University of Minnesota Athletics
No. 25 Gophers Travel to No. 14 Illinois
2/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
| No. 25 Minnesota Golden Gophers at No. 14 Illinois Illini | |
| Date | Saturday, February 7, 2015 |
| Time | 4 p.m. CT |
| Location | Huff Hall / University of Illinois / Champaign, Ill. |
| Tickets | University of Illinois |
| Streaming | Illinois All-Access ($) |
| Live Stats | Illinois Live Stats |
| Preview/Notes | Minnesota / Illinois |
| Social Media | @GopherWGym / Facebook |
The Top 10.0 Things You Need to Know
1.0 - The No. 25 University of Minnesota women's gymnastics team (3-2) will travel to Champaign, Ill. on Saturday afternoon for a head-to-head conference match up with the No. 14 University of Illinois Illini. The Gophers are fresh off two conference wins, one away at Michigan State and one at home against Ohio State. Competition is set to begin at 4 p.m. CT in Huff Hall on the University of Illinois campus. To follow the action, including line ups and in-meet scores, please follow @GopherWGym on Twitter or use the hashtag #AlwaysGolden.
2.0 - The Gophers currently sit in a four-way tie for second place in the Big Ten Conference after victories over the Spartans and Buckeyes. Last weekend the Gophers earned their second conference win over Ohio State where they scored their second highest score of the season, 196.325. Minnesota's highest score was the weekend before at Michigan State where they recorded a season-high 196.875. With the win over the Buckeyes, the Gophers improved to 3-2 on the season. The Gophers swept the competition, earning four event titles and the all-around crown to seal the win in Minneapolis.
3.0 - Junior Lindsay Mable has paced the Gophers this season earning five consecutive all-around crowns and 11 individual event titles. Last weekend, Mable outpaced the field during the competition, posting an all-around score of 39.500 to earn the coveted top spot. Mable tied her season-high on vault with a 9.9 while setting a new season record with a 9.950 on floor exercise. She has now earned two straight floor exercise titles en route to 11 overall. Mable has earned Big Ten Gymnast of the Week laurels twice this season. Individually, Mable ranks 12th in the nation in terms of her season average all-around score.
4.0 - No. 25 Minnesota is currently ranked 20th on vault (48.944), 21st on beam (48.669), 28th on bars (48.625) and 36th on floor (48.625). The Maroon and Gold return to GymInfo's Top 25 poll after a two week hiatus.
6.0 - Former Gopher gymnast Jenny Hansen made her head coaching debut when the Gophers hosted Iowa State. The Ripon, Wis. native competed for the Maroon and Gold from 2000-2003 and has served in numerous positions within the program. University of Alabama standout Geralen Stack-Eaton and local club coach Rich Stenger have rounded out Hansen's staff and have been hard at work in prepartion for the Gophers' 2015 campaign.
7.0 - The Gophers returned 9 gymnasts from 2014 including two-time All-American and Big Ten all-around Champion, Lindsay Mable, as well as Gopher standouts in seniors Jenny Covers and Cierra Tomson. Minnesota had a successful 2014 season where they won their second consecutive Big Ten regular season title and advanced to the NCAA Regional held at the University of Minnesota. Minnesota welcomed five new members to the family at the beginning of the academic year. Freshmen Abby DeMuse, Bailey Gardner, Ciara Gardner, Hannah Hitchcock and Rachel Rowland will make their regular season debut when the Gophers host Iowa State on Saturday. At the annual intrasquad meet, Gardner placed third in the all-around and DeMuse finished in a tie for second place on the bars (9.750) and fourth on floor (9.750).
8.0 - The Maroon and Gold will host six home meets during the 2015 season including the Big Ten Qualifier featuring Iowa, Michigan, Penn State and Rutgers on March 14. Last season, six Big Ten teams finished the 2014 season ranked in the top 25 teams in the country. Minnesota finished the season ranked 14th nationally. To purchase tickets for the Gophers' home competitions, please visit MyGopherSports.Com.
9.0 - The back-to-back Big Ten Conference regular season champions were tabbed to place fifth in the Big Ten this season. Juniors Lindsay Mable and Madeline Hanley were named as gymnasts to watch this season. The University of Michigan women's gymnastics team earned the coveted top spot in the coaches' poll while No. 2 Nebraska and No. 3 Illinois round out the top three. Minnesota will match up with Maryland on Thursday. The Terrapins earned the seventh place spot in the preseason poll.
10.0 - Keep up with the Maroon and Gold throughout the season by following @GopherWGym on Twitter and Instagram and Minnesota Women's Gymnastics on Facebook. To join the conversation, use the hashtag #AlwaysGolden.
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Players Mentioned
