Huskers Ready for NCAA Championships

The No. 5 Nebraska men’s gymnastics team is headed to University Park, Pa., to compete in the 2023 NCAA Championships. The Huskers will compete in the qualifying round on Friday, April 14, at Noon (CT) in hopes to advance to the NCAA Finals which are set for Saturday, April 15.

Last Time Out

NU is coming off a third-place finish at the Big Ten Championships, earning a 410.550, their third-highest score of the season. Ten Huskers qualified for the Big Ten Individual Finals.

Among the finalists, Taylor Christopulos highlights the squad after taking the event title on vault (14.90), notably NU’s first event champion since Anton Stephenson claimed the vault title in 2019. This also marks 11 all-time vault individual titles for the captain, passing assistant coach and 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist, Jim Hartung‘s record of 10 vault titles at Nebraska. Christopulos was also named First-Team All-Big Ten and earned Big Ten Gymnast of the Year honors.

Senior Donte McKinney and freshman Nathan York earned Second- Team All-Big Ten accolades following third-place finishes. McKinney earned the bronze on high bar (14.475), while York finished third on floor (14.45).

Scouting the Competition

NU will compete during Session I of the NCAA Qualifiers on Friday, April 14 at Noon (CT). The Huskers will look to be among the top- three teams in the first session to advance to the NCAA Finals. Session I consists of No. 1 Stanford, No. 4 Illinois, No. 8 Air Force, No. 9 Navy and No. 12 Army. Session II is set for 6 p.m. (CT) and consists of No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Michigan, No. 6 Penn State, No. 7 Ohio State, No. 10 California and No. 11 Springfield.

Stanford looks to earn its fourth-consecutive national championship. The Cardinal are coming off their MPSF conference title win, finishing with a team score of 417.300.

The top three teams and the top three individuals on each event, including the all-around, not on advancing teams, will advance from each qualifying session to the championship finals.

Follow the Huskers

Fans can follow @NebraskaMensGym on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter for live updates during the meet.