NU Completes Day Two of Annual Intrasquad Meet

The NU men’s gymnastics team wrapped up day two of its annual intrasquad meet on Friday afternoon with competition on the vault, parallel bars and high bar.  The contest, which began on Thursday, starts the countdown to <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska’s first regular season meet on January 14, 2005 at the Rocky Mountain Open in Colorado Springs, Colo.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

The Huskers put up strong marks on all three events, but seemed to put an extra shine on the vault, an event that Coach Francis Allen expects to be top notch for his team.

 

“We’re a good vaulting team” Allen said.  “We usually are, and to see the way these guys performed today I have no doubt in my mind that will be the case this season as well.”

 

On the parallel bars, an event where Nebraska has struggled in the past, sophomore Jason Wassung landed a solid routine that earned him top honors in the event, with senior Steven Friedman following close behind.  Friedman, a co-captain for the 2005 squad, is still getting back into competition after a year’s absence and admits that the atmosphere is daunting.

 

“I did a lot better than I expected,” Friedman said.  “I haven’t saluted a judge in over a year so my heart was kind of in my throat, but all in all I think I did pretty well.”

 

A veteran of the collegiate scene, Friedman was also impressed with how his team handled the event, stating that although improvements still need to be made, things seem to be running right on track.  Performance aside, both Allen and Friedman agree that the underlying goal of the intrasquad was achieved.

 

“This meet lets these guys know that it’s real,” Allen said.  “You can tell them again and again what to do, but until the lights are on you can never be sure how they’re going to react.  I think the team handled it very well, but now it’s time to get busy making adjustments.”