University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Face Tough Illinois Squad Saturday
2/11/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
By Jennie Clark
Athletic Communications Assistant
Minnesota heads out on the road this weekend, traveling to Champaign, Ill. to take on the No. 2-ranked Fighting Illini Saturday.
"I'm very excited about going to Champaign this weekend," head coach Mike Burns said. "We're heading on the road after a couple home meets we did pretty well in."
The Gophers are coming off a strong meet two weeks ago, when they put up more than 350 points in the friendly confines of the Sports Pavilion. The Gophers may have some momentum, but they still have the challenge of facing a highly-ranked team in its home gym.
"Illinois is a tough team," Burns said. "They're ranked number two in the country right now and last year they were Big Ten Champions."
Senior Cole Storer is hoping to make his first appearance of the season this weekend, after coming into the season injured.
Storer was an All-America performer on the High Bar during his sophomore season, and earned All-America honors in the floor exercise as a freshman.
"I'm 100 percent ready on the floor and vault," Storer said. "I'm still working on getting my High Bar back."
Although they are against some tough competition against Illinois, the Gophers are still optimistic regarding the heady competition they'll be facing Saturday.
"We're really looking forward to this challenge," Burns said. "Anytime you're going against a Big Ten rival it is always exciting. Illinois is one of the teams to beat this year for the Big Ten title and our goal is to win the Big Ten Championship. So this is a good chance to see if we can stack up against them."
The Gophers understand what they need to do to compete in the high-caliber meet this week.
"Really what it comes down to is who hits the most this meet," Storer said. "It's going to be a lot about Rings and Pommel Horse, because those are the two events that we've really struggled on the most this year."
"We just need to take it one event at a time," Burns added. "One routine at a time. One skill at a time."
Saturday's meet at Huff Hall on the campus of the University of Illinois is slated for 7 p.m.
-UM-
Players Mentioned
