University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Gymnasts Prepare for Big Ten Meet
3/16/2011 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Minnesota hosts the 2011 Big Ten Championships at the Sports Pavilion. The competition will begin at 2 p.m. on March 19, and will be televised live on the Big Ten Network. Mike Leiderman will serve as play-by-play announcer, with commentary from Eddie Umphrey and Elise Ray.
Tickets for the championships are available and range in price from $5-$8. Call 1-800-U-GOPHER or visit gophersports.com for more information.
Big Ten Strength
The Big Ten conference feeatures six women’s gymnastics teams ranked in the top 25 nationally. The SEC also has six teams in the top 25, and the PAC 10 has five top-25 teams.
The Big Ten’s top-25 ranked teams are: No. 9 Michigan, No. 10 Penn State, No. 14 Iowa, No. 15 Ohio State, No. 16 Illinois, and No. 21 Minnesota. With so many conference teams clustered together in the rankings, the Big Ten Championship should prove to be a closely contested one.
National Rankings
Minnesota moved up to No. 21 in this week’s edition of the GymInfo National Rankings. Minnesota’s RQS is 195.255. In the event rankings, Minnesota is listed No. 17 on bars, No. 14 on beam and tied for No. 20 on floor.
Minnesota’s History in the Big Ten Championship
The Gophers have won five Big Ten titles, with their last conference championship coming in 2006. The team also won conference titles in 1998, 1991, 1989, and 1988.
Nineteen Gopher gymnasts have won 32 individual Big Ten titles since 1978. Marie Roethlisberger holds the record for the most individual titles by a Minnesota gymnast, with seven in her career, including four titles at the 1989 championship (all around, bars, beam, vault).
Rewind: Minnesota’s at the 2010 Big Ten Championship
The Golden Gophers tied for fourth place at the 2010 Big Ten Championships, held at Ohio State. Minnesota’s score of 195.35 tied the best score of the season. Michigan won the meet with a 196.90, followed by Penn State at 196.525 and Iowa at 195.575. Minnesota and Michigan State came in fourth, followed by Illinois (195.025) and Ohio State (194.70).
Minnesota sat out the first rotation on a bye, then competed on vault in the second rotation. The Gophers tied their best vault score of the season with a 48.725. Lucy Ennis was the top scorer for the Gophers, earning a 9.80 to tie for eighth place. Kendra Elm and Shannon Golich each earned scores of 9.775.
The Golden Gophers moved to the uneven bars in the third rotation, where they were led by Alexis Russell’s 9.85. Russell finished in a tie for fifth place overall. Junior Kristin Furukawa and Lucy Ennis each earned scores of 9.80. Minnesota’s team total was 48.925.
Minnesota had a bye in rotation four, and returned to compete on balance beam in the fifth rotation. Kristin Furukawa was the team’s top scorer on beam with a 9.90, her fourth score of 9.90 or better this season. Furukawa tied for second place on the beam. Shannon Golich and Ana Balboa each earned marks of 9.825. As a team, Minnesota compiled a 48.925 on balance beam.
The Gophers had another bye in rotation six, and finished the competition on floor exercise in the seventh rotation. Alexis Russell was the team’s top scorer, earning a 9.85 to tie for sixth place. Kendra Elm earned a mark of 9.775, while Ana Balboa had a 9.75. Minnesota’s team score on floor was 48.775.
In the all around competition, Alexis Russell earned a 39.200, coming in seventh.
Floor Score Best Since 2004
Minnesota’s floor score against NC State on March 12, a 49.325, was the best by the Gophers since the 2004 season. The last time Minnesota scored better than 49.325 was on March 12, 2004 when the Gophers tallied a 49.550 at Arizona State.
The 49.325 earned last weekend is the top floor score at home in the Sports Pavilion since setting the school record with a 49.575 in the 2003 season.
Last weekend, all five of Minnesota’s counting scores on floor were 9.85 or better.
Furukawa Finishes First
Senior captain Kristin Furukawa has won the most event titles among Gopher gymnasts this season. She owns five bars titles and two beam titles.
Furukawa’s bars score of 9.90 at UCLA (Feb. 27) is the highest bars score for the Gophers this season.
Furukawa also owns the team’s top beam score, a 9.925 earned at the Best of Minnesota Meet on Feb. 12. She was the runner up on beam at the 2010 Big Ten Championship.
Slechta a Standout
It’s early in her career, but Gopher freshman Kayla Slechta has certainly made her mark on the Minnesota women’s gymnastics program. She has been the top scorer for the Gophers on vault at 10 of 11 competitions this season, and has won vault at eight meets. She has scored 9.80 or better in every competition.
Slechta has been named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week twice this season, Jan. 31 and March 7.
In her all-around debut at Iowa State on March 4, Slechta posted a 39.125, marking the best score by a Gopher gymnast in her first all-around competition. Slechta is one of three Gopher gymnasts to score 39 or better in her all around debut, joining Annie Laatsch and Lucy Ennis. Laatsch scored 39.10 in her first all around in 2003, and Ennis tallied a 39.05 in her first all around competition last season.
With her vault score of 9.925 at the Best of Minnesota meet, Slechta is now tied for No. 4 on Minnesota’s all-time top scores list. She’s the second-highest scoring freshman on vault (Carolyn Yernberg earned a 10.0 on vault as a freshman in 2002).
Slechta has also been a top performer on floor in the four meets she’s been in the line up. She averages 9.797 on floor, and has scored 9.80 or better four times.
Russell Back in the Line Up
Freshman Dusti Russell was a top performer for the Gophers in the first two meets this season, but then missed five weeks of competition while recovering from an elbow injury. Russell returned to the line up on beam and floor at Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 25. In her six appearances on beam, she has been the Gophers’ top scorer four times, and has won two beam titles. On her six floor performances, she has been Minnesota’s top scorer three times and has won two floor titles.
Balboa a Star on Senior Night
Senior Ana Balboa had a great competition at Senior Night last weekend, tying for third place on beam with a 9.80, and earning a personal-best 9.85 on floor to tie for fourth place.
Balboa is finishing her senior season strong, earning career-best marks on beam and floor in the last two competitions of the regular season.
Golich Tops on Floor
Sophomore Shannon Golich has been Minnesota’s top scorer on floor at four meets this season, and has won two floor titles this season. Golich owns the team’s top average score on floor, averaging 9.802 this year.
In addition to her impressive floor performances, Golich has been one of the team’s most consistent competitors on the balance beam. She owns the team’s highest average score on beam among gymnast who have competed in every meet (9.798). She is the only gymnast to compete on beam in every meet who has not recorded a fall this season.
Elm Awaits Injury Evaluation
Senior Kendra Elm missed competing last weekend against NC State due to a lower leg muscle strain. She will be evaluated by medical staff this week, and is a possibility for competition on Saturday.
Senior Kendra Elm has competed in the all around eight times this season, and has been the all around champion five times. She earned her best score of 39.225 against Air Force on Jan. 29. In addition to her all around titles, Elm has won event titles on vault, bars and beam this season.
Cherwink Sees Action
Freshman Justine Cherwink missed much of the season recovering from a preseason injury. She has competed on bars in the last two meets, scoring 9.725 at Iowa State and 9.75 against NC State. Last weekend vs. NCSU, she vaulted for the first time, earning a 9.75.
Nagai Injured
Due to a foot injury, senior Yuri Nagai will miss the remainder of the 2011 season. Nagai competed on vault and bars in nine competitions this year, averaging 9.603 on vault and 9.658 on bars.
Vault Score for the Record Book
Minnesota vault score at the Best of Minnesota meet Feb. 12 (49.175) ties the fifth-best vault score in program history. The Gophers also scored a 49.175 in the 2001 season in a dual meet against Arizona. The two scores of 49.175 rank as the top vault scores at a home meet as the top four vault scores in team history were all achieved on the road. Minnesota’s vault mark from last weekend is the best since the Gophers scored 49.30 on vault at Arizona State in the 2004 season.
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.
During Stephenson’s tenure, Minnesota has won two Big Ten titles: 1998 and 2006.
Stephenson is assisted by Jenny (Alf) Hansen and Louie Johnson. Both Hansen and Johnson are Minnesota alums.
Players Mentioned
