Nebraska Puts Up Strong Showing in 2005

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The <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska men’s gymnastics program ended its 66th season with a trip to the NCAA Championships where it finished 10th (214.35) and produced a pair of individual All-Americans. 

                                                            

Sophomore Paul Chumreonlert earned his first All-American honor with a fifth-place finish on the pommel horse (9.587), the first NU gymnast to earn All-America status on that apparatus since 1998.

 

A native of Houston, Texas, Chumreonlert enjoyed a season full of success.  He earned his first event title in Nebraska’s season opener at the Rocky Mountain Open with a score of 9.45 on the pommel horse and merited an invitation to the 2005 Winter Cup in Las Vegas, Nev.  Overall, Chumreonlert claimed five event titles; two on pommel horse, two on still rings and one on the parallel bars.  He also owned Nebraska’s season-high marks on the pommel horse (9.65) and still rings (9.70).

 

Freshman Stephen T?trault grabbed headlines as Nebraska’s other All-American in 2005 with a fifth-place finish on the vault (9.30), an event where he ranked first in the nation for three consecutive weeks during the regular season.  He was also the only NU gymnast to advance to the all-around finals of the NCAA Championships where he scored a career-high 53.325 to finish 10th overall. 

 

A Lincoln East graduate, T?trault boomed onto the collegiate scene this year with an event title on the vault (9.40) in Nebraska’s season opener.  As the year progressed, he laid claim to a total of four vaulting titles as well as a first-place finish on the pommel horse (9.05).  T?trault also joined Chumreonlert at the Winter Cup and competed at the 2005 Elite Canada Nationals where he finished eighth, making him a contender for a spot on the 2008 Canadian Olympic team.

 

The Huskers started the season with a second-place showing (206.625) at the Rocky Mountain Open behind Oklahoma before heading to West Point, N.Y. for the West Point Open where they finished third (210.80) behind Penn State and Iowa.  With two major meets behind them, the Huskers sank into the bulk of their schedule, which began with three straight dual losses against top-five rated teams.  Despite the setbacks, the Huskers improved their team score by nearly 10 points from the beginning of the season, posting a pair of 216-point finishes against Oklahoma and OhioState. 

 

Nebraska’s first dual win of the season came against Iowa on Feb. 25 when the Huskers toppled their higher ranked opponent, 215.325-214.15, giving NU its first road win since 2000.

 

The Huskers finished the regular season with a pair of wins against Minnesota, where they grabbed a season-high team score of 217.425, and Air Force in a two-meet home stand. 

 

At the MPSF Championships, NU finished fourth (215.375) for the fourth consecutive year as T?trault gained a second-place finish on the vault (9.40). 

 

Nebraska finished the season with a 16-18 record and its third consecutive berth to the NCAA Championships.

 

NU All-Around Force Drives 2005 Squad

 

One of the most exciting features of the 2005 season was the emergence of a triple threat from Nebraska’s all-around roster.  Senior Mace Patterson, sophomore Jason Wassung and freshman Stephen T?trault combined to claim four all-around titles and earned 65 percent of Nebraska’s total regular-season points.

 

The group swept the all-around on four occasions and became the only trio from a single program to rank among the nations top 10 in the event heading in to postseason play.

 

At both the MPSF and NCAA Championships, T?trault took the reigns and claimed the title of NU’s best all-arounder, finishing third at the MPSF competition (53.075) and 10th at the NCAA’s with a career-high score of 53.325.  Patterson earned a season-high score of 54.70 and Wassung boasted Nebraska’s highest all-around mark with a 54.575.

 

Friedman Makes Senior Season Comeback

After spending 2004 as a redshirt due to shoulder and knee surgery, senior Steven Friedman returned to the Nebraska roster mid-way through 2005 to compete on the floor, rings and parallel bars.  The fifth-year senior had expected to be ready for competition by the season-opener, but was held back by a torn bicep.

 

Friedman got back into action in NU’s first dual with Oklahoma on Feb. 13 wherein he immediately posted a solid score of 9.15 on the still rings.  Over the next few weeks, Friedman improved his score to a career-high 9.60, earning him a joint title on that event against Minnesota.

 

At the NCAA Championships, Friedman was one of just four Huskers to advance to the event qualifying round and one of three to do so in more than one event.  Friedman competed for Nebraska on both the vault and parallel bars, but failed to qualify for the finals in either.

 

Allen Earns 200th Career Win

Head Coach Francis Allen earned his 200th career win this season at the West Point Open in January.  With the close of the 2005 season, Allen’s record now stands at 208-124-3, following a 10th place finish at the NCAA Championships.

 

The Nebraska alum reached his 100th win in 1989 after 20 years as the Huskers’ head coach.  This next milestone took Allen 16 years to accomplish. 

 

Allen is the second-winningest coach in men’s gymnastics history with eight national titles, behind the legendary Gene Wettstone of PennState, who earned nine during his career.

 

Tietze Improves Scores throughout Senior Year

In his last season with the Huskers, Adam Tietze concentrated all of his time on the still rings where he consistently improved his score throughout the season.  Tietze began 2005 with a career-high mark of 8.35 on the apparatus and upped that score on six occasions during the season, ending with a score of 8.80 at the NCAA Championships.

 

After walking on the Nebraska roster in 2002, Tietze spent the last four years working his way across the NU floor exercise, pommel horse, rings, vault and parallel bars rosters.  Also an academic asset, Tietze is a three-time member of the Big 12 Fall Commissioner’s Honor Roll and was an MPSF Academic all-conference selection in 2004.

 

2005 Season Highlights

∙ NU’s dual win over Iowa on Feb. 25 was its first road victory since 2000.

∙ The Huskers boasted a five-meet event sweep streak that began against OhioState and continued through end of the regular season.

∙ Nebraska swept six of seven events in its dual with Air Force on March 13.

∙ Nebraska earned three MPSF Gymnasts of the Week honors, one by senior Mace Patterson and two by sophomore Jason Wassung.  Wassung was the only two-time winner in the conference this season.

∙ Five NU gymnasts were selected to the Big 12 Fall Commissioner’s Honors Roll.