University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Air Force
Gophers Earn Win Over Air Force
1/21/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
No. 5 Minnesota topped No. 10 Air Force 407.700 to 395.350 on Saturday afternoon at the Sports Pavilion. In the second meet of the year, the Gophers' team score improved by over ten points.
"I'm really pleased with the improvement from last week," head coach Mike Burns said. "I saw a lot more focus and nice number of stuck dismounts. We still don't have our strongest lineup, so I can see us continue to build."
As a team, Minnesota scored a 68.250 on floor, 67.950, 72.050 on vault, 66.800 on parallel bars and 66.500 on high bar.
Golden Gophers claimed the top four scores on floor, as sophomore Vitali Kan was named the event champion with a 14.100. Joel Gagnon scored a 13.950 followed by Luke Aldrich's 13.850 and Shaun Herzog's 13.300.
Junior Justin Karstadt led the team on pommel horse with a 14.250 for silver. Tristan Duran posted a 14.050 for bronze, and Alex Wittenberg's 13.950 was a personal record for fourth.
Yaroslav Pochinka placed third on rings with a 13.600 for Minnesota's highest mark. Kan (13.450) and Jalon Stephens (13.150) both notched career bests for fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Pochinka again led the Gophers and was named vault champion after a 15.100, becoming the first gymnast to break the 15.000 barrier on vault in 2017. Kan notched another personal record, 14.800, for third place. Karstadt rounded out Minnesota's top finishers with a 14.300.
"Pochinka's vault was the absolute highlight of the meet," Burns said. "It was well deserved."
On parallel bars, junior Joel Gagnon recorded a career high 14.000 for second place. Duran's 13.900 earned him bronze, and Ben Winkel finished fifth with a 13.450.
Herzog scored a 13.600 to tie for silver on high bar to lead the maroon and gold squad. Gagnon finished fourth with a 13.550. Stephens took home sixth with a 13.250.
While Minnesota did not have any gymnasts compete all-around, the team's lone rookie Timmy Kutyla made his collegiate debut on parallel bars (12.550) and high bar (13.200).
"I was happy to see [Kutyla] make the lineup and have his first career as a Gopher," Burns said. "He went out and did a nice job on parallel bars, and an outstanding job on high bar."
Next Up
The Gophers are set to travel to Champaign, Ill. next for a conference meet against the Fighting Illini on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 4:00 p.m.
Players Mentioned
