No. 11 Huskers Show Individual Success at Big Tens

State College, Pa.--The No. 11 Nebraska men’s gymnastics team battled through some individual struggles to finish in seventh place at the 2015 Big Ten Championships with a team score of 420.100.

The Big Red saw some clutch performances across all classes to help the team effort and earn berths into the individual event finals competition March 28. Freshman Kyle King put up big scores on floor (15.20) and vault (14.95) to pave his way to the finals in both events.  Junior Sam Chamberlain also earned spots in the finals on two events for vault and parallel bars, earning scores of 14.95 for and 14.90 respectively. Senior Andrew House notched a career best 14.55 score on pommel horse to punch his ticket to tomorrow’s competition, while sophomore all-around competitor Travis Gollott squeezed in the top 10 on floor with a 14.95 to earn his spot. Junior Ryan Irick clinched a career best 14.30 on rings to help NU to its 420.100 team total.

Nebraska began the night on parallel bars as the team pushed through to earn a 69.950 event total. Chamberlain led the way with his near-stuck dismount, posting a 14.90 for his performance. Stephenson followed up with a solid 14.40 to keep the pace going, while Gollott achieved a 13.90. King barely brushed his hands on the dismount to notch a 13.55, as Magsam chipped in a 13.20 to round out the rotation.

Minnesota took an early lead on rings with a 72.850 total, with Ohio State trailing in second on floor with a 71.600. Iowa began on vault and earned a 71.250, followed by Illinois on high bar (71.150), Michigan on pommel horse (70.700) and Nebraska on parallel bars (69.950). Penn State began the meet on a bye.

NU next rotated to high bar where the team overcame some mistakes to grab a 67.550 score. Klein set the tone with a clean set and stuck landing, delivering a 14.30 for his performance. Epperson returned to the high bar lineup to put up a 14.05, while Stephenson tallied a 13.60. Gollott stuck to a 13.50, as Lottman overcame a fall on the dismount to notch a 12.10.

After two rotations, Minnesota maintained the lead with a 145.350, as Michigan moved into second with a running total of 143.900. Iowa was third with a 141.850, followed by Nebraska (137.500), Ohio State (71.600) and Penn State (69.200).

The Huskers took to floor in the third rotation and strung together a collection of quality routines to tally a 72.800 paced by King’s huge 15.20. Gollott delivered a clean set to post a 14.95, followed by a respectable 14.80 from Stephenson. House put up a 14.60 with a step out of bounds, while Tokar barely sat down his double front pass to achieve a 13.25.

Minnesota held onto the lead after three rotations with a running total of 219.400. Michigan remained in second with a 217.200, followed by Iowa (211.400), Nebraska (210.300), Illinois (143.700), Penn State (144.200) and Ohio State (137.550).

The Huskers moved to a bye in the fourth rotation as competition continued in full swing. Minnesota barely remained the frontrunner after four rotations over Michigan 289.750-289.500. Iowa stayed in third with a 282.900, with Penn State in fourth (217.95), Illinois in fifth (215.000), Nebraska in sixth (210.300) and Ohio State in seventh (209.250).

For the second half of the meet, Nebraska traveled to pommel horse where House paved the way with his career high 14.55 score. Irick delivered a seamless performance to put up a 13.50, followed closely behind by Gollott’s 13.40. Lottman couldn’t hold on and suffered a fall near the end of the routine, but mustered a 13.55. King rounded things out on pommel with a 12.90 mark.

The Huskers went to rings in the sixth rotation as NU put together a 70.200. Leading the way for Nebraska was sophomore Austin Epperson, who posted a 14.40 for his clean set. Irick followed up with his career high 14.30, as Magsam was close behind with a 14.20 mark. Chamberlain notched a career high 14.15, while Tokar rounded out the rings squad with a 13.15.

For the last rotation of the evening, NU finished up on vault where the team overcame initial struggles to tally a 71.900. Chamberlain and King led the way for the Big Red, putting up identical 14.95 marks. Klein and Adamsick under rotated their double full vaults, grabbing a 14.15 and 14.05 respectively. Gollott sat down his vault and concluded the rotation with a 13.80 score, bringing the Huskers’ final team total to 420.100.

It was an exciting finish to the end of the team competition as Penn State, Michigan and Illinois battled for the top spot. Penn State ended the meet on floor to put up a big 74.800 on the event, taking home the Big Ten team title with a 436.700. Illinois edged its way into second with a 436.100, followed by Michigan with a 434.750. Minnesota ended in fourth with a 433.750, followed by Ohio State (429.350), Iowa (427.600) and Nebraska (420.100).

In the all-around competition, Matthew Felleman of Penn State took the crown with a score of 87.200, as Illinois’ Bobby Baker came in a close second with an 87.100. Gollott finished the night for the Huskers in seventh with an 82.700.

Four Huskers will move on to the second night of competition in the event finals, Nebraska’s most since joining the Big Ten. Chamberlain clinched spots on vault and parallel bars, while King finished in the top 10 on vault and floor to earn a spot in the finals. Gollott finished 10th on floor to punch his ticket, while House earned his first ever spot in the Big Ten event finals after tying for sixth place on pommel horse.

The Huskers will have a week off before heading to the NCAA Championships hosted by Oklahoma April 9-11. The top-12 ranked national teams will be divided into an afternoon and evening session, with six teams competing in each. The first day of competition will serve as the team qualifiers contest, with the top three teams in each session advancing to the team finals the following day. The second day will also hold the all-around finals and event semifinal competition, with those finishing in the top 10 on each event advancing to the event finals on the third day. More information about the NCAA Championships will be released at a later date.

Name	Floor	Horse	Rings	Vault	P.Bars	High Bar	All-Around
Connor Adamsick	---	---	---	14.05	---	---	---
Antonio Castro	---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Sam Chamberlain	---	---	14.15	14.95	14.90	---	---
Austin Epperson	---	---	14.40	---	---	14.05	---
Josh Everitt	---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Travis Gollott	14.95	13.40	13.15	13.80	13.90	13.50	82.700
Andrew House	14.60	14.55	---	---	---	---	---
Ryan Irick	---	13.50	14.30	---	---	---	---
Kyle King	15.20	12.90	---	14.95	13.55	---	---
Louis Klein	---	---	---	14.15	---	14.30	---
Robbie Kocks	---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Daniel Leal	---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Ethan Lottman	---	13.35	---	---	---	12.10	---
Alex Magsam	---	---	14.20	---	13.20	---	---
Grant Perdue	---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Sanjaya Roy	---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Brenon Sommers	---	---	13.25	---	---	---	---
Chris Stephenson	14.80	---	---	---	14.40	13.60	---
Coleman Tokar	13.25	---	13.15	---	---	---	---
Josh Ungar	---	---	---	13.85	---	---	---
Andrew Zymball	---	---	---	---	---	---	---

Team Scores:

1. Penn State- 436.700

2. Illinois- 436.100

3. Michigan- 434.750

4. Minnesota- 433.750

5. Ohio State- 429.350

6. Iowa- 427.600

7. Nebraska- 420.100