University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers to Host Annual Best of Minnesota Meet
2/10/2011 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
The Gophers return to the Sports Pavilion on Saturday, Feb. 12 for the annual Always Dreaming Best of Minnesota Meet. The meet features all four collegiate women’s gymnastics programs in Minnesota, and serves as a fundraising and awareness campaign for the American Cancer Society. The meet is Always Dreaming in honor of former U of M complaince director Frank Kara, who lost his battle with cancer several years ago. Always Dreaming was Frank’s signature sign off.
Promotions
At the Best of Minnesota Meet, the Gophers will be celebrating Plymouth Community Day in honor of senior Kendra Elm and her hometown. Plymouth residents can get discounted admission for just $2. Also, Saturday is Facebook Night. All fans who "like" the Golden Gopher Women's Gymnastics page on Facebook can get free admission to the competition, and will also receive a free gymnastics t-shirt.
National Rankings
Minnesota moved to No. 17 in this week’s edition of the GymInfo National Rankings. In the event rankings, Minnesota is listed No. 17 on bars, No. 17 on beam and No. 15 on floor.
At the Last Best of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota took first place at the 2010 Best of Minnesotawith a score of 194.95. Senior Alexis Russell was the all around champion, and took first place on vault, bars and floor. Winona State was second with a 178.725, Gustavus was third with a 172.75, and Hamline was third with a 167.800.
Ennis Steps Into Line Up
Last weekend at Illinois, junior Lucy Ennis competed on bars for the first time this season after sustaining an elbow injury in preseason practice. Ennis returned to the bars line up with a bang, winning the event with a personal best mark of 9.875. She tied the best bars score by a Gopher this season.
Slechta Consistent on Vault
For the fourth time in five meets, freshman Kayla Slechta was the top performer for the Gophers on vault. Slechta has placed in the top threeon vault in every meet this season, and has scored 9.80 or better in every competition. She is ranked No. 5 in the Big Ten on vault.
Last Meet Recap
The Golden Gophers finished in third place at Illinois , scoring 194.325. The host Illini won the meet with a 195.750, while Central Michigan was second, scoring 194.525.
Minnesota started the meet strong, earning a 48.975 on bars, a season best for the Maroon and Gold. Minnesota’s top scorer was junior Lucy Ennis, who tied for first place. Ennis earned a personal-best 9.875 in her first uneven bars performance this season. Ennis missed competing on bars in the first month of the season due to a preseason elbow injury. Kristin Furukawa scored 9.825 to place fourth, earning her fourth bars score of 9.80 or higher this season. Kendra Elm rounded out the top three for the Gophers, earning a 9.80.
The Gophers tied their best beam score of the season, earning a 48.725 in the second rotation. Ana Balboa was the team leader on the balance beam, earning a season-best 9.825 to tie for third place. Alex Feeken and Shannon Golich each earned a 9.75 to tie for eighth place. Feeken’s score was a personal best. Amber Hammerschmidt earned her best beam score of the 2011 season, scoring 9.725.
Minnesota was up on floor in the third rotation, and compiled a 48.475. For the second week in a row, Kayla Slechta was the top floor scorer for the Gophers. Slechta scored 9.775 to tie for seventh place. Lucy Ennis earned a 9.75, while Shannon Golich scored 9.725 to round out the top three scorers for Minnesota.
The Gophers struggled a bit on vault, and tallied the lowest team score of the evening with a 48.150. Kayla Slechta was the top scorer on vault for the Gophers for the fourth time in five competitions. Slechta earned a 9.80 to tie for second place. Slechta has scored 9.80 or higher on vault at every competition this season. Lucy Ennis earned a 9.70 and Shannon Golich scored 9.65 to round out the top three scorers for the Gophers.
Coaching the Gophers
Head coach Meg Stephenson is in her 19th season as a coach with the Golden Gopher program and her 14th as a head coach. Stephenson was a co-head coach with husband Jim from 1998-2009 before taking the helm of the Minnesota program on her own last season.
Stephenson is assisted by Jenny (Alf) Hansen and Louie Johnson. Both Hansen and Johnson are Minnesota alums.
It’s Been Awhile
The last time Minnesota scored higher than 195.575 (Minnesota’s score against Air Force on Jan. 29) was at the 2009 Big Ten Championship when the team earned a 196.00. In 2009, Minnesota had eights scores over 195. Last year, the Gophers had six scores of 195 or better, but the highest score in 2010 was a 195.350.
Coming up Next
The Gophers are home for a second straight weekend when they host the Iowa State Cyclones on Sunday, Feb. 20. The meet is Minnesota’s only Sunday home meet of the season, and will begin at 2 p.m.
The Big Ten Championship
The Gophers will play host to the 2011 Big Ten Championship. The competition will feaure all seven teams from the league and will start at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 19. Tickets are available and range in price from $5-$8. Call 1-800-U-GOPHER or visit gophersports.com for more information.
Gopher Gymnastics on the Internet
All of Minnesota’s regular-season home meets will have a live webcast on the Gophers’ website at www.gophersports.com. Audio and video coverage of each regular-season home meet will be available to Gold Zone subscribers. This season, Audio commentary will be provided by Gopher alums Jade Beattie and Jamie Bullock.
Click on the Gold Zone to find all the live events carried on www.gophersports.com. Live scoring and a live blog for all home meets will also be available on www.gophersports.com, free of charge.
Players Mentioned
