Huskers Host Iowa, Minnesota on Senior Day

The seventh-ranked Nebraska men’s gymnastics team welcomes Big Ten opponents Iowa and Minnesota to the Bob Devaney Sports Center on March 20 for its last meet of the regular season. Start time is set for 2 p.m.

Last Time Out

Freshman Anton Stephenson claimed his second consecutive all-around title, while junior Austin Epperson took home his first floor title, in the Huskers’ Big Ten meet against the Penn State Nitanny Lions on March 11. As a team, the Huskers posted the third highest score in school history, but at the end of the night, Penn State topped the Huskers 433.600-431.100.

Scouting the Iowa Hawkeyes

Iowa, ranked sixth in the Coaches Poll and ninth in the CGA Poll, is coming off a huge win against Minnesota. The Hawkeyes pulled off the upset on Senior Night, thanks to an impressive performance from Jack Boyle who beat his own Iowa school record of 86.80 with an 87.60 in the all-around. This is the third time in three weeks that Nebraska has gone up against Iowa. The first time was on Feb. 27 in Iowa City, Iowa, where the Hawkeyes topped NU 431.150-423.300. The following week, NU downed the Hawkeyes at the Arnold Classic in Columbus Ohio, by more than 10 points thanks to a school-record score of 437.600.

Scouting the Minnesota Golden Gophers

Minnesota is ranked fourth in the polls and second in the Big Ten, behind Ohio State. The Huskers faced the Gophers once earlier this season in Minneapolis. Despite posting the highest floor score of the season, and setting the school record for total team score on the event, Nebraska fell to the Golden Gophers by a score of 435.100-428.700.

Zach Liebler is Minnesota’s highest ranked gymnast, holding the No. 1 spot in the floor rankings with an average of 15.462 and a high score of 16.15. Liebler is also tied for sixth on vault. Yaroslav Pochinka, Justin Karstadt and Jalon Stephens join Liebler in the top 10. Pochinka ranks second in the vault rankings, Karstadt is tied for eighth in the pommel horse rankings, while Stephens is tied for sixth in the high bar rankings.

Huskers In the Rankings

As a team, the Huskers are No. 7 in both the Coaches Poll and the CGA Poll. Individually, eight gymnasts rank in the top 25 nationally across four events and the all-around. Senior All-American Ethan Lottman is the highest-ranked Husker, coming in at No. 6 in the pommel horse rankings. The Omaha, Neb., native is joined in the top 10 by Kyle King and Stephenson. King is tied for ninth in the floor rankings, while Stephenson holds 10th place in the all-around. Stephenson is also ranked in parallel bars (15th), floor (18th) and vault (tied for 21st). Epperson and Connor Adamsick hold the No. 14 and No. 21 spots, respectively, on floor. Daniel Leal and All-American Sam Chamberlain are ranked in parallel bars. Leal is tied for 21st, while Chamberlain is tied for 25th. Antonio Castro is the final Husker in the top 25. The sophomore from Pinecrest, Fla., is tied for 22nd on pommel horse.

Stick Around After the Meet

Sunday’s meet marks Senior Day for Sam Chamberlain, Ryan Irick and Ethan Lottman.  The trio will be recognized after the meet for their hard work, dedication and leadership to the program over the past years.