Personal-best scores fuel NU through Rocky Mountain Open

Colorado Springs, Colo. --- The Nebraska men’s gymnastics team had an explosive opening to its 2016 season on Saturday night at the Rocky Mountain Open, including a second-place individual finish, a third-place team finish and a number of career-best scores.

Senior captain and All-American, Sam Chamberlain, earned second place overall on parallel bars after his impressive score of 15.150. As a whole, the Huskers finished third with a team score of 420.300, beating Arizona State (403.650) and Washington (392.250), and coming behind Oklahoma (448.550) and Air Force (424.700).

Nebraska started the night on horizontal bar, where the team finished with a score of 69.350.  Travis Gollott kicked off the 2016 season for the Huskers. The Livermore, Calif., native posted a career-high 14.150 to start the team off strong. Anton Stephenson debuted is collegiate career with a 13.600.  The freshman was followed by senior All-American Ethan Lottman scored 13.200. Daniel Leal broke his previous personal-best with a score of 14.550.  Austin Epperson claimed a score of 13.850, while Antonio Castro finished with a 12.750.

The Huskers moved to floor for their second rotation. Andrew Zymball began the rotation for Nebraska. The redshirt freshman came away with a score of 14.450.  Following Zymball was Connor Adamsick who shattered his career-high score of 13.50 with a score of 14.950. Kyle King and A. Stephenson finished with scores of 14.700 and 14.600 respectively. Chamberlain’s routine earned him a 14.400. Epperson was the leader on the event with a 15.300, a new personal-best. The Huskers finished with a team score of 74.000, their best event of the night.

Pommel horse was next for NU.  Gollott started the event with a score of 11.200. Adamsick and K. King followed with a score of 8.90 and 12.950 respectively. Lottman led the team on the event with a 14.600, with help from Castro’s 14.100. Despite struggling on the event, the Big Red still finished with an event score of 65.700.

Nebraska was in third place at the halfway mark, with a score of 207.850, trailing Oklahoma (225.350) and Air Force (214.550).

NU switched to still rings next. Zymball and fellow redshirt freshman Joshua Everitt, were the first two competitors for the Huskers. The duo notched scores of 12.550 and 13.350 respectively. Alex Magsam earned a 13.450, while Leal marked a 14.000. Sophomore Brenon Sommers’ finished with 12.100 after his performance. Epperson led the team on a second event of the night, with another personal-best score of 14.800.  Nebraska’s final team score on the event was 68.150.

On vault, the Huskers showed resilience after struggling on the previous two events, finishing with a team score of 71.600. Chamberlain, paved the way for NU with a score of 14.650. Sophomores Adamsick and K. King came next with 14.100 and 14.300 respectively. A. Stephenson’s routine produced a 13.850. Leal added to his successful night with a score of 14.400, while Magsam finished the event with a personal-best of 14.150.

The team finished strong on parallel bars. Chamberlain was the team leader with a 15.150 on the event. Leal fueled the Huskers with his score of 14.550. A. Stephenson’s score (14.200) and K. King’s score (13.900) propelled the team, while Epperson and Zymball added support with 13.700 and 13.300 respectively.

A. Stephenson was the only all-around competitor for the Huskers. The Fishers, Ind., native earned fifth place with a score of 82.800.

Nebraska returns home next weekend for its first home meet of the season. The Huskers will take on Air Force at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The meet is scheduled to begin at 6 pm.