University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Big Ten Championships
Gophers Shine in B1G Event Finals
3/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 6 University of Minnesota men's gymnastics team sent eight gymnasts to the individual event finals of the Big Ten Championships on Saturday evening after finishing fourth in the team competition last night.
Senior Ellis Mannon defended his Big Ten pommel horse title and was named to the First Team All-Big Ten. Fellow senior Steve Jaciuk and freshman Yaroslav Pochinka both put together solid performances and were named to the Second Team All-Big Ten on Saturday evening following their championship performances.
With a score of 15.525, Mannon tallied his second highest score of the season on the apparatus to defend the title he won just a year ago. Mannon improved on his score from the team finals on Friday evening by .525. Last season, Mannon became the first Big Ten champion since Zach Chase tied for first place on the vault in 2011.
"We had another successful night at the Big Ten Individual Event Finals," said Minnesota head coach Mike Burns. "Ellis Mannon put on another display of complete dominance on the pommel horse tonight, winning his second straight B1G Pommel Horse title."
With tonight's title, Mannon becomes the first Gopher gymnast to claim back-to-back championships on a single appartus in over two decades. Joey Ray won four parallel bar championships from 1981-84, Dean Schawbold won back-to-back championships in 1936-37 and John Roethlisberger won two on the event in 1991-92. Jim Peterson won two high bar titles in 1947-48. Mark McKiernan won pommbel horse back-to-back in 1989-90.
"Our parents, friends and girlfriends are really good about traveling to as many meets as theycan so we had some great support," said Mannon. "We had a great day today. There were a lot of talented guys out there but we will bring some hardware back to Minnesota so it was a great experience. I threw the hardest routine I could and managed to get it done."
Pochinka's noteworthy freshman campaign continued to impress as he tallied a 15.250 on vault to earn second place in the conference.With counting his performance in Friday's team event finals, this was Pochinka's fifth collegiate competition appearance. On Friday, he earned a 15.100 on the apparatus to contribute to the team score.
"Yaro Pochinka nailed his handspring double front on vault to win the silver medal," said Burns. "He's been a real star for us on this event since he returned from his hand injury."
Jaciuk, who competed in two events on Saturday evening, earned a third place finish on parallel bars with a season-high 15.325.
"Steve Jaciuk put on a sticking clinic on the still rings and parallel bars, sticking both dismounts," said Burns. "Steve continues to lead by example and the ice water is flowing smoothly through this young man's veins!"
Five other Gopher gymnasts joined Saturday's action to represent Minnesota and contributed to the peak night of performances.
On floor exercise, freshman Joel Gagnon earned a 14.425, good for a sixth place finish. Senior Sean Bauer tallied a 12.525 which earned him 10th overall in the conference. Bauer was also named as the Gophers' Sportsmanship Award recipient.
On pommel horse, junior co-captain Paul Montague, Jr. notched a 13.800, ranking him 10th.Senior Steve Jaciuk impressed on the still rings earning a 15.275 and placed him fifth overall. His score is the second highest of the season. Fellow senior Jack Metcalf finished eighth with a score of 15.050.
Montague, who was one of two Gophers to participate in the individual event finals, finished in fourth place behind Jaciuk on parallel bars as he put up an individual mark of 14.975.
The Big Ten Championship individual event finals come one day after the team competition where the Maroon and Gold took fourth overall.
Next up, the squad will prepare for the NCAA qualifying round which will be held in Norman, Ok., on Thursday, April 9. The 2015 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships will span over two days, April 10-11.
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