University of Minnesota Athletics
GOPHER GYMNASTS TO COMPETE AT BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
3/20/2001 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
No. 15 Minnesota travels to Ann Arbor, Mich., for the Big Ten Conference Championships, which will be held Saturday at 5 p.m. CST. The University of Michigan will broadcast the meet's scores live on the Wolverines' website at http://www.mgoblue.com/gameday.
The National Ranking
Minnesota is ranked No. 15 in the March 19 edition of the GymInfo national ranking, based on regional qualifying score. RQS is determined by taking the top three road scores and the next three best scores, dropping the highest score, and averaging the remaining five scores. Although the team's RQS remained the same as last week, the Gophers moved down two spots.
Minnesota is one of five Big Ten Conference schools listed among the nation's top 25 teams. The Gophers are listed fourth among conference teams, behind Michigan (No. 7), Penn State (No. 10) and Iowa (No. 14). Ohio State rounds out the conference teams at No. 17. Michigan State and Illinois are the only Big Ten schools not ranked this week, although both teams were ranked among the top 25 teams earlier in the season.
North Central Region Rankings 1. Utah 197.110 2. Iowa State 196.420 3. BYU 195.975 4. Iowa 195.830 5. Minnesota 195.780 6. Denver 195.210 7. Utah State 194.390 8. Southern Utah 193.990 Big Ten Rankings 1. Michigan 196.795 2. Penn State 196.205 3. Iowa 195.830 4. Minnesota 195.780 5. Ohio State 195.735 6. Michigan State 195.085 7. Illinois 194.255 Kelley, Alf In Individual Rankings
Sophomore Jenny Alf (Ripon, Wis./Ripon) is ninth on the balance beam in this week's national rankings. She has an RQS of 9.890 this week, her third week in the national rankings, and ranks third in the Big Ten. With scores of 9.925, 9.9 and 9.9 on the road, her next three highest scores are 9.9 (Jan. 27 vs. Iowa), 9.875 (Feb. 10 vs. Best of Minnesota) and 9.875 (March 10 vs. Arizona).
Junior MaryAnne Kelley (Barrington, Ill./Fremd) is tied for third in the Big Ten on floor exercise with an RQS of 9.910 and listed fifth in the all around with an RQS of 39.295. Kelley is listed among the top 25 individuals nationally on both lists this week. She is 17th in the all around and tied for 19th on floor exercise.
Big Ten Rankings
Four Minnesota gymnasts are listed among the top 10 on the Big Ten event lists. MaryAnne Kelley is tied for third on floor exercise and listed fifth in the all around. Jenny Alf is third on balance beam. Newcomer Mary Skokut (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) is eighth on uneven bars with an RQS of 9.875, and junior Courtney Norman (Minneapolis, Minn./ Cretin-Derham Hall) is seventh on vault with an RQS of 9.840.
Laatsch Injured, Out For Big Ten Championships
First-year gymnast Annie Laatsch (Lakeville, Minn./Burnsville) has an avulsion fracture in her right ankle, suffered during Saturday's warmups at Auburn, and will not compete at the Big Ten Championships. Laatsch competes for Minnesota on uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise. She averages 9.780 on bars, including a career-high 9.925 on Feb. 24. On floor exercise, Laatsch averages 9.788, including a 9.90 on March 10. She scored a 9.825 on beam that same meet.
Big Ten Championship Notes
Michigan has won the last two Big Ten team titles and eight of the last nine. The Wolverines also won the first official championship in 1982. Ohio State won five consecutive titles from 1983-87, while the Gophers have won four titles (1988, 1989, 1991, 1998) and Illinois won in 1990.
Michigan gymnasts won or tied for first on four of five events last year, although Sarah Cain, who won three of those titles (vault, floor, all around), graduated in 2000. Michigan sophomores Camela Singer and Tara Tagliarino and Iowa senior Giselle Boniforti tied for first on bars last year. Penn State's Nikki Smith, who won the balance beam last year with the first 10.0 on beam in Big Ten Championship history, graduated in 2000.
Minnesota's Big Ten History
Minnesota has won four titles in team history. The Gophers won back-to- back titles in 1988 and 1989 and also won the team championship in 1991 and 1998. The Gophers set a school record of 196.350, a record that would stand until this season, at the conference meet in 1997 at the Sports Pavilion, finishing second to Michigan's then-conference meet record of 197.150. Minnesota has finished either first or second in eight of the 18 conference championships.
The Golden Gophers have four returning All-Big Ten selections: junior Megan Beuckens (balance beam, 1999; floor exercise, 1999, 2000), junior Catie Christensen (uneven bars, 1999), sophomore Leigh Dixon (vault, 2000) and junior MaryAnne Kelley (all around, 2000).
Minnesota gymnasts have won or tied for 20 individual event titles and five all around titles since the first official Big Ten Championships were held in 1982. Minnesota's last individual title was in 1998, the year the Golden Gophers last won the team championship, when former Golden Gopher Cathy Keyser won the balance beam.
Minnesota's Last Meet
The Golden Gophers defeated Auburn, 194.850-192.525, in the final meet of the regular season Saturday in Auburn, Ala.
Beuckens Sets Career High, Wins Two Titles
Junior Megan Beuckens (Brandon, S.D./Brandon Valley) won the all around and balance beam to lead the Golden Gophers on Saturday. Beuckens won the balance beam with a career-high score of 9.90, the fourth-highest beam score in Minnesota history. Her previous career high was 9.85, set three times. Beuckens also won her first all around title of the season, scoring a season-high 39.15.
Norman Wins Two Titles
Junior Courtney Norman (Minneapolis, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) tied for first on two events Saturday. She won her second consecutive vault title with a 9.875 score, and won her first career floor exercise title with a score of 9.85.
Norman set a career high on vault March 10 with a 9.90. That mark is the team's highest vault score this season and ties the second-best in school history. Norman has recorded at least 9.80 the last six meets, averaging 9.85 during that span. Prior to this year, her career high was 9.70.
Norman has scored 9.85 on floor exercise the last three weeks. In her first year competing on floor exercise for Minnesota, she averages 9.828 on the event, including a personal-best 9.90 in her second career floor competition.
Other Team Notes
Minnesota scored below 49.0 points on all four events for only the second time in the team's 11 meets this season. The previous week, Minnesota scored at least 49.0 on all four events for the first time in school history. The Golden Gophers scored 48.9 on floor exercise Saturday, their highest event total of the meet. Minnesota had to count a fall on both uneven bars and balance beam.
Beam Blues
Minnesota counted a fall on balance beam and scored 48.725 on that event at Auburn. The Golden Gophers have had to count at least one fall on beam in all four road meets this season.
Up Next
The NCAA North Central Region Championships will be held April 7 in Salt Lake City.
