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Three Huskers Bring Home All-America Awards from 2013 NCAA Championships
“Louis really stood out in 2013,” said
Chmelka. “We knew he was going to be a big
part of our team, but he showed that he’s really
a hard-hitting competitor when you need him.”
Juniors Donovan Arndt (rings), Mark Ringle
(floor, parallel bars, high bar), C.J. Schaaf (allaround), and Eric Schryver (pommel horse,
parallel bars, high bar) all rounded out the
regular lineups throughout 2013. All four set
personal best scores on at least one event.
Sophomores Gabriel Jolley (pommel horse,
vault, parallel bars), Robbie Kocks (rings)
Connor Stillwell (pommel horse, high bar) and
Josh Ungar (vault, high bar) all added to the
Huskers lineup periodically. Kocks competed
the most frequently of the four, making the
rings team at almost every single meet.
NU’s freshman added some depth to the
team throughout the season. Ethan Lottman
was a regular contributor to the pommel horse
team and made individual semifinals at the
NCAA Championships. Ryan Irick got a taste of
the competitive circuit on pommel horse and
rings twice during the 2013 season.
Wyatt Baier began the season as the team’s
only competing senior, but was sidelined after
one meet due to a broken leg. Despite finishing
out his competitive career with an injury, the
Denver, Colo., native continued to provide help
and support to his teammate in the gym.
“It was really unfortunate to see Wyatt’s
career end the way it did,” Chmelka said. “He
was a great competitor and a great help to our
team, even after his injury.”
Nebraska’s other senior, Gabriel Sanchez,
got to see the competitive side of collegiate
gymnastics for the first time during NU’s first
home meet against UIC. Sanchez competed
in vault, earning his first-ever score during his
time with the Huskers.
The Huskers’ season began early, starting
with the Rocky Mountain Open in Colorado
Springs, Colo., on Jan. 12, 2013. Nebraska came
in second, just getting edged out of the top spot
by Oklahoma. NU finished with a team score of
418.900.
NU then flew to California to face Stanford,
California and Oklahoma at the 2013 Stanford
Open on Jan. 19. Nebraska struggled against the
top-ranked teams, finishing in fourth. The meet
was a team success, showing improvement
with a team score of 421.900.
The Huskers returned home and prepared
to host Illinois-Chicago for their home opener
on Jan. 27. NU performed well at the Devaney
Center, beating the Flames with a score of
423.300. The team earned individual event
titles on all six events, including two from Eric
Schryver. C.J. Schaaf bested his previous careerhigh all-around score with an 81.050 and took
home the individual event title on still rings.
Nebraska followed its first home meet with
two competitions on the road. The team
finished second in Minneapolis with a mark of
419.750 at their third away meet of the season,
a triangular against Minnesota and IllinoisChicago.
NU followed up its second-place finish with
a two-week break before traveling to Iowa City,
Iowa. A close meet the entire day, the Huskers
finished with a score of 425.400, falling to the
Hawkeyes by a margin of 2.1 points. Louis Klein
took home his first individual event title of his
career, earning the award on floor after he
scored a 15.20.
The Huskers then returned home for two
consecutive home meets to finish out the
regular season. On March 3, Nebraska hosted
No. 3 Oklahoma. Despite falling to the Sooners,
Nebraska bested its highest team score of the
season, earning a 426.350.
NU quickly recuperated from the tough
match-up to prepare for their triangular against
Iowa and Minnesota the next week. All three
teams battled throughout the night, however,
Nebraska was unable to overcome the Golden
Gophers. Grant Perdue took home two event
titles (floor, vault) after struggling earlier in the
season.
Nebraska began post season competition
at the Big Ten Championships on April 5-6 in
Minneapolis. The Huskers posted a 416.250,
placing them seventh in the team standings.
Chamberlain, Klein and Perdue moved on to
the individual finals the following night. Perdue
and Chamberlain earned bronze medals on
vault and parallel bars, respectively. Klein led
the Huskers, claiming second place in the high
bar competition with a score of 15.075.
The Huskers wrapped up the season at
the NCAA Championships in State College,
Pa. The team picked up a 417.550 to finish in
fifth during the first qualifying session. Wyatt
Aycock earned All-America honors during the
all-around finals, finishing eighth in the nation.
Perdue and Chamberlain added to the AllAmerican list, earning their honors on vault and
parallel bars respectively to finish the season.
Event
Floor Exercise
Pommel Horse
Still Rings
Vault
Parallel Bars
High Bar
All-Around
2013 Event Highs
Score
Gymnast
15.60
Louis Klein (Illinois)
14.95 Eric Schryver (Oklahoma)
15.00 Robbie Kocks (Minn./Iowa)
15.30
Grant Perdue (Illinois)
15.10 Sam Chamberlain (Illinois)
15.075 Louis Klein (B1G Finals)
85.20 Wyatt Aycock (NCAA Finals)
2013 Team Bests
Event
Team (Minnesota/Iowa)
Floor Exercise (Iowa)
Pommel Horse (UIC)
Still Rings (Illinois)
Vault (Minnesota/Iowa)
Parallel Bars (Illinois)
High Bar (Minnesota/Iowa)
Event
Floor
Pommel Horse
Rings
Vault
Parallel Bars
High Bar
Floor
Floor
Pommel Horse
Pommel Horse
Parallel Bars
Floor
Pommel Horse
Vault
Floor
Vault
Parallel