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After competing only twice over the past month, the Nebraska men’s gymnastics team plays host to a pair of duel meets this weekend. On Friday, Feb. 19, the eighth-ranked Huskers will play host to Minnesota beginning at 7 p.m. On Sunday, Feb. 21, the Huskers will face fourth-ranked Iowa in a battle of undefeated teams at 1 p.m. The Huskers and Hawkeyes enter the week with a combined 15-0 record. The Huskers, 5-0 on the season, defeated then No. 6 Oklahoma, 227.075-224.175, in Nebraska’s home opener on Feb. 5. Both meets are in the Devaney Center track area.
About The Golden Gophers
Under longtime Head Coach John Rothlisberger (171-89-1 in 28 seasons, Minnesota has struggled in the early season, losing duals to Ohio State and at fourth-ranked Iowa and placing seventh in the Windy City Open for an 0-9 record (0-2 in duals) entering the week. The Gophers fell to second-ranked Ohio State, 226.15-211.926, in Minneapolis, Minn., on Feb. 6. The Buckeyes swept five of the six events, while UM senior Jason Krob finished first on pommel horse with a score of 9.725. Krob is ranked fourth nationally on pommel horse with an average of 9.712. Nebraska, which won the past six meetings, leads the all-time series 12-7-1, including a 229.575-221.275 victory in Minneapolis., Minn., last season.
About the Hawkeyes
The Hawkeyes, directed by Coach Tom Dunn (150-56-2 in 18 seasons at Iowa; 177-64-2 in 21 seasons overall) enter the week ranked fourth in the nation. The Hawkeyes are led by junior Todd Strada, who tied for ninth place in the all-around at last weekend’s Winter Cup Challenge with a score of 51.95. Strada is ranked second in the nation in the all-around with a score of 56.812. Iowa will face Michigan State on Friday before traveling to Lincoln. In their last meet, the Hawkeyes defeated Illinois, 226.85-224.725, on Feb. 6. Strada finished second to defending NCAA Champion Travis Romagnoli in the all-around with a score of 55.90, taking first on still rings with a 9.85. IU gymnasts Don Jackson and Doug Jacobson tied for first on pommel horse with a 9.60. Iowa and Nebraska have split 10 regular-season meetings, including a 230.675-230.175 Hawkeye victory in Iowa City last season. Nebraska set a school record with its score of 231.70 against the Cyclones two seasons ago in Lincoln.
Last Meet: Huskers Rally to Defeat OU
The Huskers improved to 5-0 on the season with a 227.075-224.15 victory over No. 6 Oklahoma on Feb. 5. After trailing 151.575-151.075 after four rotations, the Husker men were seemingly out of the meet, but used some timely vaulting and some unfortunate performances by the Sooners on high bar.
The Huskers, behind junior All-American Derek Leiter, who placed first on vault with a 9.80, Jason Hardabura and Blake Bukacek, who tied for third with a 9.50, scored a 38.15 for its best event performance of the night. While the Huskers were closing the gap, Oklahoma fell apart, missing all six of its high bar routines en route to a score of 35.00, falling almost three points behind heading into the final event.
The Huskers were led by sophomore Hardabura and Leiter. A sophomore, Hardabura won the all-around with a score of 57.025, taking first on still rings (9.60) and horizontal bar (9.85). It was Hardabura’s second career all-around title, as the sophomore from Oakville, Ontario, finished in the top four on floor exercise (9.625, 3rd), vault (9.50, t3rd) and pommel horse (9.40, t4th).
Leiter, who finished second to Hardabura with an all-around total of 56.975, was also second on floor exercise (9.70) and pommel horse (9.265). Other Huskers turning in strong performances included freshman Martin Fournier, who was second on horizontal bar (9.50) and tied for second on high bar (9.50), and Bukacek, who finished second on pommel horse (9.65) and tied for third on vault with a career-high of 9.50.
Leiter has Strong Showing at U.S. Winter Cup
Husker junior All-American Derek Leiter tied for 16th in the all-around at the 1999 U.S. Winter Cup Challenge at the Pepsi All-Sports Pavilion in Las Vegas over the weekend.
Leiter finished 16th in Saturday's all-around finals with a score of 51.15, including a fifth-place finish on vault (9.30) and a 10th-place showing on parallel bars (8.70). In all, Leiter placed in the top 20 in five of the six events.
1996 U.S. Olympian Blaine Wilson won the all-around with a total of 56.40, to beat United States Olympic Training Center teammate Jason Gatson's score of 55.80 in a meet which featured three 1996 Olympians and some of the top gymnasts in the nation.
A junior from Lincoln, Leiter qualified for Saturday's finals after placing 16th in the preliminary session with an all-around total of 51.050, including a sixth-place finish on vault (9.20) and a seventh-place finish on parallel bars (9.0). The top 36 competitors from Friday's two preliminary sessions advanced to Saturday's finals.
Nebraska Coach Francis Allen
One of the most successful men’s gymnastics coaches in college gymnastics history, Nebraska men’s gymnastics Coach Francis Allen begins his 30th season at the helm of the Husker program. During his illustrious career, Allen, a two-time United States Olympic Head Coach, has compiled a 163-69-3 (.700) dual-meet record and has guided Nebraska to eight NCAA titles. He has coached 38 NCAA individual champions, nine U.S. Olympic gymnasts (earning 11 positions), nine GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-Americans and three Nissen Award winners. The longtime Husker coach has led NU to 13 conference titles, including the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation crown in 1997, and was selected as one of two recipients of the College Gymnastics Association Honor Coach Award in 1998. Allen, a three-time NCAA Coach of the Year, was a former co-caption, along with current NU assistant coach Jim Howard, at Nebraska in 1965 after winning the Big Eight Conference title on parallel bars in 1964.
NU Plays Host to NCAA Championships In April
This April, the college gymnastics world will ascend on Lincoln as the University of Nebraska will play host to the 1999 NCAA Championships, April 22-24. It is the 10th time that the Bob Devaney Sports Center has hosted the NCAA Championships, the most of any facility in the nation. Tickets for all three evenings can be purchased by calling 1-800-8BIGRED or (402) 472-3111. Sessions each evening will begin at 7 p.m.
Competition Schedule
Day...............Events
Thursday....... All-Around/Team Preliminaries
Friday...........ITeam Finals
Saturday........Individual Event Finals
For more information, visit the NCAA Championship website at http://huskerwebcast.com/sports/gymnastics/index.html
Up Next
The Huskers travel to Norman, Okla., for a rematch with the Sooners on Friday, Feb., 26 at 7 p.m. The Huskers next home meet will be a double dual with Penn State on Sunday, March 14 at 1 p.m. The meet with the Nittany Lions will be televised by NETV and will the last regular-season home meet this season.