King, Stephenson will Represent NU at Winter Cup

Jordan King and Anton Stephenson, two freshmen on the Nebraska men's gymnastics team, have been invited to represent the Huskers at Winter Cup in Las Vegas on Feb. 18 and Feb. 20. Over 90 individuals will attend and each gymnast will be competing for eight spots on the U.S. Men’s Senior National Team, along with a shot to represent the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

The competition is not new to the pair. Both Huskers competed at the Winter Cup last year. Stephenson advanced to the finals in the all-around, where he tied for fourth on vault.

The meet is by invitation only and is considered a prestigious honor. In order to qualify for the Winter Cup, athletes must have competed in the P&G Championships or must have finished in the top three in the all-around or individual events at the NCAA Championships.

King competed at the 2015 P&G Gymnastics Championships, where he placed in the top five on all events and in the all-round competition. The Houston, Texas, native tied for first on pommel horse, placed second on floor, rings, parallel bars and in the all-around, took third on high bar and earned fifth on vault.

“I'm pretty stoked to be competing at Winter Cup again,” King said. “But this time I get to represent the University [of Nebraska] and wear that block N on my chest, which means so much more than representing just myself.”

Stephenson also competed at the 2015 P&G Championships.  He took home the title on parallel bars, earned second on vault, placed third on floor and pommel horse, placed fourth in the all-around, tied for fourth on high bar and claimed seventh place on rings.

“I am very excited to head out to Las Vegas to compete at Winter Cup,” Stephenson said. “It is always an eye opening experience swinging next to some of the nation's top gymnasts. It will not be as exciting as competing alongside the whole team, but it is still a great opportunity to represent the University [of Nebraska].”

King will compete in the afternoon session on Feb. 18, beginning at 1 p.m. Stephenson will follow in the evening session, set to start at 6:30 p.m.

Scoring at Winter Cup is based on a point system of 20. The highest-scoring individual on any event will be awarded 20 points, with the next highest earning 19 and so on. There are no points awarded for the all-around on the first day of competition. The top 42 gymnasts will advance to the final competition on Feb. 20, along with the top three gymnasts on each event. Champions will be determined based on the combined two-day score.

More information regarding the Winter Cup can be found at the following links:

The event: http://www.wintercup.com/

Photos and Videos: http://www.wintercup.com/photovideo/

The start list: https://usagym.org/PDFs/Men/Mens%20Program%20Events/16wintercup/startlist.pdf

The complete schedule: https://usagym.org/PDFs/Men/Mens%20Program%20Events/16wintercup/schedule.pdf

The scoring system: https://usagym.org/PDFs/Men/Mens%20Program%20Events/15wintercup/points.pdf