University of Minnesota Athletics
GOPHERS TO HOST ANNUAL BEST OF MINNESOTA GYMNASTICS MEET
2/6/2001 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
Minnesota returns from a season-high performance at Stanford to host the annual Best of Minnesota Meet on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Sports Pavilion. The meet features Minnesota, Gustavus Adolphus, Hamline and Winona State.
The National Ranking
Minnesota is ranked No. 11 in the Feb. 5 edition of the GymInfo national ranking, based on season average.
Minnesota is one of six Big Ten Conference schools listed among the nation's top 25 teams. Defending conference champion Michigan leads the way at No. 8, with a 195.210 average. Penn State and Minnesota join the Wolverines in the top 12, as the Nittany Lions are 10th at 194.750 and the Golden Gophers are 11th at 194.680. Other Big Ten schools listed are Ohio State (No. 13), Iowa (No. 20) and Illinois (No. 22).
Defending NCAA champion UCLA is ranked No. 1 with a season average of 196.825.
Kelley Ranked In Two Individual Lists
Junior MaryAnne Kelley (Barrington, Ill./Fremd) is listed among the top 25 individuals nationally in two lists this week. She is 11th in the all around with a season average of 39.212. Kelley is also tied for 17th on floor exercise with an average of 9.880.
Gopher Floor Exercise Ranked Seventh
Minnesota is ranked seventh for floor exercise, with an average of 49.1. The Gophers are also listed among the top 25 for balance beam (No. 16, 48.365), vault (No. 17, 48.545) and uneven bars (No. 22, 48.670).
The Last Meet
On Friday, the No. 13 Golden Gophers scored a season-high 195.775 but placed second to seventh-ranked Stanford, which set a school record with a total of 197.425. The Gophers improved their season-best team score by nearly a point, as the previous best was 194.850 against Utah on Jan. 13. Minnesota set season highs on vault (48.850), uneven bars (49.100) and balance beam (48.650) and tied a season high on floor exercise (49.175).
Kelley Breaks All Around Record
Junior MaryAnne Kelley broke the school all around record with a total of 39.525 Friday at Stanford. Kelley scored 9.875 on vault, uneven bars and balance beam, and added a 9.90 on floor exercise. She surpasses the previous record of 39.450 set last season by teammate Megan Beuckens (Brandon, S.D./Brandon Valley). She finished second in the all around to Stanford's Lindsay Wing, who scored 39.625.
Kelley's vault score of 9.875 is a career high, improving from her mark of 9.825 last year at the NCAA Region 2 Championships. The 9.875 on balance beam ties her career high set twice last season. On floor exercise, Kelley scored her third straight 9.90, a season high. The 9.875 on uneven bars is another season high. She was Minnesota's highest finisher on vault (third), bars (tied for second) and floor (tied for second).
Kelley has won or tied for first place in the all around two times this season (against Utah and Iowa) and has won or tied for first on floor exercise in all three home meets this season.
Alf Repeats 9.90 On Beam
Sophomore Jenny Alf (Ripon, Wis./Ripon) recorded her second straight 9.90 score on the balance beam, tying her career high and the third- highest score in team history. She was Minnesota's highest finisher on the event, tying for third place. It is Minnesota's highest balance beam score this season and the team's highest since former Golden Gopher Cathy Keyser recorded a 9.925 on March 22, 1999.
Norman Records 9.90 On Floor
Junior Courtney Norman (Minneapolis, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) tied the sixth-best floor exercise score in team history, recording a 9.90 in her second career floor appearance. She set a career high on vault with a 9.75.
Beuckens Is Back
Junior Megan Beuckens scored a 39.0 in her first all around competition of the season. She recorded a 9.725 in her first floor exercise competition this season and improved her three other scores from last week's marks. Her balance beam score of 9.825 is just off her career high of 9.850 set three times last season. She also scored 9.75 on uneven bars and 9.7 on vault.
Beam Sets Season High
Minnesota had to count a fall on balance beam but still recorded a season high on that event. The team's top three scores were at least 9.825, as Jenny Alf scored 9.90, MaryAnne Kelley scored 9.875 and Megan Beuckens recorded a 9.825.
Mary Skokut Returns
Newcomer Mary Skokut (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) recorded a career-high 9.85 on uneven bars after a one-week absence due to a sprained ankle.
Laatsch Consistent On Bars
Annie Laatsch is the only Minnesota gymnast to compete on uneven bars in all five meets this season. She averages 9.810, second on the team to MaryAnne Kelley's 9.819. Laatsch set a personal best of 9.875 against Utah, a Minnesota season-high that was tied by Kelley last week.
High-Scoring Floor Exercise
Minnesota's floor exercise lineup features four gymnasts averaging at least 9.80. Junior MaryAnne Kelley leads the way with a 9.88 average, including scores of 9.90 the last three meets. She is tied for 17th in the latest national rankings on floor exercise. Sophomore Jenny Alf is next, with a 9.825 average, including scores of at least 9.80 the last four meets. Junior Catie Christensen (Columbus, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) averages 9.805. Junior Courtney Norman has competed on floor the last two weeks, averaging 9.838, including a 9.90 last week.
Up Next
Minnesota returns to the road to take on Oklahoma and Iowa State in Ames, Iowa, on Feb. 17.
