Huskers Set for B1G Matchup Against Penn State

The Nebraska men’s gymnastics team (6-7, 1-4) concludes a series of away meets on March 11, when the team travels to State College, Pa., for a conference matchup with the Penn State Nittany Lions. Competition is set to begin at 6:07 p.m.

This is the second time the two teams have met this season. On Feb. 27, Nebraska and Penn State competed in a triangular meet with Iowa. The Huskers took third in the triangular, while Penn State claimed second.

LAST TIME OUT:

The Huskers, ranked No. 6 in the CGA Poll and No. 8 in the Coaches Poll, are coming off a spectacular second-place finish at the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio, on March 5.  The team broke four school records, finished with 11 personal-best scores, claimed two event titles and the all-around title.

Anton Stephenson, who earned his third Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week Award on March 7, took home the all-around title, with a personal-best and program-record score of 88.90. Stephenson also claimed first place on floor and vault.

As a team, the Huskers broke three records, including total score (437.300), pommel horse (73.15) and vault (74.20).

SCOUTING THE NITANNY LIONS:

The seventh-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions, led by head coach Randy Jepson, defeated Arizona State 430.450 – 413.700 on March 4. The team earned event titles in four of the six events and posted season highs on vault and parallel bars. Leroy Clark, Jr., who took home the still rings title and the parallel bars title, currently ranks in the Top 10 on two events. The junior is ranked ninth on still rings and seventh on parallel bars. Four other Nittany Lions hold spots in the Top 20, including Alexis Torres, Trevor Howard, Joshua Smith and Michael Burns.

IN THE RANKINGS:

Nebraska has five gymnasts ranked in the Top 20 nationally, including three in the Top 10.  Senior All-American, Ethan Lottman, ranks highest with a third-place tie on pommel horse. Kyle King and Stephenson join Lottman in the Top 10 ranking sixth on floor and ninth in the all-around, respectfully. Stephenson is also ranked in two other events. In the floor rankings, the Fishers, Ind., native is tied for 17th place and in the parallel bars rankings, he is 18th. Austin Epperson holds the No. 16 spot on floor, while senior All-American Sam Chamberlain is ranked 19th in the parallel bars rankings.

HUSKERS SET TO APPEAR ON BTN:

The meet will be shown on tape delay on the Big Ten Network on Saturday, March 12 at 7 p.m.