2008 MEDIA AND RECRUITING GUIDE. Jason wassung 2007 senior

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1 2008 MEDIA AND RECRUITING GUIDE Jason wassung 2007 senior 2007 review

2 SEASON IN REIEW Husker All-Arounders Lead in In gymnastics, a team s all-arounders are typically the building blocks that breed success. As the most frequent competitors in the lineup, these athletes must provide consistency, talent and most of all, leadership. In 2007, featured not one, but two outstanding allarounders in junior Stephen Tétrault and senior. It was from this foundation and the supporting roles of NU s event specialists that the Huskers were able to build another successful season. Together, Tétrault and Wassung led to its fifth consecutive NC Championships appearance, where the Huskers finished 10th overall. The pair also shared a trip to the national all-around finals, making one of just three teams to place more than one allarounder among the elite field. Tétrault finished seventh (52.05) for the second All-America award of his career, while Wassung missed out on All-America honors by just one-tenth of a point (51.75). Wassung, a Lincoln native, had led the Huskers as an all-arounder for three consecutive seasons and ranked as high as third in the national polls in While the NU all-arounders took on the responsibility of leading the Huskers in 2007, several event specialists emerged as stalwart contributors. Sophomore T.J. Schmidt was among the most successful, leading the team with 10 event titles and gaining his first AllAmerica award with a fifth-place finish (9.075) on the pommel horse at the NC event finals. Freshmen Kyle Shanahan and Tony Maras also made significant contributions, while gaining valuable experience. Shanahan was the only Husker newcomer to compete in the all-around and also tallied NU s top floor exercise score in more than two years with a career-high mark of Maras emerged as s top ringman with a team-high mark of and was the only Husker freshman to earn an event title with crowns on the still rings and vault. achieved success in 2007 despite being challenged by injuries to nine members of the 17-man roster. Tétrault, Shanahan and Maras found themselves among the group of athletes fighting to overcome injuries. Through the adversity, the Huskers matured and grew to develop a strong sense that a return to the pinnacle of college gymnastics is on the horizon for the Huskers. opened the 2007 season without two of its top freshmen ringmen at the Rocky Mountain Open due to injury and illness. Freshman Garrett Durst, a product of the School of ics, missed the entire season with injury, while Maras was sidelined for the season opener with an illness. INDIIDUAL EENT HIGHS Event High Bar All-Around 9.35 Kyle Shanahan at Open (1/27) T.J. Schmidt vs. (3/4) Tony Maras (2/24) (3/31) vs. (2/2) (3/11) (3/11) owned season-high event scores on the vault (), parallel bars (), high bar () and all-around (52.95) for the Huskers. Despite an incomplete roster, the Huskers headed to Colorado Springs, Colo., to take on and Air Force on Jan. 13, finishing second with a score of 18. was led by Wassung, who finished second in the all-around, followed by Tétrault in third. Schmidt came out of the gate strong for, earning the first of 10 event titles on the year with the pommel horse crown (). produced an impressive improvement the next week by posting a in Norman, Okla., on Jan. 20 to finish second behind the Sooners (213.20). The Huskers were led by outstanding performances from Wassung, Schmidt and freshman Josh Rusler, with Wassung earning the third all-around title of his career with a score of Schmidt was perhaps the biggest momentum builder for, setting then career-high marks and leading the Huskers on the pommel horse (), still rings () and parallel bars (9.35). Just one week after earning the first event title of his career on the pommel horse at the Rocky Mountain Open, Schmidt tripled his hardware collection with a pair of titles against and Air Force, including another crown on the pommel horse and his first title on the parallel bars. Schmidt also tied for second on the rings and was subsequently named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation of the Week for his efforts. Rusler also continued the success he found in s season opener, setting a career-high mark on vault () to tie for third in front of his hometown crowd Men s ics Media and Recruiting Guide The Huskers remained on the road the following week as they traveled to Palo Alto, Calif., for the 2007 Open on Jan. 27. Schmidt grabbed his fourth event title in three weeks by earning the parallel bars crown with a score of. As a team, finished third (202.90) among three NC squads, with meet-host taking the top spot (20) followed by California in second (207.50). After nearly a month on the road, returned home to the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Feb. 2 for the first of four home contests. The Huskers opened with in a dual meet accompanied by the Husker women. The men scored a thenseason-high team mark of in front of 4,125 fans who packed the arena, but NU s performance wasn t quite enough to topple OU, which posted a score of for the win. The attendance number marked the largest crowd to watch an NC men s gymnastics competition in The Husker Nation had plenty to cheer about, as Wassung set a pair of career-high marks en route to the parallel bars crown () and a second-place finish in the all-around (51.90). In addition to his career high on the parallel bars, Wassung added a careerbest on high bar for second place on the event, and then-season-high scores on the still rings () and vault (). Wassung s parallel bars title was one of two event crowns for the Huskers, as Maras tied with s Jonathan Horton for the vault title (). Maras became the first in s nine-man freshman class to reach the top of the podium in 2007.

3 SEASON IN REIEW runner-up spot in the all-around with a seasonhigh score of 52.80, followed by Tétrault in third (51.20). Schmidt captured an event title with his score of on the parallel bars. The Huskers dropped another tough contest the following weekend on March 11, , against Minnesota. Still working with a depleted roster, new competitors stepped up to fill several lineups for the first time all season, including freshman Adrion Hernandez (floor exercise and vault) and Stefan Wallof (vault). The help of young Huskers allowed to scratch out a win to end the regular season on March 17 over Air Force, swept the top three spots on four events, while Wassung notched the fifth and final all-around title of his career (52.40). captured the top three places on the pommel horse, vault, parallel bars and high bar against the Falcons, making it the first time the Huskers had swept any event in Tétrault and Schmidt each captured a pair of titles in the win, with Tétrault s on the vault () and high bar (), and Schmidt s on the pommel horse () and parallel bars (). With the regular season behind them, the Huskers headed back to California for the 2007 MPSF Championships in Berkeley on March 31. managed a team score of to finish fourth for the sixth consecutive season. In his fourth and final MPSF Championship showing, Wassung led the Huskers throughout the meet, finishing fourth in the all-around (51.25) for the second consecutive season and INDIIDUAL EENT TITLES NEBRASKA TEAM BESTS Event High Bar Opponent 20 at NC (4/12) at (1/27) vs. (3/4) (2/24) vs. (3/4) (3/17) vs. (2/2) tying for second on vault with a season-high mark of. Schmidt also captured a top-three finish on the pommel horse, finishing third with an. finished 2007 at the NC Championships, April 12-14, on the Penn State campus in State College, Pa. The Huskers posted a season-high mark of 20 to earn 10th place at the meet. Although did not advance to the team finals, a goal the Huskers had held all season, NU didn t go home empty handed. The Huskers enjoyed their first All-America honors in two years as Tétrault earned his second and third All-America awards (all-around and pommel horse) and Schmidt gained his first (pommel horse). At the 2007 gymnastics banquet, several Huskers walked away with awards, including Wassung, who earned the prestigious Jim Hartung Award, an honor given to the top senior each season. Schmidt was recognized as Most aluable on the year, while sophomore James Mauldin earned Most Improved honors. Shanahan was selected as the Newcomer of the Year and Maras was recognized with the Husker Perseverance award. Along with the success in the gym, was stellar in the classroom, placing 10 gymnasts on the Big 12 Commissioner s Fall Honor Roll and four gymnasts (Tétrault, Schmidt, Wassung and Eric Daigle) on the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Academic All-Conference team. Tony Maras T.J. Schmidt Stephen Tétrault. Wassung T.J. Schmidt claimed five event titles in both pommel horse and parallel bars during his sophomore season Men s ics Media and Recruiting Guide Event () vs. () () at RMO () at (9.0) at (9.35) at Open () () () vs. () () () () () () () at (50.35) vs. () (52.50) () () (52.40) returned to the road on Feb. 24, as it dropped a nailbiter to the Iowa Hawkeyes, , in Iowa City. It was the second straight dual between the two programs decided by less than a point, as Iowa topped, , in Despite the loss, earned four individual event titles, including a pair from Schmidt on the pommel horse () and parallel bars (). Schmidt shared his parallel bars crown with Tétrault (), while Maras added s third title with a on the still rings. Maras score tied for the highest on any event for in Wassung finished off the Husker event winners with the top spot on the high bar (). Wassung also won the all-around with a mark of Tétrault followed Wassung in second (51.80) in his first all-around appearance since s season-opener at the Rocky Mountain Open, as the Lincoln native had been held out of the floor exercise and vault following a knee injury at on Jan. 20. As the Huskers returned to Lincoln for a three-meet homestand to close the regular season, five gymnasts faced injury or illness in a one-week period. was limited to six competitors on just three events for two consecutive weeks, but in typical fashion, the Huskers responded with determination and drive. The Huskers notched a then-season-high team score of in a loss to (216.85) on March 4. Wassung claimed the 31

4 TEAM RESULTS -by- Results at Rocky Mountain Open ( Competition) Jan. 12 at Air Force Colorado Springs, Colo. (Cadet West Gymnasium) Air Force Arizona USOTC* *USOTC competed as part of a separate division and as such did not count in the NC standings. at, Air Force Jan. 20 at Norman, Okla. (Sam iersen ics Center) Air Force Open Jan. 27 at Palo Alto, Calif. (Burnham Pavilion) California Washington vs. Feb. 2 at Lincoln, Neb. (Bob Devaney Sports Center) Feb. 24 Iowa City, Iowa (Carver-Hawkeye Arena) Iowa vs. March 4 at Lincoln, Neb. (Bob Devany Sports Center) March 11 at Lincoln, Neb. (Bob Devaney Sports Center) Minnesota March 17 at Lincoln, Neb. (Bob Devaney Sports Center) Air Force Men s ics Media and Recruiting Guide

5 Daniel Brûlé at at Open vs. vs. at NC Qualifier INDIIDUAL RESULTS Adrion Hernandez at at vs Jacob Ives 6.20 Tony Maras at at Open vs. at NC Qualifier James Mauldin vs. at NC Qualifier John Robinson at at vs. vs. at NC Qualifier Jon Charter at at Open vs. vs. at NC Qualifier Eric Daigle at at Open vs. at. Iowa vs. at NC Qualifier Josh Rusler at at Open vs. vs. at NC Qualifier T.J. Schmidt at at Open vs. vs. at NC Qualifier at NC Prelims at NC Finals Kyle Shanahan at at Open vs. vs. at NC Qualifier Stephen Tetrault at at Open vs. vs. at NC Qualifier at NC Prelims at NC Finals Stefan Wallof at vs at at Open vs. vs. at NC Qualifier at NC Prelims Men s ics Media and Recruiting Guide

6 2007 MPSF CHAMPIONSHIPS The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation...Tomorrow s Olympians Today The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) was established in 1992 to serve the competitive needs of member institutions from the Big West, Pacific-10, Mountain West, Western Athletic and West Coast conferences and other selected universities in the western United States, to provide championship competition for Division I intercollegiate Olympic sports in a conference setting. The conference operates under Executive Director Al Beaird and has been home to the men s gymnastics program since Since then, the Huskers have taken home a pair of MPSF team championships and garnered 13 individual titles. In , four MPSF teams once again won NC championships with over a dozen teams and hundreds of student-athletes competing in NC postseason competition. UCLA won its third consecutive women s water polo championship, while California claimed its 13th men s water polo title. In men s soccer, UC Santa Barbara captured its first title with a season record of UC Irvine also claimed its first-ever NC men s volleyball title with a 3-1 win over IPFW in the finals. In 2007, earned its eighth MPSF gymnastics team title, while Jonathan Horton earned first place in the all-around with a score of 55.00, followed by teammate Taqiy AbdullahSimmons with a score of Horton also won event titles on floor exercise and still rings. finished fourth at the MPSF Championships, as earned a fourth-place finish in the all-around and a second-place finish in vault. Stephen Tétrault claimed sixth place in the all-around, while T.J. Schmidt earned third place in pommel horse. The Sooners placed second at the NC Championships and placed third, while four of the five MPSF men s gymnastics programs qualified for the NC Championships. MPSF Competition March 31 at Haas Pavilion Berkely, Calif California Air Force All-Around Finals Individual Event Finals 1. Jonathan Horton () 2. Russ Czeschin () 3. Chris Brooks () 1. Chris Harper () 2. Tim McNeill (California) 3. T.J. Schmidt () 1. Jonathan Horton () 2. David Sender () 3. Tyler Block (California) Tim McNeill (California) David Sender () 2. () T. Abdullah-Simmons () 1. Tim McNeill (California) 2. Jonathan Horton () 3. Colin Christ (California) Horizontal Bar MPSF Champions 1. Jonathan Horton () T. Abdullah-Simmons () David Sender () () Greg Stine (Air Force) Stephen Tétrault () 4 7. Brennen Wolford (Air Force) Dylan Carney () Jonathan Horton () 2. T. Abdullah-Simmons () David Sender () Year California California California of the Year: Jonathan Horton, Jr.,, 2007 Coach of the Year: Mark Williams, Men s ics Media and Recruiting Guide (above) claimed fourth place in the all-around at the MPSF Championships with a score of He also placed second in vault with a.

7 2007 NC CHAMPIONSHIPS NC Qualifier Afternoon Session I April 12 at Rec Hall State College, Pa. Results Illinois Michigan Ohio State Iowa Army NC Qualifier Evening Session II April 12 at Rec Hall State College, Pa. Results 1. Penn State Minnesota 4. California Temple Session 1 Results All-Around 1. Chad Wiest Illinois 2. Wesley Haagensen Illinois 3. Geoff Reins Iowa Jamie Thompson Michigan 5. Kristopher Kline Ohio State 1. Chris Harper 2. Jacob Becker Iowa Brice Rolston Luke Stannard Illinois 5. Kristopher Kline Ohio State 1. Wesley Haagensen Illinois Bryant Hadden 3. David Sender DJ Bucher Ohio State 5. Tyler Yamauchi Illinois 1. Pejman Ebrahimi Ohio State Jimmy Wickham Ohio State 3. David Sender 4. Tyler Yamauchi Illinois 5. Kent Caldwell Michigan DJ Bucher Ohio State 2. Willie Ito Ohio State 3. Jake Bateman Ohio State 4. Andrew Elkind Michigan 5. Brian Liscovitz Illinois High Bars 1. Dylan Carney 2. Joe Catrambone Michigan 3. Wesley Haagensen Illinois 4. Andrew Elkind Michigan Chris Silcox Illinois Bryan Bourland Iowa Session 2 Results All-Around 1. Jacob Lee Minnesota 2. Jonathan Horton 3. Kyson Bunthuwong California 4. Andre Berry Minnesota Jonathan Horton Cole Storer Minnesota 3. Adam Reichow Minnesota Russ Czeschin Clay Stewart Temple 1. Casey Sandy Penn State 2. Justin Miklos Penn State 3. ladi Klurman Penn State 2008 Men s ics Media and Recruiting Guide Derek Helsby Penn State Stephen Tétrault 1. Jonathon Horton 2. Tim McNeill California T. Abdullah-Simmons 4. Matt Cohen Penn State 9.60 Tommy Ramos Penn State Andre Berry Minnesota 2. Santiago Lopez Penn State 3. Evan Roth California 4. Garrett Car Bryan Del Castillo California ladi Klurman Penn State 1. Tim McNeill California Jacob Lee Minnesota 3. T. Abdullah-Simmons Tommy Ramos Penn State Colin Christ California High Bars 1. Chris Brooks 2. Sergei Dmitriev Minnesota Kyson Bunthuwong California 4. Jacob Lee Minnesota 5. Kyle McNamara Tommy Ramos Penn State Bromley Palamountain California 1. Wesley Haagensen Illinois 2. David Sender 3. Jonathan Buese Iowa 4. Tim Morrison UIC 5. Anthony May UIC

8 2007 NC CHAMPIONSHIPS NC Championships Finals April 13, 2007 at the Rec Hall State College, Pa Penn State Michigan Illinois Minnesota Individual Event Preliminaries (Qualifying teams plus the top three finishers from team competition not on a qualifying team advance to finals. Results from top five and all finishers.) All-Around Finals 1. T. Abdullah-Simmons 2. Jonathan Horton Wesley Haagensen Illinois 4. David Sender Justin Laury Michigan Adam Reichow Minnesota 2. Tyler Yamauchi Illinois Cole Storer Minnesota Chris Silcox Illinois Russ Czeschin Nick irbitsky Penn State 1. Casey Sandy Penn State Chris Harper 3. Derek Helsby Penn State Kit Beikmann Minnesota 5. Jacob Becker Iowa Alex Schorsch 2. T. Abdullah-Simmons Jonathan Horton David Sender Ralph Rosso Michigan ladi Klurman Penn State 1. David Sender Geoff Reins Iowa 3. Jimmy Wickham Ohio State 4. Jonathan Horton Adam Reichow Minnesota Tim McNeill California 2. Jacob Lee Minnesota 3. Sergei Dmitriev Minnesota DJ Bucher Ohio State 5. Kyson Bunthuwong California Andrew Elkind Michigan Tommy Ramos Penn State T.J. Schmidt David Sender Pejman Ebrahimi Ohio State 3. Jimmy Wickham Ohio State 4. Geoff Reins Iowa 5. T. Abdullah-Simmons 6. Adam Reichow Minnesota High Bar 1. Dylan Carney 2. Wesley Haagensen Illinois 3. Jonathan Horton T. Abdullah-Simmons Chris Brooks Colin Christ California 1. Tim McNeill California 2. DJ Bucher Ohio State 3. Colin Christ California 4. Andrew Elkind Michigan Jacob Lee Minnesota 6. Tommy Ramos Penn State Individual Event Finals High Bar (Top six finishers in each event earn All-America honors) 1. Jonathan Horton 2. Adam Reichow Minnesota 3. Chad Wiest Illinois Russ Czeschin 5. Wesley Haagensen Illinois 6. Cole Storer Minnesota 1. Tim McNeill California 2. Casey Sandy Penn State 3. Jacob Becker Iowa Chris Harper 5. T.J. Schmidt 6. Stephen Tétrault 1. Alex Schorsch 2. Tommy Ramos Penn State 3. Jonathan Horton 4. David Sender DJ Bucher Ohio State 6. Peter Derman 2008 Men s ics Media and Recruiting Guide Jonathan Horton 2. Tommy Ramos Penn State Colin Christ California 4. Chris Brooks 5. Chris Silcox Illinois 6. Wesley Haagensen Illinois Schmidt placed fifth in both pommel horse and parallel bars at the 2007 NC Championships.