NU Aims to Shoot Down Hawkeyes in Iowa

Following a three-meet losing streak, the No. 10 Husker gymnastics team looks to reverse the tide as they match up against Iowa at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 26 in Iowa City, Iowa.  The meet marks the final regular season away dual for Nebraska, which has enjoyed only one home meet all season.

 

The Huskers have been playing hide and seek with the winners circle since they began dual competition, despite posting scores that are consistently competitive around the nation.  Unfortunately, facing some of the most talented programs in the country has kept that elusive first dual victory just out of reach.

 

Regardless of the team record, several individual Huskers have produced stellar results throughout the season.  Sophomores Jason Wassung and Paul Chumreonlert have steadily landed in the top three spots in their respective events, and Wassung has taken top honors in the all-around in all three of NU’s duals.

 

Nebraska freshman Stephen T?trault has also yet to disappoint.  T?trault garnered the vault title in both of NU’s matchups last week, earning a team and career high of 9.65 on the event at OhioState.

 

In the leadership department, NU’s veterans are finally getting back into action as co-captains Mace Patterson and Steven Friedman work their way back into the all-around lineup.  Both spent the first few weeks of the season battling injury.  Friedman has already made his mark on the still rings for Nebraska, scoring a 9.50 last week against Oklahoma, and will undoubtedly be looked to in that event against the Hawkeyes.

 

Iowa is one of few teams to lead the Huskers in the all-time dual race after extending their lead to 10-8-1 after finishing ahead of Nebraska, 216.375-210.8, at the West Point Open in January.  Iowa’s Michael Reavis took top honors on the floor at the meet, while Chumreonlert garnered NU’s highest finish with a second-place finish on the pommel horse (9.60).

 

Scouting the Hawkeyes

The 12-5 Hawkeyes host the Huskers following perhaps their best performance of the season on Feb. 19, as they topped ninth-ranked Minnesota, 217.325-213.4.  The score was Iowa’s best of the year.

 

Leading the Hawkeyes was junior Michael Reavis who grabbed the top spot in the all-around with an Iowa record of 54.4.  Although the score was good enough for the title, it still falls short of Nebraska’s best all-around score (54.575) of the year, which NU sophomore Jason Wassung took home against Oklahoma.

 

Nonetheless, Reavis has consistently led Iowa throughout the season and currently sits second in the national floor exercise ranks.

 

Other Hawkeyes to watch for include junior Michael McNamara, whose floor performance has landed him within the top three in virtually every meet for Iowa this season.  As a team, IU ranks second in the nation on the floor, making it easily their best event.  However, the Hawkeyes aren’t quite so proficient on the pommel horse or vault, two events where NU repeatedly shines.

 

Husker History vs. Iowa:  Iowa an Anomaly for NU

The Hawkeyes and the Huskers first met in 1968 in Iowa City.  Over the next three decades, the two programs found themselves in sporadic competition, but did not begin regular match-ups until 1994 when Nebraska finished on top, 286.850-285.100.  Always formidable opponents, the two squads met the following year and walked away with a tie, 228.675, one of only three for Nebraska in the last 36 seasons. 

 

However, for the past six years, the Hawkeyes have continually edged the upper hand in the NU-IU circuit, dating back to Nebraska’s last victory over Iowa in 1999.  Since then, the two squads have met annually, including a dual in 2004 that ended in a 211.725-204.075 Hawkeye victory in the Huskers’ first home meet of the season.

 

Nebraska and Iowa also met earlier in 2005 at the West Point Open where IU once again claimed victory with a second place showing (216.375) ahead of NU in third (210.8).  The loss moved the all-time dual record between the two schools to 8-10-1, making Iowa one of few programs to boast a winning record against the Huskers.

    

Burtle Shoulders Redshirt Season Following Surgery

Senior co-captain Tony Burtle has opted to redshirt the remainder of the 2005 season in order to undergo surgery to correct both his right and left shoulders.  The decision is the result of an injury the Grand Island native incurred in practice a few weeks ago.

 

Burtle competed in three meets for the Huskers this season as one of NU’s top tumblers on the floor, vault and high bar.  He is expected to return to the Nebraska lineup in 2006.

   

The Record Might Lie, but the Numbers Never Do

Despite losing its last two dual meets, both Nebraska’s team and event scores are indicative of a highly successful season.  The Huskers’ season-high team score, 216.60, which they earned against second-ranked OhioState on Feb. 18 is the second-highest score NU has seen in the last five years.  In fact, Nebraska has spent the last two meets in the 216-range, proving a consistency at that level that the program hasn’t seen since 2000.  The pair of scores even lifted the Huskers to their highest national ranking of the season (10th).

 

Nebraska has also presented a strong front on individual events where they currently rank in the top ten in the nation on all but one event, the stills rings, where they rank 12th.  NU is most highly recognized on the vault, an event where they have taken at least two of the three top spots in every meet this season, resulting in a fourth-place national ranking in the event. 

 

Young Husker an All-Around Good Gymnast

With seniors Mace Patterson and Steven Friedman struggling through injury, sophomore Jason Wassung began the 2005 season as Nebraska’s top all-arounder.  Now that both Patterson and Friedman are back in commission, Wassung still doesn’t quite seem ready to let go of that position.

 

The Lincoln East graduate has already spent five weeks in the national ranks following his debut onto the all-around scene at the Rocky Mountain Open last month.  Since then, Wassung has taken top honors in the event in all three of Nebraska’s duals, twice against Oklahoma and once against OhioState.

 

In NU’s last competition, Wassung reached his goal of hitting the 54-mark, a feat that most young gymnasts don’t see until much later in their career, when he garnered a 54.575 for the top spot in the event.  In addition, Wassung added gymnast-of-the-week honors to his r?sum? following NU’s first matchup with the Sooners, where he also earned a vault (9.60) title.

 

 

Nebraska Tidbits

?The only time Nebraska has beaten the Hawkeyes in Iowa City was in their first matchup in 1994.

 

?Freshman Stephen T?trault earned a team and career high 9.65 on the vault against Ohio State last week.  The mark is the highest on that event since All-American Josh Rasile in 2004 and improved T?trault’s standings in the national vault ranks nine places to seventh.

 

?Despite their proximity, senior Josh Koopman is the only Husker hailing from Iowa.  Koopman is originally from Clive, Iowa and did in fact consider becoming a Hawkeye before settling on the Scarlet and Cream.