University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Travel to No. 2 Utah for Friday Competition
1/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Minnesota will travel to compete at the University of Utah on Friday, Feb. 1. The competition is slated to begin at 8 p.m. central time (7 p.m. local to site). Live scoring will be available on Utah’s athletics website at www.utahutes.com.
Coming Up Next Week: Best of Minnesota
Minnesota will host the annual Best of Minnesota meet on Feb. 9 at the Sports Pavilion. The four collegiate teams from the state of Minnesota will participate; the Gophers, Gustavus, Hamline, and Winona State.
National Rankings
Minnesota is currently ranked No. 32 with an average score of 192.917. The Gophers are ranked No. 49 on vault, No. 17 on bars, No. 17 on beam, and No. 26 on floor. At this point in the season, rankings are based on average score.
Minnesota’s highest-ranked individual gymnast is Amanda Miles, who is tied for No. 53 on floor with an average of 9.800. Carmelina Carabajal is tied for No. 55 on beam with an average of 9.767.
This week’s opponent, Utah, is ranked No. 2 with an average score of 196.475.
Carabajal Strikes Again
Junior Carmelina Carabajal won two event titles against Iowa State last weekend. She took first on bars with a career-best 9.800, and was first on beam with a career-best 9.875. In addition to her two event titles, Carabajal finished second in the all around with a season-best 39.100, and had the team’s best vault score with a 9.675. So far this season, Carabajal has won five event titles; one on vault, one on bars, two on beam, and one in the all around.
Walker Shines Against Iowa State
Junior Angela Walker made her second all around performance last weekend against Iowa State, and tallied season-best scores in each even as well as the all around. Walker earned scores of 9.425 on vault, 9.775 on bars, 9.775 on beam, 9.825 on floor, and 38.800 in the all around. Walker’s floor score of 9.825 ties her career-best, first set in the 2005 season.
Coming up on a Coaching Milestone
Meg and Jim Stephenson have 149 wins as co-head coaches, and need just one more win to reach 150.
The Opponent: Utah
The No. 2 Utes are 3-0 heading into the weekend with wins over Georgia, Nebraska and Arizona State.
Ashley Postell has won three all around titles in three weeks, and is currently ranked No. 3 in the all around in the GymInfo national rankings. She is ranked No. 1 on beam and is tied for No. 6 on bars.
Kristina Baskett is also nationally-ranked in two events: the all around (No. 19), and bars (tie-No. 6). Daria Bijak is ranked No. 20 in the all around, and is tied for No. 10 on beam.
Head coach Greg Marsden is in his 33rd season at the helm of the Ute’s gymnastics program, and boasts a record of 875-152-5. Megan Marsden is tthe associate head coach, while Jeff Graba is the assistant coach.
Series Notes
Utah leads the series 26-1, with Minnesota’s only victory over the Utes coming in the 2000 season. The last meeting between the Utes and the Gophers was on Jan. 27, 2007 in Minneapolis. Utah won the meet 195.875-194.100.
The Utah Connection
Before the Stephensons came to coach at Minnesota, they spent four seasons working with Utah’s program. Jim was an assistant coach at Utah from 1989-1992, while Meg was a consultant for the Utes. During their time with Utah, the team won national titles in 1990 and 1992.
The Gophers: Event by Event
Vault: Carmelina Carabajal owns the team’s top three vault scores this season, and won the event title with a 9.825 against New Hampshire (1/19). Carabajal has been the team’s top performer on vault at ever meet this season, and has the team’s best average score on vault with a 9.733. Jamie Bullock and Ashley Mutchler round out the top five scores for the season, each with a season-high score of 9.625. Minnesota’s top vault score is a 48.075, earned in the meet against Iowa State (1/26).
Bars: Carmelina Carabajal earned the team’s best bars score of the season with a career-best 9.800 last weekend against Iowa State. Angela Walker also had ber best bars score of the 2008 season last weekend with a 9.775. Yuri Nagai was inserted into the bars line up in the New Hampshire meet, taking the place of the injured Alexis Russell, and has had great results in her two bars performances. Nagai had the team’s best bars score against New Hamphire, a 9.650 to place second overall. She earned a 9.750 against Iowa State to place fourth overall. Nagai has the team’s best average score on bars with an average of 9.700. Minnesota’s top team score on bars came in the season opener in Cancun, a 48.350.
Beam: Carmelina Carabajal has the team’s best beam score this year, a 9.875. Carabajal scored her career-best 9.875 against Iowa State last weekend. Carabajal has the team’s best average beam score, a 9.767. Ashley Stanton owns two of the team’s top five scores on beam, with a 9.800 at the Cancun Classic and a 9.750 against Iowa State. Angela Walker tallied a 9.775 against ISU to place second in the event. The Gophers have done well on beam in the last two meets, recording no falls. Minnesota’s top team score was a 48.850, scored against Iowa  State (1/26).
Floor: Amanda Miles owns two of the top five scores on floor this season, including the team-best mark of 9.850, scored in the competition against New Hampshire (1/19). Miles has an average floor score of 9.800, which leads the team. Against Iowa State last weekend, Angela Walker was the team’s top performer with a 9.825, which tied her career-best score. Minnesota tallied it’s best team score on floor against Iowa State (1/26).
Last Week: Iowa State Recap
The Gophers won against Iowa State with a season-best score of 193.775. Carmelina Carabajal tallied an all around score of 39.100, with career-high scores of 9.800 on bars and 9.875 on beam.
The Gophers started the meet on vault, and earned their best vault score of the season with a 48.075. Carabajal was the team’s top performer with a score of 9.675 to place fourth overall. Jamie Bullock earned her best vault score of the year with a 9.625 to finish in sixth place. Iowa State earned a 48.750 on bars in the first rotation, and led by .675 going into the second rotation.
Minnesota was up on uneven bars in the second rotation, and tallied a team score of 48.225. Carabajal was the even winner, with a 9.800 to mark her career-high bars score. Angela Walker had her best bars score of the year with a 9.775 to finish in second place. Yuri Nagai also set her best bars score, earning a 9.750 to tie for fifth place. The Cyclones had a 48.400 on vault, bringing the team totals to 97.150-96.300 in favor of Iowa State.
The Gophers earned their highest event score of the meet with a 48.850 on beam to pull ahead of Iowa State. All six of Minnesota’s scores were 9.725 or better. Carabajal led the way again, winning the event with a career-best score of 9.875. Angela Walker had her best beam score of the year, a 9.775 to finish in third place overall. The team totals after three rotations were 145.150-145.000, as Iowa State recorded a 47.850 on floor.
Minnesota wrapped up the meet with a mark of 48.625 on floor, led by Angela Walker. Walker matched her career-best floor score with a 9.825 to tie for first place. Amanda Miles finished in third place with a 9.800. With all four rotations complete, the Gophers led 193.775-193.625.
Carabajal was Minnesota’s top all around performer with a 39.100, her best all around score of the year. Walker also competed in the all around, and tallied a 38.800, her best all around score in the 2008 season.
Russell Out With Injury
Sophomore Alexis Russell injured her right knee competing on vault in the meet against New Hampshire. She will likely miss three to six weeks of competition.
Coaching the Gophers
Jim and Meg Stephenson are in their 16th season at the helm of the Golden Gopher program. Jim served as the head coach while Meg was an assistant until 1998, when Meg joined Jim as a co-head coach. The duo has a 149-120-1 record as co-head coaches.
Looking Ahead: Gophers to Host NCAA North Central Region Championship
The University of Minnesota has been selected to host the 2008 NCAA North Central Region Championship. The championship will be held at the Sports Pavilion on April 12 at 6 p.m., and will feature six teams from around the country. If the Golden Gophers are selected to compete in a regional championship, they will compete at home in the Sports Pavilion. Tickets are available and may be ordered online at www.gophersports.com, or by calling the athletics ticket office at 612-624-8080 or toll free at 1-800-U-GOPHER. All seats are reserved.
Two teams from each regional championship will advance to the NCAA National Championship, which will be hosted by the University of Georgia on April 24-26, 2008.
Gopher Gymnastics on the Internet
All six of Minnesota’s regular-season home meets will have live scoring available for free on the Gophers’ website. Go to www.gophersports.com and click on live stats to find live scoring.
Audio and video coverage of each regular-season home meet, as well as the NCAA Regional Championship will also be on the athletics website with audio commentary by student assistant coach Andy Cornelius. Audio and video content is offered to Gold Zone subscribers. Subscriptions are $10 per month. Click on the Gold Zone to find all the live events carried on www.gophersports.com.
Players Mentioned
