Huskers Head West for Rocky Mountain Open

The <?xml:namespace prefix="u1"?><?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska men’s gymnastics team opens its 2006 season this weekend with a familiar trip to Air Force for the 15th annual Rocky Mountain Open in Colorado Springs, Colo.  Competition begins on Friday, Jan. 13, with the team event and finishes on Saturday, Jan. 14 with individual event finals.  <?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

As this is NU’s 13th season-opener at the RMO over the last 15 years, the Huskers know full well what to expect from the meet.  The two-day format will allow Nebraska to concentrate on the separate facets of its team and individual strategies, while competing against opponents such as 2005 NCAA Champion Oklahoma.  This weekend will give insight into where the Huskers are at nationally.  Additionally, all the teams participating in the Rocky Mountain Open will have their first chance to be judged according to the new rules set forth by the NCAA for the 2006 season.  These rules encourage strength over skill, awarding higher scores for clean lines and smooth routines while deducting greater values for falling off of an apparatus.

 

In order to adapt to the new system, Nebraska will rely heavily on the leadership of its strong all-around lineup.  Seniors Derric Wood and Nic Matthews bring experience to the event, while the younger talent of junior Jason Wassung and sophomore Stephen T?trault will look to carry over the success they both found during Nebraska’s 2005 campaign.  Additionally, senior Ray Hacker’s move to the full-time all-around roster should give the Huskers yet another reliable tangent in their effort to add depth to an already talented all-around force.

 

Healthy Huskers Strive for NCAA Finals Berth

With a pair of returning All-Americans gracing the Husker roster this season, Nebraska looks ahead to what it hopes will be its first NCAA team finals berth in five years.  At the helm of this ambition for the 36th season is head coach Francis Allen, but this year the Huskers also welcome the new insights of former U.S. Olympian Jim Hartung as an assistant coach.  Along with assistant coach Chuck Chmelka, Allen and Hartung hope to return NU to national dominance.

 

Although Nebraska lost four seniors from its 2005 squad, including all-arounder Mace Patterson and All-American Steven Friedman, the 2006 roster still boasts substantial experience.  Five seniors, two juniors, one sophomore and four newcomers make up the 12-man roster, each providing complementary strengths the Huskers hope to utilize.

 

The Seniors

A fifth-year senior, Tony Burtle returns to action this season following a medical redshirt in 2005.  The Grand Island, Neb., native’s tumbling and acrobatic skills were missed on the floor exercise and high bar last season and his return could boost Nebraska’s team scores in those events. 

 

Additionally, Burtle is an outstanding vault competitor with scores consistently in the 9.3-range.  This added depth has the potential to once again position Nebraska’s vaulting team among the nation’s elite.

 

“We already knew that vault would be one of our strongest events,” Allen said.  “With Tony able to move back into one of those spots, it’s going to make us truly phenomenal in this event.”

 

Two other Nebraska natives join Burtle in senior status this season.  Graduates of SoutheastHigh School in Lincoln and products of the Nebraska School of Gymnastics, Nic Matthews and Derric Wood have competed together throughout their careers.

 

Matthews will compete as one of five all-arounders for Nebraska this season, specializing in vault and high bar.  For his part, Wood will focus on every event except the still rings.  Both gymnasts have extensive national experience after competing at the NCAA Championships throughout their careers and will undoubtedly bring invaluable leadership to their younger teammates.

 

Rounding out the senior spectrum is Nick Moore and Ray Hacker.  Normally a pommel horse competitor for Nebraska, Moore will also lend his abilities to the floor exercise and vault this year.  This move to the vault is a major accomplishment for the Indianapolis native, as NU’s vault team is highly competitive. 

 

After spending the last few seasons as a utility athlete on the Nebraska squad, Hacker hopes to move back into the all-around scene during his senior campaign. Hacker has competed as an all-arounder sporadically throughout his career, but Allen feels Hacker is now ready to make the move permanently.

 

“Ray could potentially do the all-around in every single meet for us this season,” Allen said.  “He’s really come around on a number of events that used to plague him, and now I think he’s ready to put the whole package together.”

 

The Juniors 

Nebraska’s junior class consists of Jason Wassung and Jon Charter and is a group that has already tasted a substantial amount of success and expects to continue hunting for more. 

 

Wassung, a Lincoln native, earned Nebraska’s highest all-around score in 2005 with a mark of 54.575.  He also garnered a pair of titles in the event against OhioState and Oklahoma.  This season, he is expected to remain consistent as an all-arounder and could make a successful showing on both the pommel horse and vault both in the MPSF conference and on the national scene.

 

Nebraska’s other junior this season is Jon Charter.  He spent his first season with the Huskers in the gym and is slated to make his mark on the floor and vault teams this year.

 

The Sophomores 

Stephen T?trault has the responsibility of being the lone sophomore representative on the Husker roster, but has already proven himself as a major contributor.  In his first season of collegiate competition, T?trault earned five event titles and capped his rookie season with All-America honors on the vault at the NCAA Championships.

 

This year, he will aim even higher, as the Canadian focuses on improved scores in the all-around. T?trault blossomed late in 2005, and hopes to carry that momentum to the top of NU’s all-around lineup. 

 

The Newcomers 

A total of four freshmen make up Nebraska’s largest incoming class since 2003. 

 

T.J. Schmidt headlines the class and is expected to be the only freshman to crack the NU lineup in his debut year.  Allen has plans to use Schmidt on both the pommel horse and parallel bars squads from the start and will consider working him into more events as the season progresses.

 

Nebraska’s other three freshmen include James Mauldin, Jacob Ives and Bo Benak.  While Mauldin will await the call as a backup on the pommel horse, both Ives and Benak are not expected to be used in team competition this season.

 

“We’ve got a good freshmen class,” Allen said.  “But we don’t want to push them into anything they’re not ready for.  It would hurt their confidence and ultimately hurt our scores to do so.”

 

The Season

After going 3-3 in dual competition last year, the Huskers aim to make the most of a healthy roster and move toward a winning season in 2006. 

 

“The thing that really hurt us last year was injuries,” Allen said.  “Right now, if no one gets hurt we’ve got an extraordinarily strong group, and I feel good about the direction it’s headed.”

 

This season will pit the Huskers against a variety of tough opponents including a pair of duals against the 2005 NCAA Champion Oklahoma Sooners.  Nebraska will also meet up with Iowa, Minnesota and Air Force in dual competition.  However, the one major change in the NU match-ups this season is the addition of the Stanford Open, a meet Nebraska has not entered in three years.  Not only will the event give the Huskers an opportunity to try their skills in a multi-opponent field, but it will also expose them to MPSF conference foes, Cal and Stanford.

 

“I think it’ll be better for us to meet up with more conference opponents,” Allen said.  “Before, we never saw Cal at all until the MPSF Championships.  They would just come out of the dark.  Now, it’s going to be beneficial to see what kinds of routines they use before the end of the season.”

 

Did You Know?

?? The Huskers have competed at the Rocky Mountain Open every year since the meet’s debut in 1991. In that time, Nebraska has taken top team honors at the event six times.

 

?? Both RMO host Air Force and the Huskers begin the season following major coaching changes.  With the retirement of 25-year Head Coach Lou Burkel, the Falcons kick off a new era under the direction of former Olympian Kip Simons.  Likewise, the Huskers welcome another former Olympian, Jim Hartung, as an assistant coach following long-time assistant Jim Howard’s recent retirement.  Both Burkel and Howard competed for Nebraska in the 1960’s.