University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers on the Road for Season Finale
3/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
MINNEAPOLIS - The No. 6 University of Minnesota men's gymnastics team will travel to Lincoln, Neb. for conference action against the Penn State Nittany Lions, Iowa Hawkeyes and Nebraska Cornhuskers this weekend. The Big Ten match up is scheduled to begin at1:00 p.m. CTat the Devaney Center on Sunday afternoon.
When they met last...
The Maroon and Gold saw action against the Huskers when they traveled to Iowa City, Iowa for a tri-meet with the Hawkeyes.
The team finished second overall (433.600) defeating Nebraska's 420.250 and falling to Iowa's 435.400. Even though the squad was unable to walk away with the team victory, five Gopher gymnasts claimed event titles.
On the pommel horse, NCAA and Winter Cup champion, senior Ellis Mannon, earned his first 2015 individual regular season title with a 15.200. Junior co-captain, Paul Montague, Jr. tallied a 14.500, earning him fourth place. Montague, along with freshman Mitchell Soukup both notched 15.050 on still rings which tied them for second.
On vault, senior Sean Bauer recorded a 14.850 tying him with Nebraska's Kyle King for first. Bauer also earned a second shared title with sophomore Zach Liebler on floor with individual marks of 15.00, a season-high for both. Senior Steve Jaciuk talled a 15.150, earning the parallel bar title and tied with Iowa's Cory Paterson on high bar, both earning 14.900.
Iowa Meet Recap
Minnesota met Iowa this past weekend at itsfinal home meet of the season and bested the Hawkeyes 436.25-421.700.
On the night honoring the senior class, Minnesota gymnasts swept the team event titles and five out of the six individual event tittles. Seniors, Jaciuk, Jack Metcalf and Bauer tallied 15.30, 15.00 and 14.95, respectively to earn the top three spots on the still rings.
On vault, freshman Yaroslav Pochinka wowed the crowd in his second collegiate meet action with a 15.35 performance. The top five placements on the parallel bars belonged to Gopher gymnasts: Jaciuk (15.30 - a new career best), freshman Tristan Duran (14.75), Mannon (14.70), Montague (14.65) and junior Danny DiBenedetto (14.30). Freshman Joel Gagnon recorded a 14.60 on high bar, earning second place on the apparatus. DiBenedetto and freshman Jalon Stephens notched 14.45 and 14.40, good for fourth and fifth place.
Opponent's Results
While at Minnesota, the Iowa Hawkeyes fell to the Gophers with an overall team score of 421.700.
High bar was the sole individual event in which the team claimed with junior Jack Boyle tallying a 14.90 on the apparatus. On floor, junior Matt Loochtan earned third with an individual mark of 14.80. On the pommel horse, Hawkeye gymnasts junior Douglas Sullivan (14.65), freshman Elijah Parsells (14.45) and junior Del Vecchio Orozco (14.40) occupying second through fourth place. Sophomore Andrew Botto earned fourth on still rings with a score of 14.90 and on vault, senior Cyrus Dobre-Mofid placed third after notching a 14.55.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers faced the Illinois this past weekend and recorded their season high team score of 423.450 though ultimately falling to the Illini's 437.600. The team earned a season best 74.050 on floor.Sophomore Christopher Stephenson notched a career best 15.10.
On pommel horse, junior Ethan Lottman took second place on the apparatus with a 15.00. The Huskers were able to record another team season high score on the still rings, earning 70.600. Freshman Alex Magsman tallied a 14.65. In his first meet back from injury, senior Robbie Kocks earned a 13.65. Junior Sam Chamberlain recorded a 14.80 on vault which was followed closely by a pair of 14.75s by senior Josh Ungar and freshman Kyle King. King also earned a career best 14.15 on the parallel bars.
On the high bar, Nebraska earned a team total of 67.750 on the apparatus. Sophomore Alex Gollot recorded a 13.90 followed by Klein with a 13.70.
Gophers in the National Rankings
Minnesota moved up two spots from their previous eighth place national ranking last week to sixth place. The top three spots are held by Oklahoma, Penn State and Stanford, respectively. Six of the Big Ten teams are within the top 10 nationally.
This weekend's opponents, the Iowa Hawkeyes and Nebraska Cornhuskers occupy No. 8 and No. 11 rankings.
Mannon Named Nissen-Emery Finalist
University of Minnesota senior gymnast Ellis Mannon was named one of the six finalists for the prestigious 2015 Nissen-Emery Award, announced today by the College Gymnastics Association (CGA).The Nissen-Emery Award is given annually to the nation's outstanding senior gymnast and is the most coveted award in collegiate gymnastics. The award is named in honor of George Nissen, a three-time NCAA champion at the University of Iowa, for his contributions to the sport and Dr. Bob Emery, the 1969 recipient of the Nissen Award.
Three Gophers have received the award since 1966 including Tim LaFleur (1978), John Roethlisberger (1993) and most recently, Guillermo Alvarez (2005).
Read the full release and learn more about the Nissen-Emery Award here.
Looking Ahead
Next weekend, the Maroon and Gold will head to the two-day Big Ten Championships which will be hosted by the Penn State Nittany Lions in University Park, PA. The conference championships are tentatively set to begin at 7:00 p.m. CT on Saturday with final competition being held on Sunday.
Follow the Gophers
To follow all of the action of the University of Minnesota men's gymnastics team, follow @GopherMGym on Twitter and Instagram.
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