University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Head to Hawkeye State for Two Meet Weekend
2/22/2012 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Feb. 22, 2012
The University of Minnesota heads to the Hawkeye State this weekend for a pair of meets this weekend. The Gophers will face Iowa on Friday night at 7 p.m. and Iowa State Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. Minnesota is coming off a spectacular performance last weekend against Nebraska, where they posted a season-best score of 196.150.
Last Week: No. 9 Nebraska
Minnesota put together by far its strongest performance of the season, but it was not enough to get past No. 9 Nebraska as the Huskers defeated the Gophers, 196.850 to 196.150, in front of 1,778 at the Sports Pavilion Saturday night in Minneapolis.
Junior Janelle Campbell tied for first on the floor exercise and senior Lucy Ennis and sophomore Dusti Russell captured top-3 finishes on bars and beam, respectively, as the Gophers posted a season-high team total to go along with season-best team scores in three of four events.
The Gophers' first two rotations were arguably their most consistent of the season. Minnesota recorded a season-tying high score of 49.050 on vault and a season-best score of 48.950 on bars for a total of 98.000 points through two events.
Sophomore Kayla Slechta was the top scorer on vault for Minnesota and equaled her season-high with a score of 9.875. Other notable performances were turned in by Russell, who scored a career-best vault of 9.850, and freshman Cierra Tomson, who scored a 9.825 to equal her career best on the apparatus.
The Gophers' results on bars, an apparatus Minnesota had struggled on this season, were also very strong. Ennis posted the meet's third-best score with a season-high tying mark of 9.850, and Campbell equaled her season-best mark of the year with a 9.800. Two Gophers notched career marks, with Tomson earning a 9.825 for her routine and Russell receiving a 9.750 from the judges.
The Gophers kept the pressure on during the third rotation, recording their second-best beam score of the year with 48.900 points. Russell rode a season-high score of 9.875 to finish in the third, while Tomson continued her strong night with a career-high score of 9.750.
Minnesota closed the gap to its smallest margin of the evening during the fourth and final rotation with a season-high point total of 49.250. The Gophers received four of the top five scores in the event, led by Campbell's career-tying high score of 9.900. Slechta and Russell tied for third with a scores of 9.850, while Tomson and freshman Kylie Schermann tied for fifth with scores of 9.825.
Weekly One-Uppers
Each of the past two weekends, the Gophers have set a new season-high score as a team. This past weekend at home again Nebraska, Minnesota tallied a season-high 196.150. It is the second-highest score that the Gophers have achieved since the 2004 season when they surpassed the mark four times.
High Scoring on Floor
All six of Minnesota's floor exercise participants recorded a score of 9.800 or higher on the event en route to a season-best team score of 49.250. It is the first time all season that each participant on any event has scored a 9.800 or higher.
Regaining Rank
The Maroon and Gold are back in the Top 25 GymInfo National Rankings after sitting just outside the past four weeks. Minnesota jumped six spots from last week's rankings to No. 22, thanks to the season-high score of 196.150. Currently, the Gophers are ranked in the Top 25 in three events: vault (20), beam (23) and floor (17).
Golich on the Beam
Junior Shannon Golich sits tied for 22nd in the country on the balance beam. This season she has put together an average score of 9.825 on the apparatus.
High Scores All Around
Sophomore Dusti Russell and freshman Cierra Tomson set new personal best scores in the all around competition this past weekend against Nebraska. Russell recorded a score of 39.325 while Tomson garnered a 39.225.
Russell has no recorded a score of 39.000 or higher in the all around each of the past three weekends.
RQS Begins
Following this weekend's competitions, Minnesota will have the required number of meets to receive a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS). The RQS is what qualifies teams and competitors for regional competitions. A RQS is calculated by compiling your top three home and top three road scores together. The highest score of those six is dropped, and the remaining five are averaged to calculate a team/competitors RQS.
Cherwink Suffers Another Setback
Sophomore Justine Cherwink will miss the first half of the 2012 season, due to a torn achilles, which she suffered back in October. The Aledo, Texas native missed much of last season because of a similar injury but with the opposite leg. Her rehab is currently on schedule and a return this season is highly anticipated.
Next Week: No. 7 Arkansas
The Gophers continue their two-week road swing as they head to No. 7 Arkansas. It will be the first time this season that Minnesota will have faced a Southeastern Conference school. The meet begins at 7 p.m. in Fayetteville, Ark., and it will be held in Barnhill Arena.
Follow the Action
All home meets except the Nebraska meet can be watched live by signing up for Gopher All-Access. Each web stream will be accompanied with live commentary from former gymnasts Jamie Bullock and Jade Beattie DeSmidt. Live scoring updates can also be found on the schedule page at GopherSports.com.
Gopher Facebook/Twitter
For the latest and most updated information on Minnesota women's gymnastics check out the team on Facebook and Twitter.
Get Score Updates on Your Phone
Fans can get scoring updates from all Golden Gopher athletics through the Twitter account @GopherScores. Just find and follow @GopherScores, then set up your phone or mobile device to receive text updates.
Players Mentioned
