Huskers Fall to No. 3 Sooners in Close Call

The No. 11 Huskers gave the No. 3 Sooners a run for their ranking on Sunday, Feb. 20 in front of nearly 2,000 fans at the DevaneyCenter in Lincoln.  When the scores were tallied, Oklahoma topped Nebraska 219.350-216.10 in perhaps the closest race NU has seen this season.

Individually, the Huskers swept both the all-around and the vault, with the same three gymnasts finishing in the top three positions in both events.  Sophomore Jason Wassung realized his goal of hitting the 54-mark on the all-around as he took top honors in the event with a 54.575.  Following Wassung was freshman Stephen T?trault who finished with a career high 53.075 and senior Mace Patterson with a 52.80.

“Those three guys did an excellent job for us today,” Allen said.  “They are working well together and all of them are improving right along at a great pace.  Now if we can just get Mace (Patterson) back at 100 percent health and get Steven (Friedman) back in the all-around, we’re going to be bona fide competitors at the NCAA’s.”

In the vault, it was T?trault on the highest rung with a 9.55.  Wassung came in second (9.525) and Patterson once again rounded out the top three with a 9.35, tying teammate, junior Nic Matthews for third in the event.   

Clearly excited to be back in Lincoln in front of a home crowd, the Huskers came out as strong as they have all season in the opening rotation on the floor exercise, marking a team score of 36.175, their best of the year.

“It felt good to be home in front of such a great turnout,” Allen said.  “You could tell that the guys were all a lot more comfortable and they were having fun in front of their friends and family.”

Freshman Stephen T?trault and junior Derric Wood both earned career high scores in the event with a 9.075 and a 9.00, respectively.  This is Wood’s highest score on the floor since his freshman season when he banked an 8.95.

Nebraska carried its momentum into the pommel horse where a series of solid routines across the lineup resulted in an event team score of 35.700.  After the first set of rotations, Nebraska trailed the No. 3 Sooners by less than a point, 72.700-71.875.

As the Huskers moved to the still rings, several botched landings on the vault by the Sooners opened a window of opportunity for NU to even the score.  Senior Steven Friedman took that opportunity and nailed a season high 9.525 for fifth place in the event.  Friedman’s score comes in just his third meet since returning to competition following over a year’s absence. 

However, for the second time this week, sophomore Paul Chumreonlert topped Friedman’s already impressive score with a 9.60 to tie his career best in the event.  Nebraska repeated the same scenario against OhioState as Chumreonlert claimed a 9.50 on the rings to top Friedman’s 9.40.  Chumreonlert finished second overall behind a 9.625 from Oklahoma’s Jonathan Horton.

The pair of outstanding performances fanned the flames of an already revved Husker squad heading into Nebraska’s best event, the vault.  True to form, the Huskers stuck several strong routines for a season-high 37.775 in the event.   Junior Nic Matthews kick started things for NU with a career high 9.30, followed by a 9.20 from Friedman.  But it was Nebraska’s final three vaults that would end up one, two and three in the event.  T?trault’s title is his second consecutive, third overall on the vault (9.55) this season.

Unfortunately, as Nebraska enjoyed the fruits of their most successful event, so did the Sooners.  Oklahoma, currently ranked fifth in the nation on the rings, combined for a 38.00 in the event behind freshman Jonathan Horton’s event winning 9.625 that kept the Huskers at bay.

As the final two rotations of the afternoon began, Nebraska trailed longtime rival Oklahoma by just a tenth of a point, 146.40-146.30.  The Huskers needed top performances across the board in both the parallel bars and high bar to overtake a tough Sooners squad for the first time since 1999.

Stepping up to the parallel bars, the Nebraska was ready to do business.  Both T?trault and Wassung earned yet another pair of career-highs in the event with T?trault scoring an 8.65 and Wassung finishing with a 9.05 for third place. 

As the two teams began their final events, the Huskers trailed 183.05-181.55 with NU moving to the high bar and Oklahoma to the parallel bars, an event where they are ranked second in the nation.

Despite meriting several notable routines, the Huskers couldn’t quite get things to swing their way.  Most remarkably, Patterson stepped up to his leadership role and stuck a 9.10 with an extraordinary routine that landed him in third-place.

With the loss, Nebraska now falls to 28-29-1 in the all-time dual race with the Sooners.  However, the Huskers did mark a 216.10 after first reaching the 216-level on Friday against OhioState.  NU also improved in their competition with the Sooners after suffering a 212.65-224.05 loss to Oklahoma just one week ago.

“If we can just take our success from today’s meet and carry it through to Iowa next week, we’re going to give them some great competition,” Allen said.

The Huskers now get back on the road next weekend against Iowa on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. in Iowa City, Iowa.  This will be the final away dual for Nebraska this season as they return to the DevaneyCenter to finish out the regular season March 6 against Minnesota and March 13 against Air Force with both meets beginning at 2 p.m.

Team Scoring

1. Oklahoma ? 219.350

2. Nebraska ? 216.100

 

Individual Event Results (Top Three Finishers and Highest Husker)

 

Floor Exercise                                       Score

1.  David Iammatteo ? Oklahoma 9.325

2.  Jason Wassung ? Nebraska               9.10

3.  Stephen T?trault ? Nebraska              9.075 (Career-High)

3T. Jamie Henderson ? Oklahoma           9.075

 

Pommel Horse                                       Score

1.  Jamie Henderson ? Oklahoma            9.50

2.  Josh Gore ? Oklahoma                      9.45

3.  Jacob Messina ? Oklahoma               9.15

4. Jason Wassung ? Nebraska               9.10

4T. Stephen T?trault ? Nebraska              9.10

 

Still Rings                                             Score

1.  Jonathan Horton ? Oklahoma             9.625

2.  Paul Chumreonlert ? Nebraska           9.60 (Career-High Tie)

2T. Jamie Henderson ? Oklahoma           9.60

3.  David Henderson ? Oklahoma            9.55

 

 

Vault                                                     Score

1.  Stephen T?trault ? Nebraska              9.55

2.  Jason Wassung ? Nebraska               9.525

3.  Mace Patterson ? Nebraska               9.35

 

Parallel Bars                                          Score

1.  Josh Gore ? Oklahoma                      9.45

2.  Jonathan Horton ? Oklahoma             9.25

3.  Jason Wassung ? Oklahoma              9.05

 

High Bar                                                Score

1.       Jonathan Horton ? Oklahoma            9.55

2.   David Henderson ? Oklahoma            9.40

3.  Mace Patterson ? Nebraska               9.10

 

All-Around                                             Score

1. Jason Wassung ? Nebraska                54.575 (Career-High)

2. Stephen T?trault ? Nebraska               53.075 (Career-High)

   3. Mace Patterson ? Nebraska                52.80 (Season-High)