Nebraska:
1988 NCAA Team
Champions
By Chuck Green
Senior Reporter___
Most teams would be pleased with finish
ing No. 2 in the nation three seasons in a row,
but not the Nebraska men’s gymnastics
team.
The Comhuskers ended their three-year
status of runner-up Friday night by setting a
NCAA scoring record of 288.15 to capture
the national title bcforc4,744 fansat the Bob
Devancy Sports Center.
The previous scoring record of 287.80
was set by Nebraska in 1983.
Illinois finished second with a score of
287.15, and UCLA generated 285.15 points
to take third place.
The championship was the sixth for
Nebraska since 1979. The meet marked the
sixth time the NCAA Men ’sChampionships
have been held in Lincoln.
Nebraska coach Francis Allen said he had
nearly forgotten what it felt like to win a
national championship.
“It’s a feeling that doesn’t come around
too often,” he said. “But it’s a nice feeling.”
Illinois coach Yoshi Hayasaki said he
was proud of the way his team fought back
during the championships and the way the
Fighting Illini have performed this season.
“I have great praise for this team,” he
said. “They did a great job from the begin
ning all the way to the end. We made a run
all the way through to the end.”
Illinois has been ranked No. 1 throughout
the season.
Nebraska advanced to rriday s team
finals by finishing first in the 10-team pre
liminary competition Thursday night. The
Huskers totaled 286.65 Thursday toedge out
Illinois and UCLA. Illinois scored 285.70
and the Bruins posted a mark of 285.25.
In Friday’s competition, Nebraska’s
performers combined for a 48.35 in the floor
exercise and never trailed after that on their
way to the title.
Nebraska was led by Patrick Kirkscy’s
9.80 and Bob Stelter’s 9.75 in the floor
exercise.
In the pommel horse, Nebraska’s Kevin
Davis scored a 9.90 to lead the Huskers to a
team score of 48.40, their highest event
score of the night.
Davis said he was determined to do eve
rything he could to keep Nebraska from
finishing second for a fourth consecutive
year.
“It’s like doing your homework,” he said.
“We prepared to win it. It’s incentive, but it
did wear on me. It pushed me harder. The
team stuck together because everyone knew
how bad the other wanted it. The unity and
support brought it together.”
Nebraska won the still rings competition
with a 48.15 and the parallel bars with a
47.85. Tom Schlesingcr, who won the Nis
sen Award — college gymnastics’ highest
honor — last Wednesday, scored a 9.80 in
the event.
Illinoisedged the Huskcrs47.85-47.30 in
the vault competition. Slclter scored a 9.70
in the event to lead Nebraska.
UCLA won the high-bar competition
with a score of 48.50.
The Bruins and the Huskers tied with a
score of 47.85 in the parallel bars competi
tion.
“I thought we won the match all the way
through,” Allen said. “The really hard-core
gymnasts came out and knocked out the
floor (exercise). And after the floor, we
figured that they had pretty much handled
“After that, it was pretty much downhill.”
In addition to the national scoring record,
Nebraska set school records in the floor
exercise (48.35), the pommel horse (48.40)
and the still rings (47.60) during the three
day meet.
Allen said he didn’t expect a new scoring
record.
“But that’s OK,” he said. “A good team
would have won the meet, but they set a
national scoring record. That makes them
better than (former Huskcrs) Jim Hartung,
Scott Johnson and Phil Cahoy.”
Allen said this year’s team might be the
best ever at Nebraska.
During the four sessions of the meet,
14,075 Ians attended the competition. The
largest single-session crowd was the 4,797
at Saturday night’s individual finals.
Allen said the crowd played a major role
in Nebraska’s title.
“If we’d let up, we’d gotten beat,” he
said. “I was impressed with Illinois, and
UCLA is an extremely talented tcaim The
crowd helped us, the crowd made us.”
Hayasaki said Nebraska’s fans affected
the judges’ throughout the meet.
“I don’t know whether Nebraska
could’ve beaten Illinois (without the
crowd), but I certainly felt there was an
advantage (for Nebraska) with the crowd,
Hayasaki said. “But the judges are experi
enced, and we just have to think they did
their job.”
UCLA coach Art Shurlock also thought
the crowd affected his team’s performance.
“It’s very hard to counteract the enthusi
asm of the Nebraska crowd ” he said. “The
judges were really responding to the crowd,
but Nebraska did an excellent job.
“We didn’ t have the impact of a crowd at
all. At least Illinois had a little bit of an
audience M
Shurlock said the NCAA Championships
should always be held at a neutral site.
“It’s not going to happen next year,” he
said, “but maybe in the future it will be.”
The championships are tentatively
scheduled to return to Lincoln next year.
Hayasaki said he isn’t enthusiastic to
return to Lincoln again next season, but not
because he didn’t enjoy the hospitality.
“When you face Nebraska here, Ne
braska is tough,” he said. “This is great
support. We’re going to have to make sure
than when we come here next year that we
are a better team than they are.”
Home crowd helps Huskers claim title
By Lori Griffin
Staff Reporter_
A home crowd, which eventu
ally totaled 14,075 during four ses
sions, helped the Nebraska men’s
gymnastics team win the NCAA
title Friday night at the Bob Deva
ney Sports Center.
Nebraska sophomore Mark
Warburton said the crowds that
packed the sports center during the
three-day event helped because the
Comhuskers have enthusiastic
fans. He said Friday night’s crowd
of 4,744 enabled the gymnasts to
stay emotionally charged for the
meet and for winning the team
championship.
UCLA coach Art Shurlock said
the crowd aided Nebraska’s per
formances. He said the judging,
along with a strong Nebraska team,
enabled the Huskers to win the team
title with a national-record 288.15
points.
Illinois finished second with
287.80 points, while UCLA, the
defending national champion, fin
ished third with 285.15.
Illinois coach Yoshi Hayasaki
said the crowd advantage helped
the Huskers defeat the the Fighting
Illini.
“I would say so (that it affected
the scoring),” Hayasaki said. “1
don’t know whether Nebraska
could have beaten Illinois ... but
certainly I felt there was an advan
tage with the crowd.”
Junior Mark Schiefelbcin said
the Nebraska fans helped in all
aspects of the NCAA meet.
Schiefelbcin said the impact of
the crowd was felt when Warburton
completed his parallel bar routine
in the individual event finals Satur
day night. He said the Nebraska
fans know gymnastics and ac
knowledge when a gymnast docs
something well.
Schiefelbcin said the crowd in
fluenced the judging. c said
Huskcr fans are not afraid to boo a
bad score and that could help the
judges in making final decisions.
“It can make the judges think
twice about pulling up a bad score,”
Schiefelbcin said.
Nebraska student assistant Neil
Palmer said the judges overlooked
the crowd reaction. He said the
Huskers performed their best and
came out on lop.
Palmer said the only discrep
ancy in the judging was in the indi
vidual scoring. He said although the
judges had some problems with
consistency, the average scores
remained the same.
‘The judges came from all over
the country and I feel they picked a
winning team correctly,” Palmer
said. I
Houston Baptist, UNL
dominate men’s all-around
By Chuck Green
Senior Reporter
Gymnasts from Houston Baptist
University and Nebraska domi
nated the all-around performances
Friday night at the Bob Devaney
Sports Center.
Miguel Rubio and Alfonso Ro
driguez from Houston Baptist fin
ished as the top two performers in
the all-around, while Nebraska’s
Kevin Davis and Tom Schlcsingcr
finished third and fourth.
Schlesingcr was the defending
1987 all-around champion.
The top 24 all-arounders from
Thursday night’s optional com peti
tion competed Saturday with 1988
Olympic compulsory exercises.
Scores from Thursday night’s op
tionals were combined with
Saturday’s scores to determine the
all-around champions.
Rubio’s combined score of
114.15 was enough to power the
sophomore from Barcelona, Spain,
past his teammate and fellow coun
tryman.
Rodriguez, a sophomore from
Madrid, totaled 113.75 in the six
events.
“It’s a magic moment for us,”
said Houston Baptist coach Robert
Dvorak. “They were perfect. With
the exception of a couple of mis
takes by Alfonso on the high bar,
they were both outstanding.”
Davis scored 113 and Schlesin
gcr 112.50.
kudio ana Koarigucz ncia me
top spots after Thursday night’s
competition. Davis finished the
optional competition in fourth
place with a score of 57.90. and
Schlesinger was tied for sixth with
Oklahoma’s Mark Stceves with a
57.30.
Davis said that after Saturday’s
competition was half over, he knew
there was too much ground to make
up to beat Rubio and Rodriguez.
“They were just awesome this
weekend,” Davis said. “They had a
good lead after the optionals and
they did good in the compuisories,
too. I made up some ground after
the first three events. The vault is
where 1 should have made up some
ground, but I had a bad landing.”
That bad landing gave Davis a
score of 8.70. Rubio scored an 8.95
and Rodriguez earned an 8.90.
“I don’t know if it would’ve
given me the lead, but it would have
made it a lot closer,” Davis said.
Schlesinger said the team finals
competition Friday night didn’t
affect him and Davis during the all
around competition.
“We were a little bit tired, but
once you get out there and get the
adrenaline flowing, we were all
right,” Schlesinger said.
Heading into the high-bar com
petition — the afternoon’s final
event — the all-around champion
ship was still in doubt. Rodriguez
led with a combined score of
104.55, but Rubio trailed by one
tenth of a point.
“He had to go last, and that high
bar routine isn ’t easy,” Dvorak said.
“I think Alfonso played it a little
conservative, and that may have
cost him a couple of tenths (of a
point).”
Rodriguez had already scored a
9.20 in the event. Rubio’s mark of
9.70 gave him the title and ensured
a one-two finish for Houston Bap
list in the all-around competition.
“We arc always like that,” Ro
driguez said. “One-two, two-one, it
doesn’t matter.”
The top eight performers in each
event from Thursday night com
peted for individual titles Saturday
night. Five Cornhuskers earned
seven top-six finishes in the six
events, earning them All-America
status.
Davis and Schlesinger finished
fourth and fifth in the still rings with
scores of 9.675 and 9.65. Paul
O’Neil of New Mexico won the
event with a 9.80. It was his second
consecutive title in the event.
“I thank God because not every
one has the ability to come back, let
alone win,” O’Neil said. ‘T hope I
can come back and win it again this
year.”
Bob Stelter finished eighth in the
rings with a score of 9.525.
In the vault, Stelter finished fifth
with a 9.5375, while teammate
Patrick Kirksey finished No. 6 with
a 9.50. The event was won for the
third year in a row by New Mexico’s
Chad Fox, who scored a 9.7125.
“I had a lot of pressure because I
wanted to win three in a row,” Fox
said. “That part feels awesome.”
Fox was disappointed in his
performance on the floor exercise,
which he won last year. Fox fin
ished tied with Chris McKee of
Illinois for second in the event with
a 9.85.
I didnt deserve to win (tne
floor exercise) tonight, but I know
I’m capable of winning it,” Fox
said. “I’ll be back on the floor next
year.”
Davis and Mark Warburton gave
Nebraska a one-two finish in the
parallel bars. Davis scored a 9.90 to
capture the title, and Warburton
earned a 9.80.
Davis had tied Schlesinger for
the 1987 parallel-bars champion
ship. He said it was great to win the
title outright this year, “but I’d tie
with my own teammate anytime.”
Davis said national team and
individual championships were the
best way he could think of to finish
his career at Nebraska.
“I couldn’t have done it any
better,” Davis said.
Kirksey finished No. 9 on the
parallel bars with an 8.45.
On the high bar, Schlesinger was
edged by Rubio and Iowa’s Jeff
Dow and finished third with a
9.875. Rubio said the high-bar title
was “icing on the cake” after win
ning the all-around championship
earlier Saturday.
“I didn’t expect to win the all
around, only to be in the top three,”
Rubio said. “I was first in the (high
bar) rankings, but the finals were so
good. It was luck.”
Davis gave Nebraska its only
other top-10 finish with a 9.10 on
the pommel horse. The score was
good enough for a ninth-place fin
ish. Rodriguez and Penn State’s
Mark Sohn won the event with 9.80
scores.
Temple’s Chris Wyatt won the
floor exercise with a 9.90. Wyatt
said he appreciated the support the
fans at Nebraska gave him during
the three day meet.
“I have to thank God and the
people back home that supported
me,” he said. “And the people of
Nebraska really made me feel wel
come here. That really helps.”
Photos and Layout
by Doug Carro\l
i | ,jfc . .-:
