NU Finishes Second at West Point Open

West Point, N.Y. --- The No. 9 Nebraska men's gymnastics opened its 2017 campaign with a second-place finish at the 26th Annual West Point Open on Friday night with a team score of 410.600. Individually, Chris Stephenson placed fourth in the all-around competition. Stephenson (still rings and high bar), along with Jake Bonnay (floor and high bar), Kyle King (floor, vault and parallel bars), Antonio Castro (pommel horse, vault and high bar), Anton Stephenson (pommel horse and parallel bars), Heath Anderson (still rings), Austin Epperson (still rings) and Daniel Leal (vault and parallel bars) all advanced to the event finals on Saturday night. 

The team started the night on parallel bars, where Leal paved the way with 14.15. Leal received help from All Americans Anton Stephenson and Epperson who added 13.85 and 13.60, respectively. Kyle King notched 13.70, while Chris Stephenson earned 13.65. Sanjaya Roy, competing unattached, tied his career-high after scoring a 13.45 on the event. As a team, the Huskers finished with 68.95.

NU moved to high bar where freshman Jake Bonnay earned 13.80 on first collegiate routine, leading the Huskers on the event. Chris Stephenson and Antonio Castro followed closely behind with 13.70 and 13.40, respectively. Jordan King pitched in 12.70, while Evan Hymanson scored 12.15. The Huskers earned a team score of 65.75. 

After a bye, the Huskers competed on floor, where Bonnay scored the highest score again for NU with 14.45. After a solid routine, Kyle King was rewarded with 13.95. Epperson added 13.65, while Chris Stephenson and Anton Stephenson scored 12.85 and 13.70, respectively. 

On pommel horse Castro's 13.90 was the highest score of the night on the event. Anton Stephenson earned 13.70, while Travis Gollott and Chris Stephenson scored 13.30 and 13.05, respectively. 

The Huskers made significant strides on still rings during the off season and it showed on Friday. The team score (69.25) was the second-highest score for the Huskers. Anderson smashed his previous career-high of 13.00 with a 14.45, despite the scoring change after last season that is expected to reduce scores by 0.5. Epperson and Chris Stephenson each notched 13.95, while Everitt finished with 13.60. 

NU's final and best event of the night was vault. The team put up a score of 70.95. Kyle King was the leader on vault with a 14.86. Castro earned 14.20, while Leal finished with 14.15. Josh Martin recorded 14.10 in his first collegiate competition, while Alex Magsam scored 13.45. 

Penn State took first and Army placed third. Arizona State took fourth, Springfield College took fifth, Navy placed sixth and Temple finished seventh.

Tomorrow's individual event finals begin at 6 p.m. Fans can follow twitter (@NebraskaMensGym) for updates.