NU Scores Improve in Third-Place Finish

Palo Alto, Calif. ? The No. 13 ranked Nebraska men’s gymnastics team finished third (198.475) behind No. 6 Stanford (208.625) and No. 7 Cal (206.125) in front of a sold-out crowd at the Burnham Pavilion during the Stanford Open on Saturday night.  The Huskers improved their overall team score by almost two points Saturday over their Jan. 13 score of 196.10 at the Rocky Mountain Open.

Overall, the Huskers improved scores on every event except the vault and boasted a trio of individual finishes in the top three, including a third-place finish by junior Jason Wassung in the all-around (49.55).  Despite the high finishes, Saturday was the first meet since the West Point Open on Jan. 29 of 2005 where Nebraska did not merit a single event title.

 

“We’re starting to show improvement. The guys are all starting to adjust to the new (scoring) system and that makes a huge difference,” Head Coach Francis Allen said.  “I think we’re really going to see improvement in every meet from here on out because we’ve got a good nucleus and that’s where it all begins in this sport.”

 

Following Olympic order from start to finish, the Huskers began on the floor exercise where senior Nic Matthews led Nebraska with a solid routine that resulted in a season-high score of 8.35.  Sophomore Stephen T?trault added another season-high with a mark of 8.20 and senior Tony Burtle finished the event with a strong score of 8.10.

 

Senior Derric Wood continued setting high scores for the Huskers on the pommel horse with a season-high of 8.05 to tie for Nebraska’s top score in the event with T?trault.  However, it was the Cal Golden Bears that dominated the pommel horse, taking home all three top scores in the event.

 

Nebraska regained its momentum as it moved to the rings with two NU gymnasts setting season-high scores.  Senior Ray Hacker led the event with a season-high score of 8.80 followed by an 8.65 by junior Jason Wassung and an 8.50 by Matthews for his second season-high of the night.

 

On the vault, an event where the Huskers rank fourth in the nation as a team, NU faltered. Three of Nebraska’s top vaulters stumbled on their landings, resulting in scores well below their normal marks.  Only T?trault, a 2005 NCAA All-American in the event, managed a mark near his average with a score of 9.10 to tie for third place in the event.

 

NU bounced back on the parallel bars where three members of NU’s six-man lineup earned season-high scores and the Huskers as a team scored nearly two-and-a-half full points (34.325) ahead of their score in the event last weekend (32.00). 

 

Freshman T.J. Schmidt jump started the Husker machine with a career-high of 8.90 for third place in the event, while Wood followed with his second season-high score of the meet with a mark of 8.675 over his previous high of 8.35.  Wassung finished the event with a solid mark of 8.85, up six-tenths of a point over his previous season-high of 8.25.   

 

Nebraska finished the night on the high bar where Matthews nailed his third season-high of the meet with a score of 8.10.  Overall, Matthews bettered the scores on all three of his competitive events over the course of the evening.

 

Following its two-week road stand, Nebraska returns to Lincoln for a short rest before hosting Iowa at the BobDevaneySportsCenter on Feb. 12 beginning at 2 p.m.  Meanwhile, Burtle and T?trault return to action on Feb. 3-4 at the 2006 Winter Cup in Las Vegas, Nev.

 

Team Results              

Team                                        Score

1.  Stanford                               208.625

2.  California                              206.125

3.  Nebraska                             198.475

4.  Washington                          181.650

 

Individual Results (Top Three and NU Gymnasts in Top 10)

All-Around                                 Score

1.  David Sender, Stanford          51.625

2.  Jason Chu, All-Star 1            50.85

3.  Jason Wassung, Nebraska    49.55

4.  Stephen T?trault, Nebraska    49.20

 

Floor Exercise                           Score

1.  Josh Dixon, All Star 1            9.00

2.  David Sender, Stanford          8.95

3.  Dylan Carney, Stanford          8.65

5.  Nic Matthews, Nebraska        8.35

9T. Stephen T?trault, Nebraska   8.20

 

Pommel Horse                           Score

1.  Jason Chu, All Star 1             8.70

2.  Tim McNeill, California           8.65

     Eric Hergenrader, All-Star

8T. Stephen T?trault, Nebraska   8.05

 

Still Rings                                 Score

1.  Alex Schorsch, Stanford        9.65

2.  Kevin Perkins, Washington    9.25

3.  Tyler Block, California            9.20

10T. Ray Hacker, Nebraska        8.80

 

Vault                                         Score

1.  David Sender, Stanford          9.45

2.  Kevin Perkin, Washington      9.30

3.  Stephen T?trault, Nebraska    9.10

     Sean Doolan, Stanford

 

Parallel Bars                              Score

1.  Tim McNeill, Stanford            9.10

2.  David Sender, Stanford          8.975

3.  T.J. Schmidt, Nebraska         8.90

5.  Jason Wassung, Nebraska    8.85

10. Derric Wood, Nebraska         8.675

 

High Bar                                    Score

1.  Nate Downs, Stanford            9.25

2.  Kyson Bunthuwong, Cal         8.95

     Dylan Carney, Stanford