University of Minnesota Athletics
Alumni Meet Provides Final Tune-Up Opportunity
1/5/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
With only a week before the regular season gets underway, the University of Minnesota men's gymnastics team will have its final dress rehearsal as it hosts its annual Alumni Meet on Saturday at the Sports Pavilion at 7 p.m.
The Alumni Meet will give the Gopher gymnasts a chance to display on the routines that they have been working hard on throughout the off-season before the points begin to officially count.
"The annual Alumni Meet is the start to the season and it's a great way to get things underway," Minnesota head coach Mike Burns said. "While it's a fun meet for our alumni this will be a test to see where we are at this point in the preparation phase. The guys just came back from a short, well deserved break at home and now it's time to get focused for the 2011 season,"
The meet also gives the opportunity for Minnesota alumni of various ages to still show that they have what it takes to compete against the younger athletes.
The alumni will head confidently into the meet knowing that they have never once lost the annual event in its more than 40 years of existence, albeit with some rather generous scoring on part of the judges.
Fun traditions aside, the Alumni Meet will still allow for the Gophers to see what they need to from their gymnasts in order to make the final adjustments to their lineup before they start the regular season gets underway on Saturday, Jan. 15 in Chicago.
"Our first official meet is the Windy City Invitational the week after the Alumni Meet," Burns said. "We will have a much clearer picture of who will be in the 15-man lineup after Saturday's competition."
