Huskers Capture Third Place in RMO

Colorado Springs, Colo.- The Big Red traveled to Air Force for the Rocky Mountain Open battling five top-ranked teams to finish the night landing in third place.

The No. 4 Huskers rallied throughout the meet to claim a final team score of 405.300 to finish in third place, highlighted by captain Taylor Christopulos snagging the floor event title with a score of 14.40, among his third-place all-around finish with a career-high score of 81.800.

Rotation One
The Huskers started the night off on vault where they put up a team score of 70.400. Chris Hiser led the squad notching a 13.55. James Friedman followed with a 13.95, while Donte McKinney collected a season-high score of 14.10. Luke James put up a 14.20 career-high. Taylor Christopulos closed the event scoring a 14.60 for NU.

Nebraska ends the first event with a 70.400 team score on vault.

Rotation Two
Moving to the second event on parallel bars, Nebraska began with freshman Asher Cohen scoring a 13.10, while Joey Pepe put up a 13.00, both career-highs for the gymnasts. James Friedman earned a 12.85 and Travis Wong collected a 13.45 respectively. Taylor Christopulos anchored the event with a 13.25, also a career-high for the Husker.

NU completed parallel bars with a running team score of 136.050.

Rotation Three
Nebraska showed out on high bar for the third rotation with each competitor notching a career-high for the Huskers. Notably, All-American Donte McKinney made a mark with a 14.25 career-high score. Zac Tiderman capitalized with a 14.10, while Toby Liang notched a 13.70. Joey Pepe earned a 13.05. Taylor Christopulos anchored again collecting a 13.95.

Nebraska moves to the fourth rotation with a team score of 205.100.

Rotation Four
NU shows floor for the fourth rotation. Taylor Christopulos highlights the event with an impressive career-high score of 14.40 for Nebraska, good for the floor title. James Friedman acted as lead-off scoring a 13.00. Chris Hiser put up a 13.85 season-high and Luke James scored a 12.45 respectively. Toby Liang followed with a 13.45 career-high for the freshman.

The Huskers finish the floor rotation with a team-score of 272.250.

Rotation Five
Moving to pommel horse for the fifth event, Travis Wong impressed with strength after notching a 13.75, a career-high for the sophomore. Nathan York followed with a score of 12.05, and James Friedman earned a 13.30 respectively. Cooper Giles collected a 13.70. Taylor Christopulos scored a 12.70.

NU moves into rotation six with a team score of 337.750.

Rotation Six
Nebraska ends on rings for the final rotation, led by James Friedman notching a 13.90 for the Huskers, a career-high. Following, Chris Hiser notched a 13.85 and Asher Cohen put up 13.45, a career-high. Travis Wong scored a 13.05 for the Huskers. Moritz Mueller earned a 13.30. Taylor Christopulos scored a 12.90, aimed towards the gymnast's all-around score.

The Cornhuskers completed the night capturing third place (405.300) in the 2023 Rocky Mountain Open, behind second place Oklahoma (411.850) and No. 1 Stanford claiming first place (420.100). Michigan fell in fourth place (398.800), Arizona State in fifth place (397.400), and Air Force in sixth (381.450), respectively.

Taylor Christopulos impressed after competing in the all-around, taking third place for the night and adding another career-high score of 81.800 for the junior.

Up Next
The Huskers are set to dual against No. 2 Penn State next Saturday, Jan. 29 in University Park, Penn. The meet is set to begin at 12:00 p.m. CT. Fans can follow @NebraskaMensGym on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter for live updates during the meet.