No. 4 Huskers Fall to No. 5 Wolverines

Lincoln, Neb.- The No. 4 Nebraska men’s gymnastics team returned to competition at the Devaney Center for the season home opener against the No. 5 Michigan Wolverines where they fell by a 406.650-408.200 margin on Saturday evening, despite taking four event titles.
 
Taylor Christopulos led NU with the all-around title (81.55). Cooper Giles matched his season best on pommel horse (14.10) to take home the event title, while Chris Hiser collected the rings title (14.15). Donte McKinney rounded out the title winners with a 14.05 on high bar.
 
Floor
Nebraska began the competition on floor collecting a season-high team score of 69.70. Christopulos led the squad, tying his career-best with a score of 14.40. Moritz Mueller added a season-best score of 14.15 while Luke James (14.10) and James Friedman (13.85) each tallied career highs on the event. Hiser (13.20) rounded out the Huskers’ first rotation.
 
Michigan’s Adam Wooten claimed the event title with a 14.65.
 
Pommel Horse
NU moved to pommel horse for the second rotation (63.80) with Giles winning the event with a 14.10, tying his season best. Nathan York established a career-best (13.65), tying for second place. Travis Wong came in with a 12.65, and James Friedman followed with a 12.40. Christopulos finished the rotation with a score of 11.85.
 
Rings
The Huskers competed on rings for rotation three, earning a season-best 68.25 for the squad. Hiser led the rotation (14.15), snagging the event title for NU. Asher Cohen notched a career-beset (13.75), landing in fourth, while captain Liam Doherty-Herwitz tied his career-best (13.85). James Friedman followed with a 13.00, while Christopulos anchored the rotation (13.40), a season-best.
 
Vault
Christopulos maintained momentum for the Big Red putting up a 14.55 and finishing among the top-three scores during the fourth rotation on vault. McKinney followed in fifth, tying teammate James (14.30). Doherty-Herwitz and Zac Tiderman both scored a 14.25, capping the rotation. Nebraska finished with a team score of 71.65.
 
Landen Blixt led the Wolverines with a 14.85 to take home the event title.
 
Parallel Bars
Cohen impressed on parallel bars for Nebraska, setting a career-best (13.65), alongside teammate Christopulos with an additional career-best (13.90) for the night. Friedman collected a 13.60 on the rotation. Wong (13.45) and Pepe (11.45) wrapped up Nebraska’s showing on parallel bars (66.05).
 
Evegeny Siminiuc and Virgil Watkins shared the event title, both tallying a 14.15 for Michigan.
 
High Bar
Two-time All-American on high bar, McKinney showed out for the closing rotation, claiming the event title for the Huskers with a 14.05. Tiderman mirrored energy taking second place (13.90). Christopulos took fourth (13.45), and Toby Liang in seventh (12.85). Joey Pepe also competed for the Huskers (12.10). The Huskers finished with a team score of 66.35 on high bar.
 
Up Next
The Huskers will return to competition on Friday, Feb. 17 in a triangular against Oklahoma and Simpson College in Lincoln, Neb. The meet will commence at 7 p.m. (CT) with a live video stream for B1G+ subscribers. Fans can follow @NebraskaMensGym on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter for live updates during the meet.