Nebraska Falls to Sooners, Stanford in Oklahoma Triangular

 Norman, Okla. ? The No. 9 ranked Nebraska men’s gymnastics team finished third (201.10) behind No. 1 Oklahoma (217.80) and No. 2 Stanford (216.9) in a triangular meet at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., on Saturday, March 11.  With the loss, the Huskers fall to 6-8 overall on the season.

“We really thought we were prepared for this meet, but apparently we weren’t,” Head Coach Francis Allen said. “We were looking to go 209 or 210, which we should be capable of doing and it just didn’t happen.”

Nebraska began the meet on the still rings for the first time this season where it was led by senior Ray Hacker’s score of 8.60 to a team score of 33.60.

The Huskers perked up the pommel horse, with three gymnasts setting season-high scores, beginning with senior Derric Wood’s team best score of 9.05 for second place, followed by sophomore Stephen T?trault with a mark of 8.90 for third and Hacker’s score of 8.10.

However, NU was plagued by missteps in the floor exercise as only senior Nic Matthews (8.25) and T?trault (8.05) managed scores above 8.0.  Junior Jason Wassung, usually a staple in the event as an all-around, did not compete on the floor in Oklahoma.  Wassung would also not compete in the vault for Nebraska.

Unfortunately, problems would persist for Nebraska on the high bar, as three of NU’s six-man lineup suffered falls.  But as has become the norm this season, Nebraska’s Wood stepped up to cap off the rotation with a typically solid performance for a score of 8.85.  Senior Tony Burtle also mounted a near-flawless routine, however receiving only a 7.75 for his efforts. 

“We really struggled through both floor exercise and high bar,” Allen said.  “We started the meet with a score on rings that is pretty solid for us and then the floor exercise was nearly disastrous for us.”

Nebraska took its frustration with a couple of rough rotations and used it as fuel for the vault beginning with a strong score of 8.90 from freshman Jacob Ives.  Senior Nic Matthews followed and stuck his vault for a season-high score of 9.25 to tie for second in the event with Stanford’s Dylan Carney.  Senior Nick Moore also continued the pace he has set in the event over the last few weeks with a strong score of 9.05.

The Huskers ended the evening on the parallel bars where freshman T.J. Schmidt notched a career and team-high score of 9.10 for second on the event.  Wood followed to finish the meet for Nebraska with a score of 8.85.

The Huskers return to Lincoln to finish out the regular season on March 19 as they play host to Air Force at the Bob Devaney Sports Center at 2 p.m.  The meet is a double dual with the Husker women who take on Arkansas.