University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Travel to Nebraska to Face Huskers, Illini
3/8/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
| Minnesota vs. Nebraska/Illinois | |
Date | Sunday, March 11 |
Time | 1 p.m. CT |
Location | Lincoln, Neb. (Bob Devaney Sports Center) |
Social Media | Facebook | @GopherMensGym |
The University of Minnesota men's gymnastics team will go for its seventh straight victory this weekend as the team travels to Lincoln, Nebraska to take on Big Ten opponents Nebraska and Illinois.
The Gophers are coming off a home victory over Iowa and Brockport, where they tallied a new season-high score of 347.0.
"I'm definitely pleased with the team's progress and the improvements we have experienced over the past six meets," head coach Mike Burns said. "But these next three meets will tell us how tough we really are. We face the top three teams in the country over the next three weekends. It will be very challenging but also a great opportunity to make a statement about who we are. We still need to increase the crispness of our sets to keep our scores as high as possible so we can stay in the hunt."
Minnesota is currently ranked sixth in the nation, including a No. 2 overall ranking on vault and a No. 3 ranking on the parallel bars. Nebraska sits at No. 10, while Illinois is ranked ahead of the Gophers at No. 3.
The Gophers have already defeated the Huskers twice this season, but Minnesota knows better than to look past them.
"Nebraska is coming off a strong meet last weekend, and it looks like they are starting to gel as a team," Burns said. "They could put together another good meet and surprise us, so we won't take them lightly."
This will be Minnesota's second time competing against the University of Illinois. The two teams met at the Windy City Invitational in mid-January, with Illinois finishing second and Minnesota placing fourth out of six.
"Illinois is a very strong team and, like us, they are putting the final polish on their routines," Burns said. "I expect them to be a very tough opponent. But tough opponents can sometimes bring out the best in a team!"
With only three meets remaining before the Big Ten Championships, the team is working hard to perfect their routines and eliminate any errors from their performances.
"Our top priority is increasing our standards in the gym as we head into the final portion of our season," Burns said. "With all of the physical preparation, our guys have reached a high level of fitness and are very capable of getting through their routines. The key to a strong performance now is the mental toughness each guy must demonstrate during the meet. It's the time of year where we need to reduce the deductions on every routine we do in practice, in order to prepare for the Championship meets next month."
The meet will take place on Sunday, March 11th at 1pm CT.
