Husker Gymnasts Head to Nationals - Huskers.com - Nebraska Athletics Official Web Site

Lincoln -- Nebraska will appear as a team at the 2003 NCAA Championships Friday through Sunday, April 11-13, at Temple University, in Philadelphia. This marks the first time in two years that the Huskers have been invited as a team to the qualifying rounds of nationals.

The No. 10 Huskers will compete in the second session of the NCAA qualifiers set to begin Friday, at 6 p.m., Central in the Liacouras Center. Other teams competing in session two include Oklahoma, California, Michigan, Illinois and Temple. Session one will begin at noon with teams from Penn State, Ohio State, Iowa, Minnesota, Stanford and William and Mary. Four of the five teams that make up the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), including Nebraska, have been selected to compete at the NCAA qualifier.

The top three teams from each session, as well as the top six all-around competitors, will advance to the finals on Saturday at 3 p.m. Central. Competition on Sunday will include the individual event finals beginning at 1 p.m. Central.

With a three-score average of 212.125, Nebraska moved up in the national polls from 11th to 10th last week, now close on the heels of Illinois and Stanford (213.092). Head coach Francis Allen remains hopeful that his 12-man squad can advance to the NCAA Championships, guaranteeing a spot among the top six programs in the nation, a feat that NU last accomplished in 1999 with a third-place finish (229.525).

Junior Steven Friedman and sophomore Mace Patterson remain strong contenders in the all-around competition. Friedman moved to ninth in the nation after scoring a career-high mark of 54.125 at the MPSF Championships on March 28. Friedman finished the meet in third place. Patterson reappeared in the polls after being out for two weeks. Entering at 19th, Patterson holds an average score of 51.883. This season Patterson has set career-high marks on all six events and in the all-around.

Junior Josh Rasile is hopeful he can make a return trip to the individual event finals at the NCAA Championships. Rasile was the only Husker to advance to the finals during the 2002 season, and finished eighth on the vault with a score of 9.137. This season, Rasile stands among the top 10 nationally on the vault and still rings and 16th on the floor exercise.

Other Huskers with prior experience at the national meet include senior co-captains Jeff Kelly and Ryan Sneed and sophomore Joshua Koopman.

Making Improvements
For the first time this season, Nebraska landed a gymnast among the nation