Wood Earns Second MPSF Gymnast of the Week Honor

<?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska senior Derric Wood was honored as the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Gymnast of the Week for the second time this season following his remarkable performance against Air Force last Sunday.  Wood is one of just two gymnasts in the conference to earn the distinction more than once this season.  The other is Oklahoma’s Jonathan Horton.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

Against Air Force last Sunday, Wood notched a trio of event titles including one on the pommel horse (9.05), one on the parallel bars (8.95) and another on the high bar (9.45) to close out the Senior Day competition.  A graduate of Lincoln Southeast, Wood contributed 36.2 points to Nebraska’s season-high total of 212.15, while the Huskers also set season-high event scores in three of the four events that feature Wood in the lineup.

 

Wood’s performance this weekend launched him into the national pommel horse and parallel bars rankings for the first time this season, coming in at 19th in both rankings.  Wood also improved in the high bar ranks, moving from 14th to 12th.

 

After spending the last two seasons overcoming both illness and injury, Wood has returned for his senior year full of determination.  The parallel bars and high bar have proven to be Wood’s bread and butter as he has set career-high marks of 8.95 and 9.45, respectively in each event and has earned a total of six event titles between the two.  Additionally, Wood owns one event title on the pommel horse and holds team-high marks on the event (9.05) and on the high bar (9.45).

 

This is the third MPSF Gymnast of the Week award for Wood, the first of which came during his freshman year in 2003, while the second took place following his performance against Iowa on Feb. 12.