Husker Trio Faces Nation?s Best at Winter Cup

Three of <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska’s top gymnasts descend on the desert this weekend, as they face some of the nation’s best at the 2007 Winter Cup in Las Vegas. Senior Jason Wassung, junior Stephen T?trault and sophomore T.J. Schmidt, all Nebraska natives, earned places at the invitation-only, three-day event, which begins on Thursday, Feb. 8.  Two sessions of preliminary action begin at 2 p.m. central at the Las VegasSportsCenter and the meet concludes on Saturday, Feb. 10, with the finals at 9:15 p.m. <?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

The approximately 84 gymnasts in attendance all received invitations to the meet either through a qualifying finish at a 2006 national event or by submitting a video to a panel of judges. The field is separated into two sessions on Thursday, of which only those gymnasts who finish in the top three on any given event or those who receive a qualifying score will advance to the finals on Saturday. Friday is reserved as a training day for finals competitors.

 

The conclusion of the Winter Cup will see seven athletes added to the U.S. National Team, including the top three finishers from the meet as well as four additional athletes as selected by the Men’s Program Committee.

 

Nebraska’s three representatives all begin the meet on the pommel horse as part of Session I, which will begin at 2 p.m. on Thursday. Joining the Husker entourage is a large contingent of Ohio State Buckeyes, including Willie Ito, Jake Bateman, Nicholaus Searcy, Kristopher Kline and DJ Bucher. The groups will follow Olympic order from their starting event.

 

This is the first Winter Cup for both Wassung and Schmidt, and the third for T?trault, who has attended the event every season since his freshman year. T?trault and Wassung both prequalified for the event after competing at the 2006 VISA Championships this past summer, while Schmidt earned his ticket through an approved video petition.

 

 

He Scored a What?

For those that follow collegiate gymnastics, the scores from the 2007 Winter Cup might seem a little strange. After all, when competitors start notching scores well above a 13.0 in a sport that is used to seeing 10.0 as perfection, things can get confusing.

 

The reason for the difference is the use of two different scoring systems. The 2006 Winter Cup marked the first men’s use of a scoring system adopted by the International Gymnastics Federation and is the same system that will be used this season. Under this new system, points are awarded for both content and execution with an individual likely scoring above the 10.0-mark, which is normally considered the top tier in gymnastics.

 

 

T?trault Takes Another Roll in Las Vegas

Junior Stephen T?trault takes his third roll at the Winter Cup this season after competing in his initial Winter Cup in 2005 as a prequalified competitor and again last season when he advanced via video petition. This season, the Lincoln, Neb., native is back on the prequalification list after competing at the 2006 VISA Championships last summer, and is hopeful that the third time is a charm as he strives for a spot on the U.S. National Team.

 

In his first run at the Winter Cup, T?trault marked a 9.333 on the vault in just one attempt nearing his then season-high of 9.40.  Overall, T?trault finished 45th in a field of 84 despite scratching out of the still rings.

 

Last year, T?trault competed in all six events, finishing 16th overall in Session I, but failed to advance to the finals in a single event. T?trault’s strongest event was the vault where he notched a score of 15.75 and tied for ninth place.  However, his highest-placing discipline was the parallel bars where he finished seventh in the session with a score of 13.60.

 

This season, the junior all-arounder will compete on just four events as he continues to nurse a knee injury that has forced him out of the floor exercise and vault lineups for Nebraska since Jan. 20. Since then, T?trault has stepped up on the pommel horse and high bar for Nebraska, finishing second on the pommel horse with a season-high score of 8.70 against Oklahoma on Feb. 2.

 

 

Schmidt, Wassung Make Debut Bid at Winter Cup

Sophomore T.J. Schmidt and senior Jason Wassung both make their debut appearances at the 2007 Winter Cup, joining veteran Winter Cup competitor StephenT?trault in Session I on Thursday, Feb. 8. Schmidt received his first invitation to the two-day meet by an approved video petition, while Wassung made his way onto the prequalification list after competing at the 2006 VISA Championships last summer.

 

Both Schmidt and Wassung have consistently been Nebraska’s top competitors this season, with Schmidt leading the Huskers with four event titles. The Blair, Neb., native has a pair of crowns on both the pommel horse and parallel bars in 2007 and has thus far set career-high marks on the floor exercise (8.65), pommel horse (9.00), still rings (8.95) and parallel bars (9.35). Schmidt currently ranks 12th in the national pommel horse polls.

 

Nebraska’s only fourth-year competitor, Wassung has been a force in the all-around for the Huskers in his final season. The Lincoln, Neb., native has finished either first or second in the all-around in every meet this season, earning the third all-around title of his career at Oklahoma and Air Force on Jan. 20. Wassung enters the Winter Cup following his best meet of the season against Oklahoma on Feb. 2, where he tallied career-high scores on the parallel bars (9.40) and high bar (9.20) en route to the parallel bars title, a second-place finish on high bar and a second-place finish in the all-around with a season-high mark of 51.60.

 

 

MPSF Comes Out Full Force in Vegas

Of the 84 athletes representing 14 NCAA programs at the 2007 Winter Cup, 13 hail from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.  Of the five-team conference, California boasts the most participants with four, followed by Stanford and Nebraska with three, Oklahoma with two and Air Force with one.

 

Although the MPSF qualified a number of participants, the Big Ten will dominate the event with a total of 31 athletes representing five schools.  No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 Penn State lead the pack with eight each.

 

 

Nebraska Gains Ground in GymInfo Polls

As a team, Nebraska used a season average score of 200.462 to inch from 11th to 10th in the GymInfo polls released on Feb. 6. The Huskers also improved in all six event rankings, including their biggest move up three spots from 12th to 9th in the vault (33.525) and from 11th to 8th in the parallel bars (33.675). NU’s ranking on parallel bars is tied with its No. 8 spot on high bar (33.537) for its highest event rankings this season, following an outstanding performance on both events against Oklahoma on Feb. 2 that saw Nebraska notch season-high team score of 35.20 on parallel bars and 35.25 on high bar.

 

Individually, sophomore T.J. Schmidt maintained his No. 12 position on pommel horse (8.64), while senior Jason Wassung fell from 11th to 12th in the all-around (49.95), despite tallying a season-high score of 51.60 this past week.

 

 

Huskers Draw Largest Crowd of 2007

Nebraska’s home opener against Oklahoma on Feb. 2 featured a crowd of 4,125 fans, the largest crowd to view an NCAA men’s gymnastics meet this season. In fact, the mark is more than double any other dual in the nation and is rivaled only by the West Point Open, which combines attendance over a three-day period.

 

 

Last Meet Repeat

The No. 11 Nebraska men’s gymnastics team scored a season-high team mark of 205.95 in front of 4,125 fans that packed the DevaneySportsCenter to cheer on the Huskers against defending national champion Oklahoma Sooners on Feb. 2. Despite a strong team score, NU’s performance wasn’t quite enough to topple OU, which posted a score of 213.30 for the win.

 

The meet’s attendance number marked the largest crowd to watch an NCAA men’s gymnastics competition in 2007. The Husker Nation had plenty to cheer about, as it saw Lincoln native Jason Wassung set a pair of career high marks en route to the parallel bars crown (9.40) and a second-place finish in the all-around (51.90). In addition to his career-high on the parallel bars, Wassung also set a new mark on the high bar (9.20) for second place on the event, and added season-high scores on the still rings (8.90), vault (8.70) and all-around.

 

Wassung’s parallel bars title was one of two event crowns for the Huskers, with freshman Tony Maras tying Oklahoma’s Jonathan Horton for the vault title (8.90). With the title, Maras became the first in Nebraska’s nine-man freshman class to reach the top of the podium this season.

 

Nebraska would have seen an even higher team score had it not been for a pair of rocky rotations on the floor exercise and pommel horse to start the dual. The Huskers put together four solid scores on the floor exercise, but nothing like the breakout mark of 9.35 that they saw from frehsman Kyle Shanahan at the Stanford Open on Jan. 27. Without those 9.0 scores, NU fell well short of its season-high floor score of 35.15, with a mark of 34.00

 

The pommel horse continued a string of bad luck for the Huskers, as the first four consecutive competitors lost points on falls. It wasn’t until junior Stephen T?trault took the horse that Nebraska picked up a mark over an 8.0, with T?trault notching a strong season-high score of 8.70 and the second-place finish.

 

NU kept swinging on the still rings, tallying a team mark of 34.80. Wassung thrilled his hometown Lincoln crowd with a season-high score of 8.90 to start a string of strong routines for Nebraska, including an 8.75 from Maras and an 8.90 from Schmidt to close the rotation.

 

Maras carried the Huskers into the fourth rotation, scoring a season-high 8.90 on the vault to tie with Horton.

 

By the fifth rotation, Wassung had set two season-high scores in front of the largest home crowd of his collegiate career, but he wasn’t finished yet. The 5-4 all-arounder took his performance a step further on the parallel bars, setting a team- and career-high mark of 9.40 to lead the Huskers to a season-high parallel bars score of 35.20 en route to his first event title of the season.

 

Nebraska finished strong the high bar, starting with a pair of stellar performances from T?trault and freshman Josh Rusler, who posted scores of 8.75 and 8.80, respectively. Wassung again stole the show and capped off a strong meet for the Huskers with a career-high mark of 9.20 to end the evening.

 

 

Watching Wassung

In his final season at Nebraska, senior Jason Wassung is proving he is a competitor to keep track of. The Lincoln, Neb., native has been NU’s most consistent all-arounder this season and has easily shouldered the responsibility. Four meets into the season, Wassung has finished either first or second in the all-around each time, including earning the third all-around title of his career against Oklahoma and Air Force on Jan. 20.

 

Nebraska’s only fourth-year competitor, Wassung set a season-high mark of 51.06 for second place in the all-around against Oklahoma on Feb. 2.

 

 

Schmidt Hits

While the Huskers may have yet to reach their full potential this season, sophomore T.J. Schmidt has consistently surpassed expectation.

 

In the last four weeks, Schmidt has set career high scores seven times, besting his own high scores on floor exercise (8.60), pommel horse (9.00), still rings (8.95) and parallel bars (9.35). Schmidt’s success is not simply a case of making the leap from an often times limited freshman campaign to that of a more experienced sophomore. In fact, the Blair, Neb., native earned his share of the spotlight even in 2006 as NU’s top parallel bars specialist, earning a team-high score of 9.10 and advancing to the event preliminaries at the NCAA Championships. Instead, Schmidt’s outstanding start could more accurately be attributed to hard work and determination.

 

At the Rocky Mountain Open on Jan. 12-13, Schmidt tied his career high of 8.20 on the floor exercise and set new bests on the pommel horse (8.55) and still rings (8.65). Additionally, Schmidt’s performance earned him the first event title of his collegiate career with a first-place finish on the pommel horse. He also finished third on the floor exercise and second on the parallel bars.

 

Against Oklahoma and Air Force on Jan. 20, Schmidt again hit routine after routine, besting his scores on the pommel horse (9.00) and still rings (8.95) and setting a new career high on the parallel bars (9.35), while adding two more event titles to his collection with crowns on the pommel horse and parallel bars.

 

The Blair, Neb., native stayed the course at the Stanford Open on Jan. 27, taking home the parallel bars title with a score of 9.10 and setting a new career high mark of 8.60 on the floor exercise.

 

Schmidt debuted at 13th on the pommel horse in GymInfo event rankings this season and has since spent the last two weeks at the No. 12 spot.

 

 

Cal to Host 2007 MPSF Championships

The 2007 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championships for men’s gymnastics will be hosted by California on Saturday, March 31 at Haas Pavilion. The MPSF meet will feature five teams ? Air Force, California, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Stanford. At last year’s national meet, three of the top five teams came from the MPSF, as Oklahoma won the NCAA title, while Stanford and Cal finished third and fifth, respectively.