University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Scores 192.725 in Season Opener
1/5/2008 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
The Golden Gopher women’s gymnastics team opened the 2008 season at the Cancun Classic, where they earned a score of 192.725 to place third. No. 10 LSU won the meet with a 195.675, No. 15 Denver was second with a 193.200, and Texas Woman’s was fourth with a 190.900.
On vault, Minnesota was led by junior Carmelina Carabajal, who tied for 10th place with a mark of 9.700. Senior Ashley Mutchler had Minnesota’s second-best vault score with a 9.625. Two of the Gophers’ newcomers competed on vault, with Ana Balboa scoring a 9.450, while Kristin Furukawa tallied a 9.500. As a team, the Gophers earned a 47.825.
Minnesota earned a team score of 48.350 on bars. Junior Angela Walker was the team leader in the event, as she scored a 9.725 to finish in seventh place. Freshman Kendra Elm was Minnesota’s second finisher, earning a 9.700, good for eighth place, in her Gopher debut. Junior Jade Beattie and freshman Kristin Furukawa each earned marks of 9.650 on bars.
Senior Ashley Stanton was the team’s highest finisher on beam with an impressive 9.800 to place third. Stanton was Minnesota’s highest finisher on any event at the Cancun Classic. Carabajal and Walker were also in the top 10 on beam, with scores of 9.700 to tie for seventh place. The team score for the Golden Gophers on beam was 48.175.
Minnesota earned its highest score on floor with a 48.375. Carabajal had the Gophers’ highest score of the night with a 9.825 to finish fifth. Also in the top 10 on floor were senior captain Amanda Miles and sophomore Alexis Russell, who each earned a 9.750 to tie for eighth place.
Carmelina Carabajal was Minnesota’s only all around competitor. With her marks of 9.700 on vault, 9.625 on bars, 9.700 on beam, and 9.825 on floor, her all around total was 38.850, which was good for third place in the all around standings.
The Gophers will next be in action at the team’s annual Intrasquad Meet, which will begin at 6 p.m. on January 12 at the Sports Pavilion.
Players Mentioned
