University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Men's Gymnastics Qualifies For NCAA Championships
4/3/2003 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
It marks the first time in more than four decades the Big Ten has earned six berths in the NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships in back-to-back seasons, as every current Big Ten program will take part in the 2003 event. Joining Minnesota at the championships are No. 2 Penn State, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 5 Michigan, No. 6 Iowa and No. 8 Illinois.
The six Big Ten squads will make up half of the NCAA Championships field, as 12 universities will compete for the national title. The Big Ten has collected the men's gymnastics national crown in each of the previous three seasons by three different teams; Ohio State in 2001, Penn State in 2000 and Michigan in 1999.
The national qualifier, which consists of two pre-qualifying sessions, will be conducted on April 11. Three teams and the top three all-around competitors not on one of the qualifying teams, plus the top three individuals on each event not already qualified on a team or as an all-around competitor, will advance from each pre-qualifying session to the finals, which will take place April 12-13.
