University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Head to Big Ten Championships
3/30/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
The time has come for the University of Minnesota men's gymnastics team how a full season's worth of hard work and dedication will pay off at the Big Ten Championships.
The conference championships get underway Friday at 7 p.m. in Champaign, Ill. and will be featuring the best of what the six Big Ten men's gymnastics teams have to offer.
"The Big Ten Championships are always a phenomenal competition," Minnesota head coach Mike Burns said. "It brings out the best in everyone and we're looking to have the same thing happen to us this weekend."
The Gophers come in to the championships ranked No. 4 in the Big Ten, putting them right in the middle of the pack, behind Illinois, Penn State and Michigan, but ahead of both Ohio State and Iowa. All six teams are ranked in the top-10 nationally.
Minnesota will be featuring several gymnasts that are ranked amongst the best in the Big Ten. DJ Repp is No. 1 in the conference on the vault, while Zack Chase is ranked No. 5 on the vault and No. 7 on the floor exercise.
Other notable ranked gymnasts include John Scallon, who is No. 6 on the pommel horse, Michael Paulus, who is No. 9 on the parallel bars and Ali Aleiou, who is No. 9 on the high bar.
"We're expecting to come out and have our best hit percentage of the year," Burns said. "The guys are looking really good right now and I'm excited where they're at... The excitement level is off the charts and I'm looking for a lot of good things from these guys this weekend."
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Players Mentioned
