Huskers Clash with No. 2 Buckeyes, No. 3 Sooners

The No. 11 ranked Nebraska men’s gymnastics team sets up for heavy action this weekend as they see a pair of top-five opponents in OhioState and Oklahoma.  The Huskers travel to Columbus, Ohio, this Friday, Feb. 18 looking for their first regular season dual win, as they take on the No. 2 ranked Buckeyes and then jet back to Lincoln to host their first home meet of the season as they welcome the No. 3 Sooners on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. 

 

The Huskers enter the meets still building momentum in their team scores, which have steadily improved in every competition this season.  Against Oklahoma on Feb. 13, Nebraska notched a season-high score of 212.650 to climb to 11th overall in the national standings.  However, the Huskers still have a mighty hill to climb in order to oust the Buckeyes, now 8-1-1 on the season, 4-1-1 in Big Ten, while the Sooners are also on a roll, capping off a victory against the Huskers with a jump past Michigan for third in the national polls (219.306).

 

A win for Nebraska against OhioState would mark the second consecutive time the Huskers have dealt a major blow to a top-five ranked Buckeye squad, while an NU loss would tie the all-time dual record between the two programs.

 

The Sooners, who already tied their all-time record with the Huskers at 28-28-1 in their last matchup, will have the opportunity to gain the upper hand this weekend.  This is the fourth time the two teams have met this season with Oklahoma carrying off the victory in all three previous events.    

 

This weekend, the Huskers will be led by top all-arounder Jason Wassung, who gained his first event title of his collegiate career on the vault (9.60) last weekend against the Sooners.  Wassung, a Lincoln native, has quietly, yet consistently guided the Huskers all season, finishing in the top-three in at least one event in every meet.  He has even grabbed a pair of second-place finishes in the all-around and has ranked among the nations top-20 competitors for the last four weeks.  He currently ranks 16th (52.692).

 

Senior co-captain Mace Patterson is anxious to compete against both teams this weekend as he has a history with each.  Last season Patterson played an instrumental role in defeating the then No.1 Buckeyes by sticking a 9.55 on the high bar for the win.  Patterson, a native of Beggs, Okla. will also be competing against his home state. 

 

The meet between Nebraska and Oklahoma on Sunday will also showcase the No. 6 Nebraska women’s team hosting top-ranked Utah, also at 2 p.m. at the DevaneyCenter.  All Nebraska men’s gymnastics meets this season will also include the NU women’s team.

 

Scouting the Buckeyes and Sooners

? Ohio State ?  

The No. 2 Buckeyes have already enjoyed a season endowed with much success, including an 8-1-1 record heading into Friday’s competition.  However, this week, the Buckeyes were ousted from their comfortable three-week spot at No. 1 by Illinois. 

 

Historically, OhioState combines a recipe chalked full of young talent highlighted by experienced leadership and this year’s squad is already carrying on that tradition.

 

Freshman standout DJ Bucher has already made a place for himself among OhioState’s top competitors, banking four event titles, including two on the parallel bars.  Bucher’s success could be in part due to having four-time All-American and two-time defending Big Ten Gymnast of the Year, Randy Monahan, as a role model.  Monahan has also had his share of the spotlight this season, dominating the still rings with two event titles over top-ten ranked teams Illinois and Minnesota.  Against the Gopher, OSU also set a new team record on the rings (38.55).

? Oklahoma ? 

Following its victory over the Huskers last weekend behind the highest team score of any squad this season (224.050), the Sooners moved into to their best national ranking (3rd) since the preseason coaches poll. 

 

Like Ohio State, Oklahoma combines a strong freshman lineup with impressive senior leadership for a highly effective total roster.  Dynamic freshman Jonathan Horton has already whipped up a stellar collegiate career which includes a spot on the U.S Senior National Team and six event titles this season including one on the still rings with a career-high 9.825 against the Huskers.

 

Adding to Horton’s early success is the experience of Oklahoma’s leaders, senior Josh Gore and junior Jamie Henderson.  Gore, a 2004 All-American, earned three titles in OU’s last meet with the Huskers with top spots on the pommel horse and parallel bars, and tying with Henderson for first on the high bar (9.55).  Henderson, a two-time All-American on still rings, took second in that event in addition to the first place tie of the high bar and first in the all-around (55.750).    

 

Husker History vs ohio state: remember the last time?

Perhaps the most exciting showdown between the Ohio State and Nebraska programs in recent memory occurred on Feb. 15, 2004 at the Devaney Center in Lincoln as the then No. 8 Huskers dealt the top-ranked Buckeyes their first loss of the season, 214.925-213.475.  The NU victory came down to the final event where the Huskers needed at least a 9.5 from Mace Patterson on the high bar to overtake OSU.  Under pressure, Patterson delivered a career-high 9.55 to secure the win.

 

But competition between these two teams didn’t start last season and it certainly won’t end there.  Nebraska first got a taste of OhioState in 1983 in a joint dual with Michigan that ended with the Huskers on top, followed by the Buckeyes and then the Wolverines.

 

Since then, NU and OSU have competed quite regularly, but didn’t really begin annual match-ups until 1987.

 

 

Husker History vs. Oklahoma:  A Fight from the First

The history between the Huskers and the Sooners is long and varied, dating back to 1966 when the two teams met for the first time as part of the Big Eight conference.  Nebraska jumped out to an early lead, winning that first battle, 165.00-118.25, OU soon came back and ruled the record for most of the 1970’s, earning at best a five-meet advantage (3-8) as of 1979.

 

Oklahoma has won the last ten battles between the two with NU seeing its last win in 1999, the year before Mark Williams took over head coaching duties for the Sooners.

 

As members of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, the Huskers and Sooners are guaranteed to meet at least four times this season with the possibility of a fifth at the NCAA Championships in April.  In their first matchup at the Rocky Mountain Open, Oklahoma came out on top with a 215.425-206.625 team win, while freshman Jonathan Horton made the most of his collegiate debut with a pair of event titles on the floor exercise (9.40) and parallel bars (9.05).

 

The Sooners continued their winning streak on Feb. 13 when they wracked up the highest team score of any program this season for a 224.05-212.65 victory over the Huskers.  OU claimed five of six event titles with the excpetion of a first-place finish by NU sophomore Jason Wassung on the vault (9.60).

 

Huskers Fight for Historic Dualing Dynasties       

For the last 20 years, the Huskers have enjoyed a winning all-time dual record against some of the best programs in the nation.  In fact, heading into this season, only five teams had bested Nebraska, three of which had only faced NU for a single meet.

 

After this weekend’s competition however, the Huskers stand to lose two such proud records to both OhioState and Oklahoma.

 

At present, Nebraska leads the Buckeyes 9-8 after dodging the now quickly approaching bullet of a No. 1 seeded OSU with a stunning victory over Ohio State in 2004.  Without another such outstanding performance, the Huskers could find themselves tied at nine wins apiece.

 

The legendary rivalry between NU and a historically tough Oklahoma squad has favored Nebraska since 1983, however on Sunday all of that could change as the Sooners will have the chance to turn the tables on the 28-28-1 program history. 

 

A win for the Sooners would tip the scales of the series to 28-29-1 and induct OU into the prestigious company of Denver, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Utah, all of which lead Nebraska in the all-time dual race.

 

Nebraska Tidbits

?The Huskers improved nationally both in the team rankings, moving from 12th to 11th, and in three other events; still rings, vault, and parallel bars.  Nebraska’s largest jump was from 14th to 11th on the parallel bars followed by a 14th to 12th move on the still rings and 9th to 8th on the vault.

 

?The last time Nebraska beat OhioState in Columbus was in 1993 when the Huskers went undefeated during the regular season.

 

?Senior all-arounder Mace Patterson, a native of Beggs, Okla., faces two familiar opponents this weekend in his native Oklahoma as well as OhioState, against which Patterson had his most successful meet of the season in 2004.  In fact, it was Patterson’s final score of 9.55 on the high bar that edged out the Buckeyes, giving them their first defeat of the season.

 

Nebraska-Oklahoma Action Available on Huskers.com

Live stats for the first home dual of the season for the Nebraska men's gymnastics team are available on Huskers.com.  Simply follow the link given on this page or enter through the home page via Live Stats on the navigation bar on the left side of the screen.

 

Basketball Stubs Also Good for NU Gymnastics

Ticket stubs from Nebraska's Saturday, Feb. 19 men's basketball matchup with Missouri will also get fans into the Sunday co-ed meet between the Nebraska men's team and No. 3 Oklahoma and the Nebraska women's team and No.1 Utah.