University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Nebraska / UIC
Players Mentioned
Gophers Finish Second at Tumble Rumble
2/23/2019 4:28:00 PM | Men's Gymnastics
Meet Results (PDF)
It was an exciting day in Lincoln, Neb. as gymnastics and wrestling collided at the Bob Devaney Sports Center for the Tumble Rumble. Inclement weather pushed the day's wrestling dual to coincide with a gymnastics tri-meet of No. 4 Minnesota, No. 8 Nebraska and No. 18 UIC, and it all came down to the last event.
The Gophers scored a 403.600 and were edged by just 1.05 points by the home team to take second in the meet.
"Overall it was a very exciting competition, unfortunately we came out on the short end of that stick," head coach Mike Burns said. "Nebraska wrestling and Nebraska gymnastics put on a great show, shout out to their events department for making this happen."
Despite missing out on the meet title, Minnesota had plenty of solid performances on the day, especially from its underclassmen. Freshman Mike Moran took the event title on floor, his first ever, with a career-high 14.400. He also came in third on vault with a new best 14.550. Sophomores Colton Dee and Shane Wiskus came in first on rings and parallel bars, respectively, with scores of 13.600 and 14.250. Wiskus also added a third place finish on high bar with a 13.900. Rookies David Pochinka and Danny Yoon also took bronze on pommel horse (12.900) and rings (13.400).
"I want to give a big shout out to the freshmen. The freshmen stepped up and they were solid," Burns said. "They did a really good job and I'm proud of all of those guys."
Seniors Vitali Kan and Justin Karstadt rounded out the podium finishes with a pair of silvers. Kan scored a 14.350 on floor and Karstadt earned a 13.200 on horse. Karstadt also claimed third on parallel bars (14.100).
It was the first five up, five count meet of the season, and all scores counted.
Pommel Horse
The Gophers got their start to the day on pommel horse. Karstadt, ranked No. 10 on the event, led Minnesota with a score of 13.200, good for second place. The Gophers came away with a 61.500, second-best of the meet.
Rings
Freshman Danny Yoon got the Gophers set the tone on rings as he set a new career high of 13.400, which was good to tie for third. Dee was up next and earned his second-best score of the season, a 13.600, to finish first. The Gophers scored a 65.500 on the event, second-best overall.
Floor
Minnesota had its best floor day of the year on Saturday, setting a new season best of 70.100, also top of the meet. The rotation pushed the team from third to second place. Four Gophers set new season highs on the event: Moran, Kan, Dee and freshman Garrett Kasiski. Moran led the way with his 14.400 for first place, which also ties the Gophers' best floor score of the season, previously set by fellow freshman Eric Nakamura. Kan was not far behind with a 14.350 for second, and Dee and Kasiski scored 13.950 and 13.900 for sixth and seventh place.
Parallel Bars
Wiskus led Minnesota on parallel bars for the second consecutive meet with a 14.250 for the event title. Karstadt was Minnesota's next best finisher with a14.100 for third place. Senior Ben Winkel scored a season-best 13.900 and took sixth place. The Gophers earned a 69.400 total, the day's top score.
High Bar
Minnesota recorded a new season high of 66.900 on high bar, which Nebraska bested by just .050. Wiskus earned a 13.900, first among Gophers and third overall. Senior Michael Harris was just held off the podium with a 13.450, good for fourth place and a new season best. Karstadt also set a new 2019 high in his third appearance on the event with a 13.350 for sixth place.
Vault
One of Minnesota's best events was saved for last: vault. The team had a few points to make up to catch the Huskers, but fell just short in the end. The Gophers finished with a 70.200. Moran and freshman Ben Eyles were highlights on the event, scoring 14.550 and 14.450 to take third and fourth. Wiskus earned a 14.400 to finish right behind in fifth.
The Road Ahead
The Gophers have one more road meet before returning home for consecutive weekends. They will head to Champaign, Ill. to face off against No. 11 Illinois and No. 2 Stanford on March 2 at 2 p.m. It is one of Minnesota's Big Ten meets that will count in the race for the first-ever Big Ten Regular Season Championship.