Huskers Take on Nation?s Top Two Teams

After upsetting then-No. 6 Ohio State two weeks ago at the Devaney Center, the ninth-ranked Nebraska men's gymnastics team continues its home stand with a triangular against No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 2 Stanford on Sunday, March 7. The competition is set to begin at 2 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center and is free to UNL students with a valid student identification card. Live stats will be available online at Huskers.com.

The Huskers are 7-3 in competitions this season, with wins over Ohio State, Air Force, Arizona State, Washington and UIC and losses to Oklahoma and Minnesota. The Huskers and the Sooners clash for the third time this season.

#9 Nebraska (7-3) vs. #1 Oklahoma (8-0)
Series History: Oklahoma Leads, 40-28-1
Last Meeting: Oklahoma won, 340.050-334.200, at Norman, Okla., on Feb. 13, 2010

Scouting No. 1 Oklahoma
The Huskers and Sooners match-up this weekend for the third and final time during the 2010 regular season. OU has defeated Nebraska twice before, once at the Rocky Mountain Open (347.400-337.050) and once at Oklahoma (340.050-334.200).

Oklahoma comes to Nebraska after a one-week break from team competition. In their last meet, the Sooners toppled then-No. 6 Minnesota, 359.450-344.850, on Feb. 27, at Norman, Okla.

Individually, six Sooner gymnasts rank in the top-10 nationally on seven events, including the all-around. Newcomer Jake Dalton ranks first in the nation in the all-around with an average of 88.633, while he also ranks second on floor exercise (15.683), first on vault (16.167), second on parallel bars (14.867) and ninth on high bar (14.700). In addition to Dalton's success in the national rankings, he has also captured MPSF Gymnast of the Week honors twice this season.

Junior Steven Legendre is second behind Dalton in the all-around (87.850). He also holds a first-place ranking on floor exercise (16.033), fifth-place ranking on vault (15.967) and fifth-place ranking on parallel bars (14.80). Junior Bobby Shortle ranks fifth on floor exercise (15.283) and third on vault (15.983), while fellow junior Ian Jackson holds a seventh-place ranking on still rings with a 14.983 average. Senior Corey English and freshman Alex Naddour are in the national standings on pommel horse, with a second-place ranking (15.20) and an eighth-place ranking (14.683), respectively.

#9 Nebraska (7-3) vs. #2 Stanford (9-0)
Series History: Stanford Leads, 8-0
Last Meeting: Stanford won, 352.30-334.70, at Palo Alto, Calif., on Jan. 24, 2009

Scouting No. 2 Stanford
Stanford comes off a convincing win over then-No. 1 Michigan on Saturday, Feb. 27, where the Cardinal posted a 361.40 team score, which is the top team score achieved in the NCAA this season.

Junior Tim Gentry leads the way for Stanford after recently being named MPSF Gymnast of the Week. Gentry is the second-ranked gymnast in the nation on both still rings (15.683) and vault (16.100). He also ranks fifth in the all-around with a 87.533 average. Six other Stanford gymnasts also rank in the top-10 nationally including, freshman Eddie Penev (third-15.500) and junior Alex Buscaglia (10th-15.177) on floor, freshman James Fosco (eighth-14.933) on rings, Penev (third-15.983), Buscaglia (sixth-15.950) and junior Josh Dixon (10th-15.833) on vault. Junior Nicholas Noone (fourth-14.833) and junior Ryan Lieberman (eighth-14.533) rank on parallel bars, and Buscaglia ranks third on high bar with an average of 15.133.

Up Next for Nebraska
Following this weekend's competition, the Huskers will travel to Berkeley, Calif., to take on California and Penn State in a triangular on Saturday, March 12, at 7 p.m. Nebraska will then return home on Saturday, March 20, for Senior Night against Iowa and Minnesota at 7 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

Seasoned Competitors Bolster Nebraska
Juniors Anthony Ingrelli and Bear Danley and sophomores Cory Baumgarten and Josh Dilworth have added vast experience to the Husker lineup this season.

Danley and Ingrelli have been consistent competitors for NU since their freshmen seasons. Both made NCAA appearances in 2008 and 2009, and the pair has gained poise and maturity on the floor.

Ingrelli, a still rings specialist, has captured two event titles on the year. His first title came at the Rocky Mountain Open on Saturday, Jan. 16, where he earned a score of 14.65. Ingrelli earned his most recent title against Minnesota and Air Force on Saturday, Jan. 30, where he posted a score of 14.70. Ingrelli earned a season-high score against Ohio State, Air Force and UIC two weeks ago with a 14.90 for third place.

Danley has competed on four events for the Huskers this season, including floor exercise, pommel horse, parallel bars and high bar. Danley has posted two third-place finishes on high bar, including one against Minnesota and Air Force on Saturday, Jan. 30, with a score of 14.30, and a second against Oklahoma on Saturday, Feb. 13, with a score of 14.25. His best score on high bar of the season was posted against Ohio State, UIC and Air Force two weeks ago, where he notched a score of 14.50. Danley also holds season-high scores of 13.30 on floor exercise, 12.95 on pommel horse and 13.75 on parallel bars.

Baumgarten, who redshirted in 2008, competed his first season with the Huskers in 2009. Last season, Baumgarten competed in nearly every regular-season competition for NU on floor exercise, still rings, vault and high bar. However, this season Baumgarten has dropped high bar and floor to primarily focus on still rings and vault. He has already seen vast improvements over the season, notching a career-high score of 15.65 on vault at Minnesota, blasting his previous score of 15.40 set last season. Baumgarten also earned a career-high score of 14.00 on rings against Minnesota.

Sophomore Josh Dilworth began competing for Nebraska immediately last season as one of NU's top aerial specialists. At the 2009 NCAA Championships, Dilworth advanced to the second qualifying round, but narrowly missed the chance to compete for All-America honors. Dilworth came out swinging early on in the 2010 season, earning season-high scores of 14.50 on floor exercise, 15.55 on vault and 12.90 on high bar. However, Dilworth has been forced to sit out since the second meet due to injury.

With eight seniors on track to exhaust their eligibility following the 2010 season, Ingrelli, Danley, Baumgarten and Dilworth will be expected to step into a vital leadership role during the 2011 season.

No. 9 Nebraska Gymnasts Upset No. 6 Ohio State
Behind outstanding performances by Nebraska all-arounders, the ninth-ranked Husker men's gymnastics team toppled No. 6 Ohio State, No. 11 University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) and No. 13 Air Force in a quadrangular competition in front of 650 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Sunday, Feb. 21. The Huskers notched a season-high team mark of 348.250 for first place, while Ohio State earned a 346.600 for second place. UIC earned a third-place finish with a score of 340.200, while Air Force placed fourth with a score of 332.700.

All-arounders Kyle Shanahan and Andreas Hofer took the top two spots in the all-around competition, as Shanahan earned a season-high score of 86.60 for first place and Hofer earned a season- and career-high mark of 86.20 for second place. Hofer had an impressive afternoon, earning event titles on vault (15.85) and parallel bars (14.50). He also placed third on high bar with a score of 14.80. Shanahan placed second on floor exercise (14.90) and second on high bar.

Senior Tony Maras earned his first event title of the season with a first place finish on rings with a score of 14.95. Junior Anthony Ingrelli also cracked the top-three finishers on rings with a score of 14.90 for third place. Sophomore Michael Heredia earned a third-place finish for the first time this season on vault with a score of 15.75.

Nebraska started the competition off on the right foot, posting a season-high team score of 58.50 on floor exercise. Hofer led the way for Nebraska, earning a season- and career-high score of 14.80 on the event. Seniors Josh Rusler and Daniel Brule also notched season-highs, with scores of 13.85 and 14.60, respectively. Shanahan rounded off the lineup with his second highest score of the season with a 14.90. After one rotation, Air Force took the lead with a 62.10, while Nebraska was in second (58.500), Ohio State was in third (54.75) and UIC was in fourth (54.70)

The Huskers moved on to pommel horse in the second rotation, earning another season-high team score of 54.25. NU's newcomers put together solid pommel horse performances, as both David Jacobs and Hofer earned season- and career-high scores of 13.80 and 13.65, respectively. Shanahan notched the Huskers' top pommel horse score with a 14.00.

NU kept the momentum on still rings, posting a score of 57.75. Ring specialists Maras and Ingrelli each posted season-high scores on the apparatus, earning scores of 14.95 and 14.90, respectively. Shanahan also posted a solid score of 13.75 on the event. After three rotations, UIC took the lead with a score of 171.95, while Ohio State moved to second (171.65), Air Force was in third (170.60) and Nebraska moved to fourth (170.50).

Nebraska posted a score of 62.50 on vault in the fourth rotation, behind stellar performances by Heredia, Hofer and Maras. Heredia notched a career-high score of 15.75 on the event, while Maras earned a season-high score of 15.45 and Hofer earned his second highest score of the season with a 15.85. Following four rotations, Nebraska took the lead with a score of 233.00, while Ohio State remained in second (230.60), UIC moved to third (226.85) and Air Force moved to fourth (226.30).

The Huskers earned another season-best score of 56.40 on parallel bars, capped by several season- and career-high individual performances. Senior Stefan Wallof started NU off with a career-high parallel bars routine, posting a score of 13.85 on the apparatus. Wallof blasted his previous high of 13.40, which was set against Oklahoma last weekend. Jacobs earned a season- and career-high score of 13.15, while Hofer tied his career-high with a 14.50. After five rotations, the Huskers narrowly edged Ohio State for first, 289.400-289.150, while UIC was in third (283.60) and Air Force was in fourth (277.20).

The Huskers came out swinging on high bar in the sixth rotation, earning a season-high team score of 58.85. Shanahan earned a career-high score of 15.20 on the event, while Danley earned a season-high score of 14.50. Brule also posted a season-high of 14.35, while Hofer earned a career-high mark of 14.80 and Jacobs notched a career-high score of 14.35.

Nebraska is moved to 7-3 on the season and 10-8 all-time against Ohio State. The Huskers are also 3-0 against UIC and 19-2 against Air Force.