Big Red Ready for #3 Ohio State

Lincoln, Neb.- The No. 7 Nebraska men’s gymnastics team (6-4, 0-1 Big Ten) continues its conference competition at the Bob Devaney Sports Center against the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes (9-1, 1-0 Big Ten) on Saturday, March 8. The meet is slated to start at 1 p.m. (CT) and will be available to stream on B1G+. There will be a throwback night theme, and a green flag will be given away at the meet. There will also be an autograph session after competition concludes.

Last Time Out 
Nebraska completed its tour out west, facing Cal and Oklahoma in a tri-meet last week. NU earned second place with a 317.100. Cal scored a 308.500 and Oklahoma nabbed first with a 323.100. Chase Mondi won the floor title, Joey Pepe claimed the win on parallel bars and Taylor Christopulos won the high bar event.  

Nebraska’s first Big Ten duel was against Illinois in January. The Fighting Illini narrowly won by a score of 321.300 to 320.800. Nathan York (p-bars), Alex Nitache (p-bars), Luke James (floor), and Cole Partridge (high bar) claimed event titles. 

Scouting the Competition 
Ohio State is back from a bye week after seven gymnasts participated in the Winter Cup. Notably, Drake Andrews secured second place on the high bar at the event. OSU has only one loss this season, which came against No. 1 Oklahoma. Their last team meet was a win against Penn State, where the Buckeyes won three events. 

Freshman David Ramirez was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week after his efforts at the Winter Cup, including placing 12th in the All-Around. He ranks eighth on vault and 14th on pommel horse in the national rankings. 

Rankings 
Nebraska moved down one spot to seventh and is in the top ten for all events. Individually, Mondi is ranked fourth on floor and sixth on vault. On still rings, Chris Hiser holds steady at sixth place and James Friedman holds ninth place. Nitache is ranked eighth on p-bars and Christopulos is sixth on high bar. Rankings are calculated by the averages of the last three scores.

Quick Notes 
After their Winter Cup performances, Christopulos and Nitache will be recognized for their selection to the USA Gymnastics National Team. 
Francis Allen and Jim Hartung will also be honored for their inductions to the College Gymnastics Association’s Hall of Fame.   
The Big Ten announced a rule change for conference meets this season. Instead of competing in different events, the Huskers will face the Buckeyes head-to-head on each apparatus.