University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Hold Maroon & Gold Intrasquad Meet
12/12/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
Historic Cooke Hall was the site of the Maroon & Gold Intrasquad meet for the Gopher men's gymnastics team on Friday afternoon. The Intrasquad was attended by scores of Gopher Gymnastics fans, who are looking forward to the start of the competitive season in January.
"We had a nice crowd of fans on hand to witness one of the best Maroon & Gold Intrasquad meets we've had since I have been here," head coach Mike Burns said. "I was extremely pleased with most of the guys this afternoon as we rapidly approach the start of the season next month.
"There was a real sense of purpose with these guys today and I am really looking forward to how we stack up against the competition when we get to our first test on January 16th at the Windy City Invitational," Burns added.
The Gold Team, led by seniors Colin McGuire and Adam Reichow, defeated the Maroon Team by a score of 240.70 - 238.30. The Maroon Team, led by seniors Aaron Fortunato, Andre Berry and Michael Hillin, won two events (vault and high bar) while the Gold Team was victorious on three events (Floor exercise, still rings, and parallel bars). Both teams tied with identical scores on the pommel horse.
The Gold Team was able to win individual titles on Vault and High Bar.Andre Berry came away with the title on Vault with a career-high score of 16.0 on his handspring double front vault while Aaron Fortunato won the individual title on High Bar with a score of 14.50.
"These were both very nice routines for this point in the preparation phase of our training so I'm really pleased with how they performed today," Burns said.
The Gold Team was able to win individual titles on the other four events with Adam Reichow posting a career-high score of 15.40 on the floor exercise, freshman Harris Coleman posting a winning score of 14.10 on the pommel horse and sophomore DJ Repp winning both Still Rings and Parallel Bars with scores of 13.80 and 13.70, respectively.
"Adam's winning floor exercise routine was very well done today and I expect great things from him and the entire floor exercise team this year," Burns said. "It was great to see Harris and DJ claim individual titles today and we will be counting on these two guys heavily to put some big points of the board."
The 2009-10 season will be the 107th year that Minnesota gymnasts will take to the competition floor in an attempt to win a Big Ten team title.
"This group of guys has the makings of a very special team with the number of seasoned veterans we have on hand to lead the entire team into battle," Burns said. "I knew we had what it takes when the pre-season started but today was a real indication of what these guys can do if they really start to fire on all cylinders. We're not quite there yet, but today was the first glimpse of the greatness these guys can achieve if they really keep their head in the game and stay focused on what it's going to take to achieve success."
The Gophers will be having a second Maroon & Gold Intrasquad on Dec. 20 at 2 p.m. in the Men's Gymnastics Training Gym on the 3rd floor of Cooke Hall. The public is invited and there is no charge to attend.
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