University of Minnesota Athletics
Golden Gophers Announce 2009 Women's Gymnastics Schedule
6/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Minnesota continues the tradition of scheduling tough competition, as all but one of the Gophers’ Division I opponents in the upcoming season advanced to an NCAA Regional Championship in 2008. Four teams that Minnesota will face in 2009 were among the 12 qualifying teams for last season’s NCAA Championship: Michigan, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Denver.
The Big Ten Conference was one of the strongest in the nation last season, and boasted six teams that finished the 2008 campaign ranked among the top 20 in the nation. Minnesota will face each of its Big Ten opponents on March 21, 2009, at the Big Ten Championship, which will be hosted by Ohio State. The Gophers will also face Michigan and Iowa in dual meets during the regular season, with both meets against Big Ten foes taking place at home in the Sports Pavilion.
The Golden Gophers, who finished the 2008 season ranked No. 16 in the nation, will kick off the 2009 campaign with the annual intrasquad exhibition competition. The meet serves as a practice run at the beginning season to prepare the team for regular-season competition. This year’s exhibition meet will be on January 3. The Golden Gophers begin the regular season at home, facing Arizona on January 10. Arizona finished the 2008 season ranked No. 25.
Minnesota’s first road meet of the season will be a tough one, as the team travels to Denver on January 17. Denver was an NCAA Qualifier last season, and finished 2008 as the No. 12 team in the nation. The Golden Gophers continue with meets against top-notch opponents, returning home to face Big Ten perennial power Michigan on January 24 before heading to Norman, Okla., to take on Oklahoma on January 30. Michigan and Oklahoma tied for eighth place at the NCAA Championships a year ago, and Michigan is the two-time defending Big Ten champion.
As is the tradition in Minnesota women’s gymnastics, the Golden Gophers will compete against Iowa State twice during the regular season, once at home and once on the road. The Cyclones travel to compete in Minnesota on February 7, while the Gophers will compete in Ames, Iowa, on February 21.
Between the competitions against Iowa State, the Golden Gophers will host the annual Best of Minnesota Meet on February 14. The Best of Minnesota is a competition featuring all four of the collegiate women’s gymnastics teams in the state of Minnesota: Gustavus, Hamline, Winona State, and the Gophers. The Best of Minnesota is one of the best attended competitions each season. The 2008 Best of Minnesota drew 2,685 fans, marking the eighth-best attendance mark in program history.
Minnesota will host Northern Illinois on February 28, marking the first meeting between the Golden Gophers and the Huskies in the tenure for Minnesota co-head coaches Jim and Meg Stephenson. The last time the Golden Gophers competed against Northern Illinois was in the 1992 season. Following the meet against NIU, the Gophers will travel to compete at Arkansas on March 7. Minnesota last competed against Arkansas in the 2008 NCAA Regional Championship at the Sports Pavilion. Arkansas was one of two teams to advance to the NCAA Championship, where it placed 10th. The Gophers round out the 2009 regular season with a home meet against Iowa on March 14, and will compete in the Big Ten Championship on March 21 at Ohio State.
If the Golden Gophers finish the regular season among the top 36 teams in the national rankings, they will advance to an NCAA Regional Championship. The six schools hosting regional championships in 2009 are Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio State, and Washington. The top two teams from each regional championship will earn a berth in the 2009 NCAA Championship, which will be hosted by the University of Nebraska.
