University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Illinois
Gophers Fall to Illinois
1/28/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
No. 5 Minnesota fell to No. 3 Illinois 416.500 to 413.750 on Saturday evening in Champaign, Ill. The Gophers again improved its team score, and moved to 3-4 on the season.
"I'm really proud of how the team fought right to the end of the meet," head coach Mike Burns said. "Illinois gave us a real battle, and I was happy to know that we were able to keep the heat on them throughout the meet."
As a team, Minnesota scored a 70.900 on floor, 66.850 on pommel horse, 69.000 on rings, 71.250 on vault, 67.350 on parallel bars and 68.100 on high bar.
Shaun Herzog led Minnesota on floor with a 14.600 for second place. Alex Wittenberg followed with a 14.500 to tie for third with Illinois member Alex Diab. Vitali Kan rounded out the top-three finishers for the Gophers with a fifth place finish and score of 14.400.
Kan earned silver on pommel horse with a 13.600. Tristan Duran and Justin Karstadt followed for third and fourth with scores of 13.550 and 13.450, respectively.
Senior Mitchell Soukup returned to rings after missing the start of the season due to injury. Soukup led the team with a second-place score of 14.450. Jalon Stephens notched a personal record of 13.950 for fifth place. Karstadt tied for sixth with a 13.900.
Kan was named event champion on vault after securing a personal record of 14.850. Karstadt notched a 14.700 for third, while Stephens tallied a 14.200 for sixth place and another career best.
Stephens placed second on parallel bars with a 14.000 to lead the team. Karstadt tied for third with a 13.700, and Ryan Bergman picked up fifth with a 13.500.
On high bar, Stephens again led Minnesota with a bronze finish of 14.200. Duran followed for fifth with a 14.000, and Joel Gagnon placed seventh with a 13.800.
"We have a few spots we will definitely work on in practice this week as we prepare for a very strong Nebraska team," Burns said. "I feel like our team came away from this meet with a real hunger as we look to continue building on a weekly basis."
Next Up
The Golden Gophers will return to the Sports Pavilion on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 2:30 p.m. to host Nebraska and Minnesota's club team. Tickets are available at mygophersports.com.
Players Mentioned
