University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Stanford/Japan/Canada
Minnesota Tops Canada, Falls to Japan and Stanford
2/25/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
The University of Minnesota finished third with a score of 405.600 in a quad-meet with the Japanese National Team (425.800), Stanford (421.550) and the Canadian National Team (392.700) on Saturday night at Burnham Pavilion.
"After an outstanding start on parallel bars, we ran into a few snags out on the West Coast," head coach Mike Burns said. "We finished strong on vault, and it was great to see seniors Zach Liebler and Mitchell Soukup back in the lineup."
It was the first meet of the season with the five-up, five-count format, which doesn't allow for a sixth competitor, or a throwaway of the lowest score.
"We definitely need to improve our hit percentage now that every score counts," Burns said. "We have a great team that underperformed tonight, and we'll just need to find a way to get better."
Minnesota began the night on parallel bars, scoring a 70.150, the program's highest score of the season. Tristan Duran led the way with a 14.500 for ninth place. Joel Gagnon followed closely with a personal record of 14.400 for tenth. Jalon Stephens posted a 14.000 to round out the team's top-three scorers with a 12th-place mark.
The Gophers scored a 62.850 on high bar. Shaun Herzog and Gagnon each posted scores of 13.100 to tie for seventh. Rookie Timmy Kutyla finished 12th with a 12.600.
On floor, Minnesota totalled for a 69.550 led by Vitali Kan's personal record of 14.750. Kan took fourth place. Alex Wittenberg scored a 14.500 for sixth, and Luke Aldrich tied for eighth with a 14.300.
The team scored a 62.950 on pommel horse. Justin Karstadt scored a 13.750 for sixth place. Kan and Aldrich tied with scores of 13.050 for tenth.
On rings, Minnesota combined for a 68.200. Yaroslav Pochinka tallied a 14.100 for eighth. Karstadt recorded a 13.850 for 13th place, and Kan finished 14th with a 13.800.
The Gophers wrapped up the meet on vault, where they totalled a 71.900. Pochinka once again led the team, scoring a 14.950 for gold. Liebler made his return and scored a 14.700 to share second place with Japan's Kiichi Takenaka. Karstadt notched a 14.400 for eighth.
Karstadt earned bronze in the all-around competition with a score of 79.950 behind Japan's Fudono and Canada's Cournoyer.
Up Next
The Golden Gophers will travel to Columbus, Ohio next for the annual Arnold Classic next Saturday, March 4 at 12:30 p.m.
Players Mentioned
