Huskers Fall to Gophers in Minnesota

<?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Minneapolis, Minn.? Despite winning four of six event titles and leading the meet through five rotations, the Nebraska men’s gymnastics team fell to Minnesota, 202.90-204.15, on Saturday night at the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis, Minn.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

The Huskers were led by individual event wins from Tony Burtle on the floor exercise (8.75), Stephen T?trault on the pommel horse (8.80), Nick Moore on the vault (9.40) and Derric Wood on the high bar (9.25).  T?trault’s score was a season-high for the sophomore, while Moore corralled a career-high on the vault en route to the first event title of his career at Nebraska.

 

Nebraska came out of the gate strong against the Gophers, leading the team score through five rotations.  However, critical mistakes on the still rings and parallel bars crippled NU’s momentum and allowed Minnesota to swoop in for the win with a score of 34.90 on the high bar to Nebraska’s 32.85 on the parallel bars in the final event to overcome a 170.05-169.25 Husker lead.

 

“We were doing really well through the majority of the meet, but we just couldn’t finish,” Head Coach Francis Allen said.  “We really struggled to get anything going on still rings and parallel bars and in the end it was up to the last few guys to determine the meet and Minnesota hit on all cylinders to pull out the win.”

 

Minnesota’s Jacob Lee once again dominated point production for the Gophers with his fourth consecutive all-around title (52.15) of the season ahead of NU junior Jason Wassung who came in second with a score of 50.30.  It was also Lee that took top honors away from the Huskers in the two remaining events, the still rings and parallel bars.

 

In fact, the Gophers swept the still rings with sophomore Mitchell Mays (8.20) and junior Steven Vuong (8.15) picking up the second and third-place spots.  However, the Huskers once again controlled the vault with a sweep of their own with Burtle following Moore with a score of 9.05 and freshman Jacob Ives making his first trip to the podium with a third-place score of 8.95.

 

In addition to his second consecutive high bar title of the season, Wood also wrapped up third in the floor exercise with a season-high score of 8.55, while Wassung added a third-place finish of his own on the pommel horse (8.65) as well as second in the parallel bars (8.55). 

 

Nebraska returns to the gym over the next two weeks to train before beginning a dual set with the defending national champion Oklahoma Sooners that begins on March 5 at the BobDevaneySportsCenter in Lincoln at 2 p.m., and continues through March 11 when the Huskers return the favor in Norman, Okla., beginning at 7 p.m.

 

 

Team Results              

Team                                        Score

1.  Minnesota                             204.15

2.  Nebraska                              202.90

 

 

Individual Event Results (Top Three)

Floor Exercise                           Score

1.  Tony Burtle, Nebraska           8.75

2.  Jacob Lee, Minnesota            8.60

3.  Derric Wood, Nebraska          8.55

      

 

Pommel Horse                           Score

1.  Stephen T?trault, Nebraska    8.80

2.  Justin Meyer, Minnesota         8.75

3.  Jason Wassung, Nebraska     8.65

 

Still Rings                                 Score

1.  Jacob Lee, Minnesota            8.75

2.  Mitchell Mays, Minnesota       8.20

3.  Steven Vuong, Minnesota      8.15

 

Vault                                         Score

1.  Nick Moore, Nebraska           9.40

2.  Tony Burtle, Nebraska           9.05

3.  Jacob Ives, Nebraska 8.95    

 

Parallel Bars                              Score

1.  Jacob Lee, Minnesota            9.35

2.  Jason Wassung, Nebraska    8.55

3.  Steven Vuong, Minnesota      8.50

 

High Bar                                    Score

1.  Derric Wood, Nebraska          9.25

2.  Sergei Dmitriev, Minnesota     9.00

3.  Steven Vuong, Minnesota      8.80

 

All-Around                                 Score

1.  Jacob Lee, Minnesota            52.15

2.  Jason Wassung, Nebraska    50.30

3.  Stephen T?trault, Nebraska    48.25