University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Iowa / UIC
1/31/2019 12:45:00 PM | Men's Gymnastics
Video Preview: Burns Turn 1/29
The No. 6 Gopher men's gymnastics team will head south and escape the Polar Vortex this weekend for a tri-meet on Feb. 2 against No. 9 Iowa and No. 18 UIC in Iowa City, Iowa.
It's Minnesota's second meeting with both teams this weekend as the teams previously competed together at the Windy City Invitational hosted by UIC on Jan. 19. The competition will kick off at 2 p.m.
"We're driving down Friday afternoon and we'll come back Saturday after the competition. We're hoping that by the time we leave Friday the temperature will start to come back up," head coach Mike Burns said. "We've still got to finalize our lineup, we obviously want to put our best lineup forward to get a good score on the road and hopefully two victories on the road as well."
The Gophers will look to build off of a solid first dual against Michigan last weekend, where they earned their best team score of the season with a 408.300. Minnesota also managed new season highs on floor, rings, vault and parallel bars. The Gophers made strides in areas that they were struggling with: pommel horse and floor, and are now ranked within the top 10 on each event.
To watch Coach Burns preview the tri-meet his own words, don't miss this week's episode of Burn's Turn over on Facebook, and be sure to follow the Gophers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for meet coverage and live stream and stats information.
Last Time Out
Even though Minnesota was edged by Michigan in Saturday's home meet, there was plenty for the Gophers to be proud of. Beyond the best team score of the season, Minnesota had six podium finishers by meet's end. Senior Justin Karstadt took first on pommel horse (13.700) and sophomore Shane Wiskus came in second (13.4350). Senior captain Shaun Herzog had a great day that culminated with a second place finish on vault with a 14.750, Minnesota's best score of the season. Wiskus took second on parallel bars (14.300) while freshman David Pochinka took third (14.250), and Wiskus rounded out the day in a tie for third on high bar with senior teammate Michael Harris (13.550). Wiskus scored an 82.900 in the All-Around, the fifth-highest score in the NCAA this season.
Gophers in the Rankings
Minnesota climbed one spot in this week's Road to Nationals ranking to No. 6 after the team's improvement against Michigan. The Gophers are now nationally ranked in the top 10 on every event: No. 10 on rings, No. 8 on floor, No. 7 on pommel horse and high bar, No. 4 on vault and No. 2 on parallel bars. Justin Karstadt remains ranked on pommel horse at No. 5, and senior captain Vitali Kan and Shane Wiskus are both ranked No. 10 in vault and parallel bars, respectively. Wiskus is also ranked No. 6 All-Around after two meets competed.
The Road Ahead
Minnesota competes at home just once in the month of February, for a dual meet against Arizona State on Feb. 9. The meet will be at 2:30 p.m. at Maturi Pavilion and will also be broadcast on BTN Plus. It's Goldy's Kids Club Day at the Pav, with free signed posters available to GKC members at the marketing table, as well as a post-meet handstand contest. Be sure to bring your appetites, as Feb. 9 is National Pizza Day and we'll be serving up free slices to University students while supplies last! For more information on home promos and tickets, check out our promotions calendar!
New Year, New Leaders
The Gophers are anchored this season by a brand new set of captains. Chosen by their team and outgoing seniors, junior Timmy Kutyla and seniors Vitali Kan and Shaun Herzog are serving as this year's Gophers leaders. Kan is a two-time All-American on vault and is currently ranked No. 10 on the event, while Herzog had a breakout season last year that saw him finishing with six career-highs and All-American honors on rings. He set season highs in last week's meet against Michigan on pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and high bar. Kutyla is the only junior on the team and has scored on parallel bars and high bar in every meet this season.
