Huskers Fall To No. 7 Iowa

Despite recording season-high scores on three events, the 11th-ranked Nebraska men's gymnastics team fell to No. 7 Iowa 206.575-202.575, before a crowd of 386 at Pershing Auditorium Friday night. The Huskers fall to 3-2 on the season, while Iowa improves to 2-5.

Competing in its first home meet this season, Nebraska got off to a strong start recording a season-high score on floor, while the Hawkeyes struggled on pommel horse, scoring 2.5 points below their season average.

Entering the second rotation, the Huskers held a sizable lead with a 34.475-32.000 advantage, but were unable to hold off a charging Iowa team that claimed the top three spots on floor. Posting their highest score on the road this season (35.450), the Hawkeyes catapulted to a 67.450-67.225 lead and never looked back.

Junior Martin Fournier led the Huskers with a season-high mark of 8.650 to claim his first-ever pommel horse title, while senior Jason Hardabura finished second with a solid 8.500.

Iowa extended its lead with an impressive 36.20 on vault -- marking the first time this season the Hawkeyes have broken 36 on any event -- but Nebraska didn't falter. The Huskers turned it up a notch and responded with a season-high of their own. Behind sophomore Ryan Sneed's career-high mark of 9.05, the only 9.0 awarded to a Husker on the night, Nebraska posted a 35.80 on vault to cut Iowa's lead to 137.875-136.975.

Led by senior Grant Clinton's first-place finish (8.95), Nebraska recorded its best parallel bars score this season (33.80), but it wasn't enough to match Iowa's strong showing on the horizontal bar. The Hawkeyes recorded a season-high 35.30, to extend their lead to 173.175-170.775.

Entering the final rotation, Nebraska needed a near flawless performance to challenge the Hawkeyes, but it wasn't to be. With only five athletes competing on the horizontal bar, the Huskers were forced to count a fall, ending any hopes of pulling out a victory.

"I thought we would be able to keep the pace up," Head Coach Francis Allen said. "We should have been able to stay with them."

Nebraska did have several athletes post season-highs, including freshman David Hansen, who finished fifth on vault with a personal-best 8.95. Freshman Steven Friedman also recorded a career-high, scoring an 8.75 on rings to finish second, his best individual finish this season. Hardabura, who finished second in the all-around with a 50.850, finished with a season-high 8.80 on the horizontal bar.

Allen, who praised the performance of his three freshmen and sophomore, is still looking for the entire team to come together at the same time.

"I feel the chemistry is there, we just did not do a very good job of mixing it altogether," he said.

The Huskers won't have much time to contemplate their loss as they travel to Norman, Okla., for a meeting with No. 1 Oklahoma on Sunday. The meet will mark the second time this season that the two teams have met, with the Sooners bettering the Huskers 209.750-200.050 at the Rocky Mountain Open on Jan. 19.