University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers to Open 2016 at Windy City Invitational
1/14/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota men's gymnastics team, ranked fifth in the Big Ten Preseason Poll, will kick off the 2016 regular-season this weekend at the 46th annual Windy City Invitational in Chicago, Ill. The meet is set to start Sunday at 3:00 p.m. CT at the UIC Pavilion.
ABOUT THE WINDY CITY INVITATIONAL
The Windy City Invitational has been the season kick off event for 46 years, which qualifies it as the nation's oldest and largest regular-season gymnastics meet. The Gophers will face Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State and UIC. The event serves as an early test to determine where the Maroon and Gold stand among conference competition.
LAST TIME OUT
At last year's Windy City Invite, the Gophers finished fifth out of six with a score of 410.45. Big Ten rival, Illinois, claimed first place with a final score of 428.100 followed by Michigan, Ohio State and Iowa. UIC rounded out the competition behind Minnesota.
A standout for Minnesota was sophomore Joel Gagnon who tallied a 14.550 on floor. The Regina, Sask. native's mark was good enough for a top five finish in his official Gopher debut.
OPPONENTS
Two of Minnesota's opponents for this weekend got their season started against one another last weekend when Illinois hosted UIC in an in-state matchup. The Illini tallied a program best score in a season debut in a 432.500-374.250 victory against the Flames.
Illinois had the top score in every event including sophomore Bobby Baker, who claimed three event titles - Still Rings (14.350), Parallel Bars (14.600) and High Bar (15.200).
Baker became the 10th gymnast in program history to win a title in all six events along with at least one all-around crown. The sophomore accomplished this feat, the quickest Illini to do so, after accumulating seven titles in 18 meets.
Five returning gymnasts account for eight All-America laurels including Baker, redshirt sophomore Chandler Eggleston, seniors Joey Peters, Logan Bradley and Fred Hartville.
NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Maroon and Gold enter the 2016 season ranked No. 8 in the College Gymnastics Association (CGA) Coaches Poll. Six other Big Ten teams make up the top-20 with Ohio State (2), Penn State (4), Michigan (5), Illinois (6), Iowa (9) and Nebraska (10) all checking in on the preseason rankings.
Within the conference, Minnesota was ranked fifth in the preseason conference Coaches' Poll. Ohio State, Penn State, Illinois and Michigan were all tabbed ahead of the Maroon and Gold. Iowa and Nebraska were ranked sixth and seventh, respectively.
Senior Paul Montague Jr. and sophomore Yaroslav Pochinka were named to the Big Ten Preseason Gymnasts to Watch list.
Last weekend, six teams began their seasons and have been ranked on RoadToNationals.com, accordingly. The site is the hub for all team standings and rankings for the competition season.
1. Illinois - Big Ten - Region E: 432.500
2. Penn State - Big Ten - Region E: 424.450
3. Army - EIGL - Region E: 403.400
4. Arizona State - Club - Region C: 400.000
5. UIC - EIGL - Region E: 374.250
6. SC United - Club - Region C: 299.100
As a team, Illinois has the leading team score on Pommel Horse (74.750), Vault (73.050), Parallel Bars (70.650) and the High Bar (73.100). Penn State holds the top spot on Floor (72.900) and Still Rings (72.000).
LOOKING AHEAD
Following the Gophers' trip to Chicago, the Maroon and Gold will return home to the Sports Pavilion to take on Penn State in their first conference match-up of the season.
FOLLOW THE GOPHERS
Are you following the Gophers on the road or from home? Make sure to follow @GopherWGym on Twitter and use the team's hashtag #WhyNotUs. You can also check for updates on Facebook and Instagram by "liking" Minnesota Men's Gymnastics on Facebook or following the Gophers on Instagram.
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