimately clinching a spot on the 2022 Tom Osborne Citizenship Team.

Alongside Phillips and Christopulos, senior Liam Doherty-Herwitz will lead the team as one of the captains for the 2023 season. Doherty-Herwitz highlights the 2022 season as a NCAA Team Qualifiers and Finals competitor on rings, helping notch a fourth-place podium finish for the Big Red. Doherty-Herwitz has seen success in the classroom with high achievement honors collecting accolades of Academic All-Big Ten and Nebraska Bronze Academic Medallion in 2022. A two-time Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll recipient, Doherty-Herwitz also consistently performs for NU, notching a vault title and 3 career-high scores during the 2022 season.

Phillips, Christopulos, and Doherty-Herwitz look to not only prevail, but lead the team back to the NCAA Championship Finals after finishing the 2022 season with a fourth-place podium finish.