University of Minnesota Athletics
WGM: Minnesota to Host Iowa on Saturday
2/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
This Week
Minnesota returns home to face Big Ten rival Iowa this Saturday. The competition is set to begin at 7 p.m. at the Sports Pavilion. Iowa is the third of three Big Ten opponents the Gophers will compete against during the regular season, after meeting Michigan and Ohio State in a quad meet at Ohio State on January 15.
National Rankings
Minnesota moved up five spots to No. 19 in this week's GymInfo National Ranking. In the event-by-event rankings, Minnesota is ranked No. 14 on the vault, No. 21 on beam, and No. 17 in the floor exercise.
This week's opponent, Iowa, is not listed in this week's national ranking.
Five of the seven Big Ten women's gymnastics teams are included in this week's national ranking: Michigan (No. 3), Penn State (No. 15), Minnesota (No. 19), Illinois (No. 22), and Michigan State (No. 23). Ohio State was ranked last week, but fell from the rankings this week.
Beginning this week, the national rankings are based on regional qualifying scores, which are calculated by taking the six best regular-season team scores, of which three must be from away meets. The highest of those six scores is dropped, and the remaining five scores are averaged.
Yernberg Leads Gophers on Vault Again
Senior Carolyn Yernberg was Minnesota's top scorer on the vault at Denver last weekend. She earned a 9.875 to match her season-best score and place third in the event.
Yernberg leads the team in average score on both the vault (9.818) and floor (9.825)
Steady Improvement on Bars
Minnesota set a season-high mark with a score of 48.775 on the uneven bars at Denver.
Three gymnasts set or tied season-high marks on the bars last weekend. Junior Laura Johnson tallied a 9.825 to tie her personal season-best, and the team's best bars score of the year. She also earned a 9.825 the previous weekend at the Best of Minnesota meet. Sophomore Kim Womack and freshman Rehana Russell each earned a 9.750 to mark their best bars scores of the season.
Stanton Wins Again
Freshmen Ashley Stanton earned a 9.900 on the beam at Denver to take first place in the event for two straight weeks. Stanton bettered her previous season-best score of 9.825, which was her winning score at the Best of Minnesota meet on February 12. The 9.900 is the best beam score for Minnesota this season. Stanton is one of three Golden Gophers to earn a 9.900 or higher this year as Johnson and Yernberg have each scored above a 9.900 on floor.
Stanton's average beam score of 9.779 is the best on the team.
Johnson Best on Bars
Junior Laura Johnson scored the team's highest uneven bars score at Denver with a 9.825 to match her season-best score and tie for second place. She won the event at the Best of Minnesota meet a week earlier, with a 9.825. She leads the team with and average bars score of 9.754.
Opsahl Shines on Floor
Junior Maria Opsahl was the top performer for Minnesota on floor last weekend, scoring a 9.875 to tie for third place. She also earned a season-best score of 9.875 on the floor at the Best of Minnesota meet to place second. Against Utah on February 6, Opsahl tied for third place on floor with a 9.825.
About the Opponent - Iowa
Iowa is not listed among the nation's top 25 teams in this week's GymInfo national ranking. The Hawkeyes are 7-10 this season, and own a 1-0 record against Big Ten opponents after defeating Illinois on February 5.
In its most recent meet, Iowa fell to eighth-ranked Iowa State, scoring a season-high 194.15 to the Cyclones' 195.85.
The Hawkeyes also scored a season-high 48.95 on bars, with Natalie Padilla and Romina Mazzoni tying for third with scores of 9.825. Padilla was also the top Iowa performer on vault, scoring a 9.75 for fourth. On beam, Annie Rue and Katie Burke finished tied for fifth (9.775). Williamson and Liz Grajewski each scored 9.725 on floor to tie for fourth. Rue finished the evening with a fifth-place finish in the all-around (38.875), while Padilla and Grajewski tied for sixth (38.575).
Leading the Hawkeyes
The Hawkeyes are coached by Larissa Libby, who is in her first year at the helm of the Iowa program. Libby served as an associate head coach at Iowa during the 2003-04 season, and was an assistant coach for the three seasons before being elevated to associate head coach. She began her collegiate coaching career at her alma mater, LSU, where she was an assistant coach for three seasons before arriving at Iowa.
The Last Meeting With Iowa
Iowa and Minnesota met three times during the 2004 season, with Iowa winning all three times.
Minnesota's last competition against Iowa was at the 2004 NCAA Regional Championship. Iowa finished second with a 195.700, while Minnesota was sixth with a 192.225.
The last meeting between the two schools in Minneapolis was at the 2004 Big Ten Championship, where Iowa placed third with a 196.500 and Minnesota finished fourth with a 196.325.
The last meeting between the schools during the regular season was a dual meet at Iowa on February 27, 2004. Iowa was the meet winner, scoring a 196.025 to Minnesota's 195.750.
Next on the Docket
After this week's meet against the Hawkeyes, the Golden Gophers will travel to Nebraska for a triangular meet against the host Cornhuskers and the Air Force Academy. Minnesota will be making its first trip to Nebraska since the 1996 season.
