2008 Woodie Awards
Nebraska gymnastics triumphs Air Force
Tyler Bassinger
Issue date: 3/24/08 Section: Sports
The Nebraska men's gymnastics team is on a roll.
The No. 10 Cornhuskers wrapped up their regular season on Saturday at the Bob Devaney Sports Center, recording a season-high 353.650 score en route to defeating No. 15 Air Force, which posted a 335.10 score. In its final tune-up before its conference meet, NU improved its team score for the sixth straight meet and topped the Falcons for the third time this season.
The conclusion of the meet wasn't quite as strong as the Huskers had hoped, as they struggled on the high bar. NU's 57.05 mark during the final rotation was its lowest score on any event. Even so, NU Coach Francis Allen said he was confident in his team heading into the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Conference Championships on April 5.
"We did well, and we look like a team ready for a championship meet," Allen said. "But we had a chance to really smoke them if we would have finished better on high bar. It would have been nice to have another 59 (score)."
In defense of Nebraska's poor high bar performance, the setup of the equipment was different this time around. Rather than hosting the meet in the Devaney Center's basketball arena as usual, the competition was held in the indoor track facility. Allen said the high bar had a soft base that made the bar more flexible, and the Huskers had trouble adjusting.
Otherwise, the Huskers had little to complain about. NU swept the top three spots on four events and placed two in the high bar and still rings. The Huskers started strong on floor exercises, as all six NU competitors recorded career highs. Freshman David Spitdowski paced the team in the event and earned his first career event title. Junior T.J. Schmidt captured his sixth pommel horse title of the season, then won his fourth parallel bars competition of 2008.
The Huskers' success is remarkable considering the absence of senior all-arounder Stephen Tétrault, who only competed in the pommel horse after suffering an ankle injury against Iowa on March 14. Kyle Shanahan and John Robinson helped the Huskers fill the All-American's void. They finished first and second, respectively, in the all-around.
Allen said fatigue became a factor toward the end of the meet, which he expected.
"Both of those guys in the all-around did a good job," he said. "Johnny was kind of fading on us at the end, but it's a lot of work. That's part of being out there and doing it. It's not easy going out there and doing six events."
Robinson later said he was feeling tired by the end of the fifth rotation, but he plans to be ready to go again if Tétrault is not at full strength by the conference meet. After the Huskers took care of business against Air Force, the sophomore was optimistic.
"We have to feel pretty good right now," Robinson said. "We have two more weeks to get in the gym, work on routines and fix our high bar. Other than that, we just have to hit. We're pretty excited, and we have a lot of good guys with chances to qualify for nationals."
TYLERBASSINGER@DAILYNEBRASKAN.COM
The No. 10 Cornhuskers wrapped up their regular season on Saturday at the Bob Devaney Sports Center, recording a season-high 353.650 score en route to defeating No. 15 Air Force, which posted a 335.10 score. In its final tune-up before its conference meet, NU improved its team score for the sixth straight meet and topped the Falcons for the third time this season.
The conclusion of the meet wasn't quite as strong as the Huskers had hoped, as they struggled on the high bar. NU's 57.05 mark during the final rotation was its lowest score on any event. Even so, NU Coach Francis Allen said he was confident in his team heading into the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Conference Championships on April 5.
"We did well, and we look like a team ready for a championship meet," Allen said. "But we had a chance to really smoke them if we would have finished better on high bar. It would have been nice to have another 59 (score)."
In defense of Nebraska's poor high bar performance, the setup of the equipment was different this time around. Rather than hosting the meet in the Devaney Center's basketball arena as usual, the competition was held in the indoor track facility. Allen said the high bar had a soft base that made the bar more flexible, and the Huskers had trouble adjusting.
Otherwise, the Huskers had little to complain about. NU swept the top three spots on four events and placed two in the high bar and still rings. The Huskers started strong on floor exercises, as all six NU competitors recorded career highs. Freshman David Spitdowski paced the team in the event and earned his first career event title. Junior T.J. Schmidt captured his sixth pommel horse title of the season, then won his fourth parallel bars competition of 2008.
The Huskers' success is remarkable considering the absence of senior all-arounder Stephen Tétrault, who only competed in the pommel horse after suffering an ankle injury against Iowa on March 14. Kyle Shanahan and John Robinson helped the Huskers fill the All-American's void. They finished first and second, respectively, in the all-around.
Allen said fatigue became a factor toward the end of the meet, which he expected.
"Both of those guys in the all-around did a good job," he said. "Johnny was kind of fading on us at the end, but it's a lot of work. That's part of being out there and doing it. It's not easy going out there and doing six events."
Robinson later said he was feeling tired by the end of the fifth rotation, but he plans to be ready to go again if Tétrault is not at full strength by the conference meet. After the Huskers took care of business against Air Force, the sophomore was optimistic.
"We have to feel pretty good right now," Robinson said. "We have two more weeks to get in the gym, work on routines and fix our high bar. Other than that, we just have to hit. We're pretty excited, and we have a lot of good guys with chances to qualify for nationals."
TYLERBASSINGER@DAILYNEBRASKAN.COM
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