University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Ranked No. 8 In Preseason Poll
10/5/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
Oct. 5, 2011
The 2012 men's gymnastics season is quickly approaching. The pre-season coaches poll was released this week, and the University of Minnesota men's team is ranked No. 8.
"While pre-season rankings are fun to look at and get us thinking about the upcoming season, they really don't mean much," said head coach Mike Burns. "The key to success is not where someone thinks you are but where you put yourselves by virtue of what you do on the competition floor."
Coach Burns and the Gophers open their season at the Windy City Invitational in Chicago on Jan. 14. With three months left to prepare, the coaches and athletes are looking forward to the excitement and challenges of the upcoming competitions.
"Once the season starts we will be asking our guys to go out every week and perform their hearts out for themselves, their teammates and coaches, and especially our great Gopher fans who support this program," said Burns. "Right now our main focus is on physically preparing the team to be able to handle to high level of gymnastics difficulty it will take to move ourselves into the upper echelon of top programs in the country. If nothing else, that eighth place ranking is motivation to work harder to move higher up the national poll."
-UM-
