University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Cruise Over Huskers, Falcons, Dinosaurs
1/31/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
The University of Minnesota men's gymnastics team had a goal for Saturday night's meet vs. Nebraska, Air Force and Calgary. The Gophers wanted to break 350.
That may have looked like a pretty lofty goal, considering Minnesota had scored 337.650 in its season-opening meet and 343.250 last week. But the Gophers rose to the challenge Saturday night, hitting season-high scores on the floor exercise, pommel horse, rings, vault and parallel bars.
It all added up to a 350.550 score and a victory for Minnesota.
"We just keep talking about how good a team we are," head coach Mike Burns said of the team's preparation for this week's competition. "It's just a matter of really stepping up to the plate, taking a swing and getting it done. We turned a corner in a lot of areas tonight. I was really pleased with how the guys performed. There was a great crowd tonight and a lot of good energy and atmosphere in the gym."
"I'm really excited about tonight," senior Andre Berry said. "Our goal for the day was 350. We hit it. The best part about it is that we still have a lot of room for improvement."
Aaron Fortunato put together the second-best all-around score in the Minnesota record books. He tallied a an 85.950 to finish second in the all-around.
"Tonight was awesome," Fortunato said. "We're finally starting to pull together as a team. It was exciting to finally be back on track and with a home crowd. It was awesome. I'm finally figuring things out. I found my love for competing again, so I'm happy. I feel like I'm going in a good direction."
The Gophers had numerous highlights Saturday night. Freshman Harris Coleman topped the 15-point plateau on the pommel horse. Perhaps the biggest cheers of the night were for Berry, who hit his vault and tallied Minnesota's first score of 16 or better this season.
"Andre Berry's vault was just exciting," Burns said. "A 16.200 is just a huge score. To hit that vault on his feet, which is a pretty tricky thing to do, it was exciting. But there were a lot of highlights on every event. Overall, it was a good effort."
The aforementioned Coleman earned the Louis J. Cooke Outstanding Performance Award for the meet. Coleman tallied a 15.150 on the pommel horse, which is a big score, especially for a young gymnast.
"Harris Coleman (had) an unbelievable performance on the pommel horse," Burns said. "He broke the 15 barrier, which is not an easy thing to do. We knew when we recruited Harris that he was going to be a star on pommel horse. His star is starting to shine. It was great to see it. He was on fire tonight."
Burns also credited Coleman for his performances on the floor, vault and high bar. The rookie turned in counting scores on the floor and high bar, in addition to winning the pommel horse.
Fortunato won the floor exercise with a tally of 15.200. Berry's score of 16.200 was tops on the vault. Along with Coleman's victory on the horse, Minnesota took top honors in three of the six events.
As for the team competition, the Gophers ran away with Saturday night's meet. Minnesota's 350.550 tally was more than eight points better than the final score of 342.400 for Nebraska. The Cornhuskers were paced by Anthony Ingrelli and John Robinson, who won the vault and parallel bars, respectively. Air Force was third with a 329.800 score. Calgary, which was battling injuries and only suited four gymnasts, brought up the rear with a score of 302.050.
Minnesota is back in action again Thursday through Saturday at the Winter Cup in Las Vegas.
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