University of Minnesota Athletics
WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS TEAM RANKED 7th IN NATIONAL POLL
2/9/1999 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
MINNESOTA RANKED NO. 7 - The Golden Gophers were ranked No. 7 after the fourth week of competition with a season average of 193.694. Minnesota is one of four Big Ten Conference schools ranked this week. The others are Penn State (No. 5), Michigan (No. 6) and Ohio State (No. 15). The next ranking will be released Wednesday.
ABOUT IOWA - The Hawkeyes are coming off a first-place finish at Sunday's home triangular against Northern Illinois and Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Iowa has averaged a team score of 188.187 this season, with a season-high 190.275 set at home against Western Michigan a week ago.
Sophomore Giselle Boniforti, the 1998 Big Ten Newcomer of the Year, has been out of action since a knee injury Jan. 17 at UC-Santa Barbara. Junior Courtney Burke placed first in the all around on Sunday with a 38.600, including a first-place finish on the floor at 9.825. Newcomer Corynne Cooper won the vault at 9.80.
Head coach Diane DeMarco is in her 19th season at Iowa and sports a career record of 178-195. She led the Hawkeyes to four school records a year ago, including a team score of 195.425 set against Iowa State. The Hawkeyes also finished fifth at the Big Ten Championships for the school's best conference finish since 1991.
LAST YEAR AGAINST IOWA - No. 11 Minnesota defeated Iowa, 194.125- 191.175, on Feb. 28, 1998, in the Sports Pavilion. The Golden Gophers jumped out to an early lead after recording a season-high team vault score of 48.450, sweeping the top three places. Minnesota also recorded a season-high floor exercise score of 49.125 and swept the three individual places. Judy Cavazos won the uneven bars with a score of 9.85 and tied for first on the floor at 9.875.
GOLDEN GOPHERS COME FROM BEHIND TO DEFEAT IOWA STATE - Minnesota came from behind to defeat No. 12 Iowa State, 193.375-191.075, at the Sports Pavilion. Leading the comeback were junior Judy Cavazos and newcomer MaryAnne Kelley, who tied for first place on the floor exercise with a 9.85.
The Cyclones led 144.875-144.775 after third rotations, but the first five Iowa State athletes fell from the balance beam in the last rotation, leading to a meet-low team event score of 46.250. The Golden Gophers responded with a score of 48.650 on the floor exercise, including a sweep of the top three places. Newcomer Megan Beuckens placed third with a personal- best 9.75.
Minnesota athletes won or tied for the lead in all four individual events. Cavazos led the way by tying for first on the uneven bars (9.8) and floor exercise. She also won the all around competition with a score of 38.325.
Sophomore Shanyn Lancaster tied for first on the vault with a score of 9.75. Junior Melissa Chang tied Cavazos for first on the uneven bars at 9.8. Senior Cathy Keyser set a season-high in winning the balance beam at 9.875.
CAVAZOS STRONG ON BARS - Junior Judy Cavazos has scored 9.80 or higher in all five meets this season, including a season-high 9.90 in the Best of Minnesota meet. Cavazos tied for first on the bars against Iowa State Saturday for her third win or tie this season. She has a season average of 9.845 and a career best of 9.95, a Minnesota record.
NEW TO THE TOP TEN LISTS - Newcomer MaryAnne Kelley has entered the top 10 performers list for the all around, ranked fourth at 38.850. Frosh Catie Christensen is tied for sixth on the floor exercise at 9.85.
Minnesota has also entered four of the five top 10 team scores lists. The Golden Gophers scored the eighth-highest team total of 194.650 at Alabama a week ago. Also at that meet, Minnesota posted a 48.600 on the vault (tied for ninth) and a 48.825 on uneven bars (eighth). Against Utah, the Golden Gophers scored 48.650 on the balance beam, good for a tie for 10th place.
GOLDEN GOPHER CO-HEAD COACHES JIM AND MEG STEPHENSON - Co-head coaches Jim and Meg Stephenson are in their second season as co-head coaches at Minnesota. The duo earned 1998 Big Ten Coach of the Year honors after leading the Golden Gophers to their first conference title since 1991. The duo has a 23-9 record as co-head coaches.
Jim Stephenson is in his seventh season as head coach of the Golden Gophers. He earned Big Ten Coach of the Year honors in 1997 and 1995. Stephenson has a career record of 96-92, with a record of 73-83 in his first five years at Minnesota. Jim Stephenson came to Minnesota after a four-year stint as assistant coach at Utah. While there, he coached nine All-Americans on the uneven bars.
Meg Stephenson is in her second season as co-head coach of the Golden Gophers. She was an assistant coach at Minnesota for five seasons. Prior to coming to Minnesota, Meg Stephenson was a consultant for four years at the University of Utah, where she assisted in both balance beam and floor exercise.
THE MOST RECENT RANKING - 1.Alabama 195.906 2.Georgia 195.720 3.Utah 195.267 4.LSU 194.792 5.Penn State 194.294 6.Michigan 194.087 7.Minnesota 193.694 8.Stanford 193.537 9.Arizona State 193.367 10.UCLA 193.020 11.Oklahoma 192.890 12.Iowa State 192.850 13.Nebraska 192.850 14.Oregon State 192.537 15.Ohio State 192.394 16.Florida 192.362 17.Denver 192.337 18.Utah State 191.987 19.Washington 191.919 20.W. Virginia 191.912 21.Kentucky 191.817 22.Ill.-Chicago 191.675 23.Central Mich.191.567 24.Auburn 191.542 25.New Hampshire191.175
OTHER TEAM RANKINGS - Event Rank Average Score Vault 24 48.131 Uneven bars 8 48.406 Balance beam 6 48.375 Floor exercise 6 48.781
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS - Event Rank Athlete Average score Uneven bars T7 Judy Cavazos 9.856 Floor exercise 14 Judy Cavazos 9.837 T19 Catie Christensen 9.825 All Around 18 Judy Cavazos 38.794 UP NEXT - The Golden Gophers hit the road for two consecutive matches, Feb. 20 at West Virginia and Feb. 27 at Illinois.
