Huskers Claim Second at Rocky Mountain Open

Men's GymnasticsJanuary 12, 2007

Huskers Claim Second at Rocky Mountain Open

Name: Nebraska at Team Finals
Start: 2007-01-13T02:00:00.000000Z
Location: Colorado Springs, Colo.

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Colorado Springs, Colo. ? The Nebraska men’s gymnastics team finished second (189.70) among four teams at the 22nd annual Rocky Mountain Open hosted by the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Friday. Top-ranked Oklahoma finished first with a score of 207.35 with Air Force (175.30) and ArizonaState (172.35) placing third and fourth, respectively.

Nebraska was led by senior co-captain Jason Wassung, who finished second in the all-around with an overall score of 48.05. Wassung was followed by junior Stephen T?trault, who finished third with a score of 46.15.

Sophomore T.J. Schmidt also made a big return in his second season with the Huskers, setting a pair of career-high marks to lead Nebraska on the pommel horse (8.55) and still rings (8.65).

The meet marked the first collegiate competition for seven Husker newcomers, several of whom counted scores toward Nebraska’s team total. Norman, Okla., native Josh Rusler highlighted the NU freshmen debuts, giving seemingly veteran performances on the vault and high bar for the Huskers, including a team-high score of 8.60 on the vault. Freshman Kyle Shanahan also performed well for NU, finishing fifth in the all-around and advancing to the finals on four events.

Nebraska began the meet on the still rings, an event where the Huskers concentrated recruiting efforts this past season. The work paid off early, helping the Huskers to an event score of 33.65, Nebraska’s best of the competition.

Despite the strong start, Nebraska struggled to find its footing on the vault, an event where the Huskers typically outshine the competition. NU suffered a string of missed landings in the first half of the lineup, before recovering with a pair of strong scores from Rusler (8.60) and Wassung (8.50).

But Nebaska’s early missteps on the vault would return on the parallel bars and haunt the Huskers through the remaining rotations, preventing NU from making a run at two-time defending national champion Oklahoma, which won the Rocky Mountain Open for the seventh consecutive season.

The RMO team finals were the first day of a two-day competition format, which features the event finals on Saturday. The finals feature the top eight gymnasts on each event from the team competition, with no team advancing more than three gymnasts per event. Five Huskers will represent Nebraska on six events in the finals, which begin at 2 p.m. CST.

A complete list of Nebraska gymnasts competing in the event finals is provided below.

Team Results (NCAA Division) Score

1. Oklahoma 207.35

2. Nebraska 189.70

3. Air Force 175.30

4. Arizona State 172.35

All-Around Results Score

1. Jacob Messina, Oklahoma 51.00

2. Jason Wassung, Nebraska 48.05

3. Stephen T?trault, Nebraska 46.15

Event Finals Qualifiers (Husker Gymnasts Only)

Floor Exercise