University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Windy City Invitational
Gophers Finish 5th in the Windy City
1/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
CHICAGO - The No. 7 University of Minnesota men's gymnastics team opened its 2015 campaign on Saturday night by traveling to Chicago to compete in the 45th annual Windy City Invitational. In their opening event, the Gophers scored a 410.45 and earned fifth place among Big Ten competitors and the host of the event, UIC.
The six-team meet featuring Illinois, Michigan, Ohio State, Iowa, Minnesota and the University of Illinois-Chicago ended with the Illini earning the team crown with a score of 428.100. Michigan and Ohio State rounded out the top three while longtime rival, Iowa, finished in fourth place.
Last weekend Minnesota scored a 428.000 in its annual Alumni Meet and the low score tallied at the Windy City Initiationials has head coach Mike Burns ready to get back into the gym and make some changes.
"Like any coach, I need to identify the problems and find a solution so we don't perform like we did tonight," said Burns. "We have nowhere to go but up from here and the coaches as well as the student-athletes are all feeling a bit disappointed in tonight's performances but there is an amazing amount of pride on this team. The effort each of us will put in the gym this week will be focused on solving the problems we had tonight."
On floor, the Maroon and Gold scored a team total of 68.550 with freshman Joel Gagnon leading the way with an individual mark of 14.550. The next closest score for the Gophers was tallied by Sean Bauer with a 13.900. Gagnon's score earned him a top-five finish on the event in his official Gopher debut. Bauer rounded out the top fifteen participants in a tie for 13th place.
The lowest team score of the evening for the Maroon and Gold was pommel horse where reigning Big Ten and NCAA Champion, Ellis Mannon, earned a 13.7000. Minnesota's final event score was a 65.900.
Senior Steve Jaciuk had a solid evening on still rings and parallel bars posting a 14.500 and 14.550 respectively. The score landed him in the top ten on rings and third place on parallel bars when the competition concluded. Minnesota finished those rotations with a 69.950 and 69.000 respectively.
The vault was the key event for the Maroon and Gold as they scored a team-high 70.750 points. Senior Jack Metcalf tallied a 14.500 for the Gophers toward their team score while Mannon (14.200) and Gagnon each contributed decent scores for the squad.
Junior Danny DiBendetto excelled on bar and pommel horse for the Maroon and Gold with a team-high 14.000 on the bar. It marked one of his two appearances on the night. He scores a 13.400 on pommel horse, the second highest team score behind Mannon.
Mannon was the lone Gopher who competed in each of the six events. His all-around score of 83.050 put him in fourth place among seven all-around competitors.
"This is a talented group and we just have to do a better job of coaching them and rebuilding their confidence after tonight's performance," said Burns. "I look forward to how these guys will bounce back from a set back like tonight."
Next weekend, the Gophers are back in action as they host Air Force at the Sports Pavilion. The home event marks Minnesota's first regular season home competition of four scheduled throughout the season. The event is set to begin at 5 p.m. CT. Tickets can be purchased at mygophersports.com.
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