Huskers Fall to Fifth-Ranked Illini

It was a night of highs and lows for Nebraska's ninth-ranked men's gymnastics team, who opened the 2002 season with a 205.5 - 210.5 loss to fifth-ranked Illinois on Saturday night at Huff Hall.

On the plus side, Nebraska exceeded the 36.0 mark on both the still rings and vault. However, the 30.8 on the pommel horse doomed NU.

NU's Steven Friedman finished second in the all-around with a score of 50.5, while teammate Martin Fournier was a close third with a 50.35. Illinois' Scott Wetterling won the all-around title with a 51.05. He also placed first on the horizontal bar (9.35) and vault (9.25).

"What really killed us tonight was the pommel horse," said Nebraska Head Coach Francis Allen. "We would be have been okay if we could have hit more than one routine on the horse.

"For the first meet of the season, I though we got through it pretty well. You have to get that first meet out of the way and rid of those first-meet jitters.

Ryan Sneed's career-high 9.15 vault was good enough for a second-place finish, propelling Nebraska to an impressive 36.3, a mark the Huskers failed to reach a year ago. Josh Rasile was close behind in third with a 9.1, while Clinton was fourth 9.05 and Fournier fifth with a 9.0.

Clinton brought home the title on the still rings with a 9.55, as the Huskers cracked into the 36s on the second straight event with a 36.15. Rasile set a career high on the rings with a 9.25, placing second in the process.

"Rings is a very good event for Grant, and overall he had a really good meet tonight," Allen said. "Clinton and Fournier really provide us with senior leadership, and that is what we really need right now."

In the last rotation of the evening, Nebraska notched 33.55 on the horizontal bar with Clinton turning in NU's best mark with an 8.9, and a 34.5 on the parallel bars with Clinton winning his second event of the night with a score of 9.1.

The Huskers opened the meet on the pommel horse where they struggled to a 30.8. Fournier led the way for NU on the event with an 8.6 followed by junior Sneed's mark of 8.25.

Nebraska rebounded on the floor exercise with a solid score of 34.2. Three Huskers scored 8.6 on the floor exercise to finish in a tie for fourth place, including freshman Josh Koopman, Rasile and Friedman. The Fighting Illini swept the top three spots on the floor with Peter Shostchuk taking the title with a 9.1

The Huskers will return to action on Jan. 25 at the Rocky Mountain Open in Colorado Springs, Colo. NU will face off with top-ranked Oklahoma and third-ranked Ohio State.

Team Scores	FX	PH	SR	V	PB	HB	Total
Nebraska	34.2	30.8	36.15	36.3	34.5	33.55	205.5
Illinois	35.35	33.9	35.25	35.85	34.5	35.65	210.5

Individual Scores
All-Around
1. Scott Wetterling, UI	51.05
2. Steven Friedman, NU	50.50
3. Martin Fournier, NU	50.35
Floor Exercise
1. Peter Shostchuk, IU	9.1
2. Bob Rogers, IU	8.95
3. Scott Wetterling, UI	8.9
T4. Josh Koopman	8.60
T4. Josh Rasile	8.60
T4. Steven Friedman	8.60
T7. Grant Clinton	8.40
Pommel Horse
1. Jonathan Plante, UI	9.4
2. Martin Fournier, NU	8.6
3. Scott Wetterling, UI	8.5
T4. Ryan Sneed	8.25
8. Steven Friedman	7.35
Still Rings
1. Grant Clinton, NU	9.55
2. Josh Rasile, NU	9.25
3. Sean-Paul Crawford	9.05
5. Steven Friedman	8.95
9. Martin Fournier	8.4
Vault
1. Scott Wetterling, UI	9.25
2. Ryan Sneed, NU	9.15
3. Josh Rasile, NU	9.1
4. Martin Fournier, NU	9.0
5. Grant Clinton, NU	9.05
Parallel Bars
1. Grant Clinton, NU	9.1
2. Jonathan Plante, UI	8.7
T3. Steven Friedman, NU	8.65
T3. John Cano, UI	8.65
T7. Ryan Sneed, NU	8.45
9. Martin Fournier, NU	8.3
Horizontal Bar
1. Scott Wetterling, UI	9.35
2. Bob Rogers, UI	9.15
3. Grant Clinton, NU	8.9
5. Steven Friedman	8.55
7. Martin Fournier	8.2
8. Mace Patterson	7.90