University of Minnesota Athletics
WGM: Laura Johnson to Compete at NCAA Championships
4/20/2005 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
This Week
Laura Johnson will represent the Gophers at the 2005 NCAA Championship at Auburn University. Johnson is one of 12 individuals who have qualified for the national championship in the all around. She will compete in the second session on Thursday evening, beginning at 7 p.m., and will rotate with Georgia. Her event order will be: vault, bye, bars, beam, bye, floor.
Follow the Action
Live statistics of the NCAA Championships will be posted on the Internet at www.auburntigers.com.
Participating Teams
The 12 teams that qualified for the NCAA Championship are: LSU, UCLA, Utah, Alabama, Michigan, Nebraska, BYU, Iowa State, Florida, Oklahoma, Penn State, and Georgia. UCLA is the two-time defending national champion, and has won four of the last five NCAA Championships.
How They Made it to Nationals
The National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Championships consist of 12 teams and 12 all-around competitors (who are not on a qualifying team) and event specialists. The top two teams and the top two all-around competitors from each regional received automatic berths to the national championships. In addition, the event winners at the regional championships advance to the national championships (in their specific event) if they were not part of a qualifying team or the all-around qualifiers.
Minnesota at the NCAA Championship
Minnesota will be represented at the NCAA Championship for the first time since the 2002 season, when the Gophers qualified for nationals as a team. The Gophers have advanced to the NCAA meet as a team twice, finishing 10th in 1997, and ninth in 2002. There have been individual qualifiers from Minnesota at eight NCAA Championships, most recently MaryAnne Kelley, who competed in the all around in 2001.
Minnesota’s Last Competition - the NCAA North Central Region Championships
The Golden Gophers earned a fourth-place finish at the NCAA North Central Regional Championship in Salt Lake City, Utah. The competition marked Minnesota’s 10th- consecutive NCAA Regional Championship appearance.
Utah won the regional competition with a mark of 196.800, followed by Brigham Young who placed second with a 195.975. Oregon State placed third with a 195.675, followed by Minnesota (193.975), Southern Utah (193.450), and Iowa (192.350).
Laura Johnson and Carolyn Yernberg each led Minnesota on two events to pace the Gophers. Johnson was Minnesota’s top performer on the bars (9.800) and beam (9.700), while Yernberg was the team’s top performer on the floor (9.900) and the vault (9.825). Johnson placed fourth in the all around with a score of 39.150, and earned a trip to to the NCAA Championship.
Minnesota started the meet with a bye in the first rotation, and moved to the bars in the second rotation. The Gophers earned a 48.450 on the event, led by junior Laura Johnson who tallied a score of 9.800 to tie for seventh place. The remaining scores for Minnesota were Rehana Russell (9.725), Stephanie Funk (9.700), Andrea Cornelius (9.625), Maria Opsahl (9.600), and Kim Womack (9.500).
Laura Johnson again led the Gophers in their second event, earning a 9.700 on the balance beam to tie for 16th place. Minnesota was forced to count a fall on the event en route to a team score of 47.825. Johnson was followed by Ashley Mutchler (9.625), Amanda Miles (9.600), Stephanie Funk (9.575), Ashley Stanton (9.325), and Kelly Ganchan (8.650). Ashley Stanton recorded her first fall of the season.
After another bye rotation, Minnesota had its highest score of the evening on floor, earning a 49.150. Carolyn Yernberg led the way for the Gophers, earning a 9.900 to tie for third place. Also placing in the top 10 was Laura Johnson, who earned a 9.850 to tie for ninth place. Other Minnesota performers on the floor were Stephanie Funk, Maria Opsahl and Ashley Stanton who each tallied a 9.800, and Kim Womack, who earned a 9.725.
The Gophers finished the meet on the vault, earning a 48.550. Carolyn Yernberg was the top scorer for Minnesota with a 9.825 to tie for 10th place. Also performing on the vault for the Gophers were Laura Johnson (9.800), Ashley Mutchler (9.775), Kelly Ganchan (9.600), Kim Womack (9.550), and Maria Opsahl (9.550).
Minnesota’s Lone All Around Performer
Laura Johnson was Minnesota’s only gymnast to compete in the all around at every meet this season. Teammate Angela Walker competed in the all around twice before injuring her knee at Washington on Jan. 28. Johnson was also the only Gopher who competed in the all around at every meet in the 2004 season.
Leading the Team on Bars
Laura Johnson has the team’s best average bars score this season, with a 9.781. She has been the top scorer for the Gophers on bars at 10 of the 13 meets this season. In eight meets, she has earned a 9.800 or better.
Johnson in the Record Books
Laura Johnson ranks among the top six on Minnesota’s all-time top performers list in four events. She’s tied for third on vault (9.925), tied for second on bars (9.950), tied for sixth on bean (9.900), and second in the all around (39.575).
Career-High Marks
Despite advancing to the NCAA Championship for the first time in her career, Johnson has not set any career-high marks this season. Her best vault score (9.925) came during her freshman season. Johnson’s best bars (9.950), beam (9.900), floor (9.925), and all around (39.575) scores were earned during her sophomore season.
