No. 6 Huskers push past No. 5 Penn State

Lincoln, Neb.- The Nebraska men’s gymnastics team won over the No. 5-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions on Saturday, Feb. 7, at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The final score was 318.600-317.150.  

Nebraska had five event title winners. Chase Mondi won the floor and vault. Caden Clinton won the pommel horse. Asher Cohen won the rings, and Nathan York won the parallel bars. There were three career highs. Wyatt Reynolds and Clinton received career highs on pommel horse, and Anthony Koppie got his on high bar. 

The competition began on the floor. Odden led off for the Huskers and scored a 13.35. York, who is ranked first in the nation on the floor, went next and received a 13.95. Mondi went third and notched a 14.25, which was a season high. James finished up the floor exercise for the NU with a 13.65. Mondi received first place, and York received second place. 

The Huskers led the Nittany Lions with a score of 55.200-52.900 after the first rotation.

The teams then moved over to the pommel horse. Reynolds went first for The Big Red and scored a career-high of 13.45. Clinton went second and also notched a career-high score of 13.70. Tarca followed and received a 13.00. York anchored for the Huskers and scored a 12.55. Nebraska received a score of 52.70 on the event. Clinton grabbed the first-place title in this event. 

After two rotations, NU stayed ahead with a score of 107.900-104.750. 

Nebraska headed over to the rings for the third event of the day. Penn State took the second-ranked position in the country for this event.  Odden went first on the rings and scored a 13.05. Roderiques made his career debut on the rings and received a 12.55. Koppie went third and scored a 12.25. Cohen, who is ranked third in the nation on the rings, anchored for NU and scored a 14.35. The Big Red as a team scored a 52.20. Cohen won the event title in this event for the Huskers.

At the halfway point of the meet, Nebraska stayed on top with a score of 160.100-158.550. 

The teams then made their way over to the vault. Nebraska is ranked first in the country in this event. Nitache went first for the Huskers and notched an 11.50. Mondi went second and scored a 14.05. Roderiques had a fall on the landing but scored a 12.90. James, a staple in the rotation on this event for Nebraska, scored a 13.85. NU ended with a score of 52.30. Mondi claimed the event title for Nebraska. 

At the end of the rotation, the Big Red fell behind the Nittany Lions with a score of 212.950-212.400. 

NU moved over to parallel bars for the fifth event of the day. Clinton led for the Huskers and received a 13.50. Nitache made his season debut in this event and notched a 13.15. York went third for the Huskers and stuck the dismount to win the event title for NU. He scored a 14.35, redeeming himself after falling twice on this event at the meet against Ohio State. Cohen went last for NU and received a 13.60. The Big Red scored a 54.60 on this event.

After parallel bars, Nebraska led with a score of 267.000-266.050. 

The teams headed to the final rotation of the day, the high bar. Koppie went first for the Huskers and received a career-high score of 13.30. Tarca succeeded him and notched a season-high score of 11.85. Nitache went third and received a 12.65. Odden anchored for Nebraska, and he sealed the win with a score of 13.80. 

Nebraska won with a score of 318.600-317.150.

Nebraska will host a quad meet featuring William & Mary, Greenville and Simpson on Feb. 14 at 2 p.m. (CT) at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.