Nebraska Tumbles Two into NCAA Event Finals

Men's GymnasticsApril 08, 2005

Nebraska Tumbles Two into NCAA Event Finals

Name: Nebraska at Team Finals
Start: 2005-04-08T23:00:00.000000Z
Location: West Point, N.Y.

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West Point, N.Y. ? Nebraska freshman Stephen T?trault and sophomore Paul Chumreonlert advanced to the event finals in the vault and pommel horse, respectively, after finishing in the top ten on those apparatuses during the event qualifier on Friday, April 9. T?trault also competed in the all-around finals for the Huskers and finished 10th with a career-high score of 53.325, missing out on All-America status by just four places.

“T?trault competing in the all-around at this level is going to do a lot for his maturity,” Head Coach Francis Allen said. “To be good you have to be with the good and he did that tonight. This will really give him a great foundation for the next couple of years.”

Friday’s competition also showcased the team finals in a battle for the title of 2005 NCAA Champion. Oklahoma took that honor with an OU school record score of 225.675, followed by OhioState in second (225.45) and Illinois in third (223.75). With the win, the Sooners finish the season with a 21-2 record and both the MPSF and NCAA titles. This is Oklahoma’s third NCAA title in three years and the sixth in school history.

As NU’s hope for a top-six all-around finish, T?trault started the meet with his best collegiate performance on the pommel horse for a career-high score of 9.30, making him Nebraska’s third-highest scoring competitor on the apparatus this season. Leading the Huskers on the pommel horse all year has been Chumreonlert who proved his status by claiming a score of 9.55 after switching back to a more difficult routine with a 10.0 start value that brought him success earlier this season.

T?trault scored an 8.375 on the still rings before moving on to his best event, the vault where he continued to impress as he stuck his routine for a score of 9.50. Although the Lincoln East graduate went on to mark a score of only 8.55 on the parallel bars, it was still good enough to propel him into fourth-place in the all-around (35.275) with just two rotations left.

Nebraska had two competitors on the high bar starting with T?trault who marked a solid score of 8.80 followed by senior Mace Patterson, a high bar specialist, with a score of 9.20. Unfortunately, Patterson faced a tremendous high bar field and ended his career with the Huskers after failing to qualify for finals in the event.

T?trault ended his all-around effort on the floor exercise where he scored a strong 8.80, but by then had fallen behind the all-around pack despite a landmark overall performance.

Chumreonlert and T?trault will now represent the Huskers in the event finals on Saturday, April 9 beginning at 6 p.m. CST. Although a young competitor, T?trault is still favored to earn All-America honors on the vault and could even walk away with Nebraska’s first event title since 1999.

“T?trault did the best vault of his career tonight and actually last night as well,” Allen said. “He’s got a real shot at winning this thing tomorrow and so does Paul [Chumreonlert]. Those two guys are maturing at a wonderful rate and tomorrow could be just a great day not only for them but for the entire team.”

Team Results Score

1. Oklahoma 225.675

2. Ohio State 225.45

3. Illinois 223.75

4. Penn State 222.40

5. California 222.075

6. Michigan 219.775

All-Around Results Score

1. Luis Vargas ? Penn State 57.175

2. Randy Monahan ? Ohio State 56.55

3. Jonathan Horton ? Oklahoma 56.425

4. Guillermo Alvarez ? Minnesota 55.65