University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers to Host NC State on Senior Night
3/9/2011 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Minnesota returns home for the 2011 regular season finale, hosting NC State on Saturday, March 12 at 6 p.m. Fans can follow the meet live on gophersports.com with a webcast, blog and love scoring.
Senior Night
Minnesota will honor four senior gymnasts as well as senior manager Julie Kinal at the conclusion of Saturday’s competition against NC State. Minnesota’s class of 2011 consists of Ana Balboa, Kendra Elm, Kristin Furukawa and Yuri Nagai.
National Rankings
Minnesota moved up to No. 19 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. 13 on beam and tied for No. 21 on floor.
This week’s opponent, NC State, is ranked No. 23.
Explaining the RQS
National rankings are based on Regional Qualifying Scores. A Regional Qualifying Score (or RQS) is calculated by taking a team’s six best scores of the season, of which at least three scores must be from away meets. The highest score is dropped, and the remaining five scores are averaged. The result is an RQS.
Freshman Sensation
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 nine of 10 competitions this season, and has won vault at seven 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 last weekend, 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 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 on vault. 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 9.788 on floor, and has scored 9.80 or better three times. Against Iowa State, Slechta won floor with a career-best 9.875.
Elm is a Threat on All Four Events
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.
Elm has Minnesota’s highest average score on bars this season, averaging 9.785.
Golich Tops on Floor
Sophomore Shannon Golich has been Minnesota’s top scorer on floor at four meets this season, and won her second floor title Feb. 12 with a 9.85 at the Best of Minnesota Meet. Golich owns the team’s top average score on floor, averaging 9.80 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 (9.795). She is the only gymnast to compete on beam in every meet who has not recorded a fall this season.
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. Last weekend at Iowa State, Russell won beam with a personal best 9.90. Russell averages 9.835 in her five beam performances, and averages 9.795 on floor.
Cherwink Sees Action
Freshman Justine Cherwink missed much of the season recovering from a preseason achilles tendon injury. Last weekend, she competed for the first time, and earned a 9.725 on bars.
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.
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.
Big Ten Strength
The Big Ten conference feeatures six women’s gymnastics teams ranked in the top 20 nationally, more than any other conference. The Big 12 and SEC each have four teams ranked in the top 20.
The Big Ten’s top-20 ranked teams are: No. 9 Michigan, No. 10 Penn State, No. 14 Ohio State, No. 16 Illinois, No. 17 Iowa, and No. 19 Minnesota. With so many conference teams clustered together in the rankings, the Big Ten Championship should prove to be a closely contested one.
Last Weekend at Iowa State
The No. 20 Golden Gopher women’s gymnastics team tied No. 19 Iowa State in Ames on Saturday, with both teams scoring 195.325. The score was Minnesota’s best at an away meet this season.
The Gophers started out on uneven bars, where the team tallied a 48.475. Janell Campbell was the team leader for the first time this season. Campbell earned a 9.775 to tie for third place. Kendra Elm was the second-highest scorer for Minnesota, earning a 9.75.
Minnesota was up on vault in the second rotation, where the team earned a 48.725. Kayla Slechta was the top scorer for the Gophers, earning a 9.85 to win the event. Kendra Elm and Shannon Golich each earned marks of 9.80 to tie for third place. Golich’s score was a personal best.
Moving to floor exercise, the Gophers had a total of 48.90. Shannon Golich was the team’s top performer, earning a 9.85 to tie for second place. Golich was Minnesota’s top floor scorer for the fourth time this season. Kendra Elm and Kayla Slechta rounded out the top three scorers for the Gophers on floor, each earning a 9.775.
The Gophers finished the competition on beam, and earned the top event score of the night with a 49.225. The mark is Minnesota’s best on any event this season. Dusti Russell won the event, earning a personal best 9.90. Shannon Golich and Ana Balboa tied for second place, each scoring 9.875. Balboa’s score was her personal best.
For the first time this season, Minnesota had two all around competitors. Kendra Elm and Kayla Slechta tied for second place in the all around, each earning a total of 39.125. Slechta’s score of 39.125 is the best by a Gopher gymnast in her first appearance as an all around competitor. She is one of only three Minnesota gymnasts to score 39 or better in her all around debut, with Annie Laatsch earning a 39.10 in 2003 and Lucy Ennis earning a 39.05 in 2010.
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.
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. For the final home meet this season, audio commentary will be provided by alums Andy Cornelius and Ashley (Stanton) Grover. Live scoring and a live blog for all home meets will also be available on www.gophersports.com, free of charge.
Players Mentioned
