Patterson Finishes 41st at Winter Cup

Las Vegas, Nev. ? Nebraska gymnast Mace Patterson competed at the Winter Cup in Las Vegas, Nev. late Friday. Patterson, the Husker’s top all-around competitor, finished 41st overall in a field of 84 competitors with an all-around score of 49.40. The top score from the all-around competition was a 57.05 by Blaine Wilson of the Chevron-Ohio team, who was also the 2003 Winter Cup champion in that event.

Patterson began the competition on the high bars (8.10), an event where he has had consistent success in 2004, including a 9.60 score and title at last weekend’s meet, the West Point Open. In 31st place following the first event, Patterson went on to grab an 8.40 and an 8.60 on the floor exercise and pommel horse, respectively, to bump himself up to 28th, his highest held position during the meet. The rings, however, presented an obstacle for Patterson, who ended with a 7.35 in that event, his lowest ring score of the season.

"Mace had a good meet, but unfortunately he made a lot of mistakes on rings and parallel bars that cost him about ten spots," Nebraska Head Coach Francis Allen said.

Patterson scored a 7.90 on parallel bars, an event where he has been seeing scores in the upper eights and nines previously this season.

Although Patterson did not score high enough in the all-around to qualify for the U.S. Championships, or high enough in the individual events to warrant a top-eight spot and a chance to compete in Saturday's event finals, Allen feels that the experience itself was a major accomplishment.

"Just being here and being a part of such a large meet is a big part of his career," Allen said. "I think that he will learn a lot from this."

Patterson will rejoin his fellow Huskers next weekend for their second home meet of the season against Ohio State on Feb. 15 beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the Devaney Sports Center. The meet is a joint competition with the Nebraska women’s gymnastics team.