Huskers Head to B1G Championships

HUSKERS HEAD TO COLUMBS FOR B1G CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Nebraska men’s gymnastics team travels to Columbus, Ohio, for the Big Ten Championships, on April 1-2. Competition is set to begin at 7 p.m. (ET) each night.

LAST TIME OUT:

The Huskers are coming off an impressive performance on March 20 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Neb. Ethan Lottman claimed the pommel horse title against Minnesota and Iowa. The Omaha, Neb., native posted a 15.45 on Senior Day to help the Huskers to a 432.450 team score, the third-highest score in school history. NU tied Iowa for second place, while Minnesota took first place. Jordan King, Antonio Castro, Andrew Zymball and Alex Magsam all earned personal-best scores at the triangular meet, while the team notched the highest still rings score of the season (71.40).

HUSKERS IN THE RANKINGS:

Nebraska holds the No. 7 spot in the CGA Rankings and No. 8 in the Coaches Poll. The Huskers also rank in the top 10 in five out of the six events, including a fourth-place ranking on floor and pommel horse. Individually, NU has eight gymnasts ranked in the top 25. Lottman and Kyle King are the top-ranked Huskers coming in at No. 4 on pommel horse and floor, respectively. The pair is joined in the top 10 by Anton Stephenson, who ranks tenth in the all-around. Stephenson is also ranked on floor (15th), parallel bars (T17th), and vault (18th). Austin Epperson is tied for 16th on floor, while Connor Adamsick ranks 23rd on the event. Castro comes in at No. 19 on pommel horse. Sam Chamberlain and Daniel Leal are both ranked on parallel bars. Chamberlain is tied for 17th, while Leal is tied for 24th. K. King is also tied for 25th on vault.

SCOUTING THE OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (HOST):

Ohio State hosts this year’s Big Ten Championships. The Buckeyes are the highest ranked Big Ten team, coming in a No. 3 in the CGA rankings and in the Coaches Poll.  The Buckeyes rank second in still rings and high bar as a team. Ohio State is led by two strong underclassmen, Sean Melton and Alec Yoder. Melton, a sophomore, ranks first on still rings, second on parallel bars, fifth on high bar, sixth in the all-around and 20th on pommel horse. Yoder, a freshman, is ranked on pommel horse (third), still rings (ninth), high bar (ninth) and in the all-around (12th). The Huskers faced Ohio State once this season at the Arnold Classic on March 5, where the team posted the highest score in school history (437.300), but the Buckeyes topped the Huskers with their score of 447.400.

SCOUTING THE ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI:

Fifth-ranked Illinois ranks No. 1 on pommel horse and No. 3 on still rings as team. The Illini also rank in the top five on parallel bars (fifth) and high bar (fifth). Brandon Ngai leads the team in the rankings, coming in first in the pommel horse rankings. Alex Diab ranks second on still rings. The duo is joined in the top 10 by Matthew Foster and Logan Bradley, who are tied for ninth on pommel horse.

The Fighting Illini are one of two Big Ten teams that the Huskers haven’t faced this season. The last time Nebraska and Illinois met was and March 8, 2015, where Illinois topped NU 436.700-423.450. 

SCOUTING THE IOWA HAWKEYES:

Iowa, ranked eighth in the CGA rankings and sixth in the Coaches Poll. As a team, the Hawkeyes rank No. 5 on still rings and No. 6 on floor and high bar. Iowa is led by seniors Matthew Loochtan and Jack Boyle. Loochtan is ranked ninth in the all-around, while Boyle is ranked 13th. Loochtan is also ranked in the top 10 on two other events, including No. 7 on floor and No. 8. Boyle ranks 14th on still rings and fourth on high bar.

This is the fourth time in the last month that the Huskers have 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, Nebraska downed the Hawkeyes at the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio, by more than 10 points, thanks to a school-record score of 437.300. Then, on March 20, the Huskers welcomed Iowa to the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln where the two teams tied, each posting a score of 432.450.

SCOUTING THE MICHIGAN WOLVERINES:

Michigan is No. 10 in the rankings and in the Coaches Poll. The team is ranked highest on vault, holding the second spot. The Wolverines are also ranked in the top 10 on floor, (tied for ninth), still rings (eighth) and parallel bars (seventh). Anthony McCallum is Michigan’s highest ranked gymnast. McCallum ranks No. 1 on vault with an average of 15.033 and a high score of 15.45. Emyre Cole and Anthony Stefanelli are also listed in the vault rankings. Cole is tied for fourth on the event, while Stefanelli is tied for sixth. The trio is joined in the top 10 by Colin Mahar, who is tied for tenth on still rings, and Dmitri Belanovski, who is tied for fifth on parallel bars and seventh in the all-around.

Michigan is the second Big Ten team that the Huskers have not seen yet this season. The last time the two teams met during the regular-season was in 2014. Michigan defeated NU 444.100-426.350.

SCOUTING THE MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS:

Minnesota is ranked No. 4 in the CGA rankings and in the Coaches Poll and second in the Big Ten behind Ohio State. Minnesota ranks second on floor, third on parallel bars and is tied for third on vault. Zach Liebler is Minnesota’s highest ranked gymnast, holding the No. 1 spot in the floor rankings with an average of 15.50 and a high of 16.15. Liebler is also tied for fourth on vault. Alex Wittenberg, Yaroslav Pochinka, Alex Wittenberg, Justin Karstadt, Jalon Stephens and Paul Montague Jr. join Liebler in the top 10. Wittenberg ranks 10th on floor, while Yaroslav ranks No.2 on vault. Karstadt and Montague are ranked on parallel bars. Karstadt holds the No. 8 spot, while Montague Jr. is tied for tenth. Stephens is tied for seventh on high bar.

The Huskers have faced the Gophers twice during the regular season. The first time, on Jan. 30, despite posting the highest floor score of the season and setting the school record for total team score on floor, the Huskers fell to the Gophers 435.100-428.700. Then, on March 20, Nebraska hosted Minnesota at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln for Senior Day. Minnesota topped the Huskers 433.850-432.450.

SCOUTING THE PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS:

Ninth-ranked Penn State ranks fifth on vault and sixth on still rings and parallel bars. The Nittany Lions are led by Leroy Clarke, Jr. and Alexis Torres. Clarke, Jr. is the highest-ranked Nittany Lion. The junior is tied for fifth on parallel bars and also ranks No. 13 on still rings. Torres is tied for 10th on parallel bars and is ranked 18th on floor. Joshua Smith, Trevor Howard and Michael Burns join Clarke and Torres in the top 20.

Nebraska met Penn State on March 11 in State College, Pa., where Anton Stephenson claimed his second consecutive all-around title and Austin Epperson earned his first floor title of his career. As a team, the Huskers lost to the Nittany Lions 433.600-431.100.

HUSKERS SET TO APPEAR ON BTN:

The 2016 Big Ten Championships will be broadcasted live on the Big Ten Network and will also be available on BTN2GO.