University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, January 26
Maturi Pavilion
1:30 PM
University of Minnesota
vs
Michigan
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
Photo by: Bruce Kluckhohn
Minnesota Edged by Michigan in First Home Meet
1/26/2019 4:29:00 PM | Men's Gymnastics
Meet Results (PDF) | Photo Gallery
The Gophers notched their best meet score of the season, but the No. 7 Minnesota men's gymnastics team was beaten by the No. 5 Michigan Wolverines 413.150-408.300 on Saturday at Maturi Pavilion.
Minnesota recorded season highs on floor, rings, vault and parallel bars and had a lead over Michigan heading into the last rotation, but the Wolverines scored the second-highest mark in the NCAA this season to overcome the Gophers.
"We had a lead going into the last event and we really needed to be on our game on high bar, we had a couple of missed routines," head coach Mike Burns said. "We had some great stuff today overall, I was really happy with the improvement from last week, which is really key to sports. You just want to get a little bit better each week, but Michigan was a bit better than us this week."
The meet showed some signs of improvement for Minnesota, as the team improved from a 399.800 last weekend at the Windy City Invitational to score a 408.300 Saturday.
The Gophers bested the Wolverines on two of their strongest events, vault and parallel bars, but also saw marked progress on pommel horse. An area of struggle last week, Minnesota put up a 65.700 to its Windy City score of 62.800.
"Pommel horse was a huge improvement from last week at Windy City," Burns said. "That was very rewarding for me and the guys were pretty excited."
Senior Justin Karstadt was the day's best finisher on the event with a 13.700, while sophomore Shane Wiskus came in second with a 13.450. The Gophers had four other podium finishers on the day. Senior captain Shaun Herzog finished in second place on vault with a stuck 14.750, Wiskus and freshman David Pochinka took second and third on parallel bars with scores of 14.300 and 14.250, respectively, and senior Michael Harris and Wiskus tied for came in third on high bar with a score of 13.550. Wiskus took second in the All-Around with an 82.900.
Michigan's Cameron Bock took the All-Around title with a score of 84.700 and was also the top finisher on rings, parallel bars and high bar.
Floor
After two weeks starting at the end of Olympic order, the Gophers took the floor first on Saturday. Shane Wiskus was Minnesota's top finisher in fifth place with a 14.000. Freshmen Mike Moran and Eric Nakamura followed right behind with season-high scores of 13.950 and 13.800 to come in sixth and seventh, respectively. Minnesota was also able to set a season team high score of 68.400 on the event.
Pommel Horse
What was the Gophers' weakest area last week was a bright spot for them this week. Minnesota scored a 65.700 on pommel horse, 2.9 points better than its Windy City mark. Justin Karstadt, ranked No. 4 nationally on the event, led the way with a 13.700 for first place. Wiskus took second overall with a 13.450 and sophomore Henry Meeker hit a season high score of 12.650. Sophomore Russell Johnson made his competition debut this season on the event and scored an 11.050.
Rings
Wiskus was the Gophers' top finisher on rings. He has improved every week this season on the event and scored a 13.800, good for fourth place. Herzog set a new season high with his 13.500 and came in sixth. Meeker made his first appearance on the event this season and notched a 13.150, good to tie for eighth. Minnesota finished rings with a final score of 67.050, a new season high.
Vault
Minnesota once again showed its dominance on vault during Saturday's meet. The Gophers, ranked No. 4 in the country on the event, recorded a new season high of 71.850, nearly an entire point higher than last week, and bested the Wolverines by .150. Herzog had another great outing and recorded a personal and team season high of 14.750 with a stuck dismount for second place. Moran also had his best score of the season and young career with a 14.450 and came in fourth. Senior Vitali Kan, ranked No. 2 on the event, took fifth with a 14.250 and Karstadt and freshman Ben Eyles tied for sixth with a 14.200.
Parallel Bars
The Gophers carried their energy from vault over to parallel bars, where they also edged the Wolverines 70.100-69.550 and grabbed a meet lead through five rotations. Wiskus had a season high 14.300, good for second place. Pochinka followed closely behind with a third-place 14.250, his best for his freshman season and Gophers career so far. Herzog continued his stellar day with a season-best 14.200 to tie for fourth, just .050 off from his career best.
High Bar
Minnesota rounded out the day on high bar. Senior Michael Harris blew his previous season high of 12.200 out of the water with a third-place 13.550. He shared the podium finish with teammate Wiskus. Herzog didn't let up in the last rotation and scored a season-high 13.350, good for sixth place. Though the Gophers put up a 65.200, the Wolverines scored a 65.950 to seal their victory.
The Road Ahead
The Gophers will head to Iowa on Feb. 2 for a tri-meet against the Hawkeyes and UIC Flames and will return home for a dual with Arizona State on Feb. 9 at 2:30 p.m. The meet falls on National Pizza Day, with free pizza for students in attendance while supplies last. It's also Goldy's Kids Club Day, with free signed posters available at the marketing table. There will also be a post-meet handstand contest and the athletes will be available for autographs!
The Gophers notched their best meet score of the season, but the No. 7 Minnesota men's gymnastics team was beaten by the No. 5 Michigan Wolverines 413.150-408.300 on Saturday at Maturi Pavilion.
Minnesota recorded season highs on floor, rings, vault and parallel bars and had a lead over Michigan heading into the last rotation, but the Wolverines scored the second-highest mark in the NCAA this season to overcome the Gophers.
"We had a lead going into the last event and we really needed to be on our game on high bar, we had a couple of missed routines," head coach Mike Burns said. "We had some great stuff today overall, I was really happy with the improvement from last week, which is really key to sports. You just want to get a little bit better each week, but Michigan was a bit better than us this week."
The meet showed some signs of improvement for Minnesota, as the team improved from a 399.800 last weekend at the Windy City Invitational to score a 408.300 Saturday.
The Gophers bested the Wolverines on two of their strongest events, vault and parallel bars, but also saw marked progress on pommel horse. An area of struggle last week, Minnesota put up a 65.700 to its Windy City score of 62.800.
"Pommel horse was a huge improvement from last week at Windy City," Burns said. "That was very rewarding for me and the guys were pretty excited."
Senior Justin Karstadt was the day's best finisher on the event with a 13.700, while sophomore Shane Wiskus came in second with a 13.450. The Gophers had four other podium finishers on the day. Senior captain Shaun Herzog finished in second place on vault with a stuck 14.750, Wiskus and freshman David Pochinka took second and third on parallel bars with scores of 14.300 and 14.250, respectively, and senior Michael Harris and Wiskus tied for came in third on high bar with a score of 13.550. Wiskus took second in the All-Around with an 82.900.
Michigan's Cameron Bock took the All-Around title with a score of 84.700 and was also the top finisher on rings, parallel bars and high bar.
Floor
After two weeks starting at the end of Olympic order, the Gophers took the floor first on Saturday. Shane Wiskus was Minnesota's top finisher in fifth place with a 14.000. Freshmen Mike Moran and Eric Nakamura followed right behind with season-high scores of 13.950 and 13.800 to come in sixth and seventh, respectively. Minnesota was also able to set a season team high score of 68.400 on the event.
Pommel Horse
What was the Gophers' weakest area last week was a bright spot for them this week. Minnesota scored a 65.700 on pommel horse, 2.9 points better than its Windy City mark. Justin Karstadt, ranked No. 4 nationally on the event, led the way with a 13.700 for first place. Wiskus took second overall with a 13.450 and sophomore Henry Meeker hit a season high score of 12.650. Sophomore Russell Johnson made his competition debut this season on the event and scored an 11.050.
Rings
Wiskus was the Gophers' top finisher on rings. He has improved every week this season on the event and scored a 13.800, good for fourth place. Herzog set a new season high with his 13.500 and came in sixth. Meeker made his first appearance on the event this season and notched a 13.150, good to tie for eighth. Minnesota finished rings with a final score of 67.050, a new season high.
Vault
Minnesota once again showed its dominance on vault during Saturday's meet. The Gophers, ranked No. 4 in the country on the event, recorded a new season high of 71.850, nearly an entire point higher than last week, and bested the Wolverines by .150. Herzog had another great outing and recorded a personal and team season high of 14.750 with a stuck dismount for second place. Moran also had his best score of the season and young career with a 14.450 and came in fourth. Senior Vitali Kan, ranked No. 2 on the event, took fifth with a 14.250 and Karstadt and freshman Ben Eyles tied for sixth with a 14.200.
Parallel Bars
The Gophers carried their energy from vault over to parallel bars, where they also edged the Wolverines 70.100-69.550 and grabbed a meet lead through five rotations. Wiskus had a season high 14.300, good for second place. Pochinka followed closely behind with a third-place 14.250, his best for his freshman season and Gophers career so far. Herzog continued his stellar day with a season-best 14.200 to tie for fourth, just .050 off from his career best.
High Bar
Minnesota rounded out the day on high bar. Senior Michael Harris blew his previous season high of 12.200 out of the water with a third-place 13.550. He shared the podium finish with teammate Wiskus. Herzog didn't let up in the last rotation and scored a season-high 13.350, good for sixth place. Though the Gophers put up a 65.200, the Wolverines scored a 65.950 to seal their victory.
The Road Ahead
The Gophers will head to Iowa on Feb. 2 for a tri-meet against the Hawkeyes and UIC Flames and will return home for a dual with Arizona State on Feb. 9 at 2:30 p.m. The meet falls on National Pizza Day, with free pizza for students in attendance while supplies last. It's also Goldy's Kids Club Day, with free signed posters available at the marketing table. There will also be a post-meet handstand contest and the athletes will be available for autographs!
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