University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, February 9
Maturi Pavilion
2:30 PM
University of Minnesota
vs
Arizona State
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: Christopher Mitchell
Gophers Post New Highs in Home Victory
2/9/2019 6:16:00 PM | Men's Gymnastics
No. 4 Minnesota defeated No.14 Arizona State with a season-high team score of 408.600.
Photo Gallery | Meet Results
Not only did the Minnesota men's gymnastics team come away with the meet victory at Maturi Pavilion on Saturday, but the team also set some new records.
The No. 4 Gophers defeated No.14 Arizona State and the University of Minnesota Club Team with a season-high team score of 408.600 and swept the event titles for the second meet in a row. The team also set new event highs on the season on pommel horse (66.900), vault (72.050) and high bar (65.750).
Each member of the Gophers that took home an event title did so by recording a new season high. Sophomore Shane Wiskus led the way with first place finishes on vault (14.800), parallel bars (14.800) and high bar (14.200), all of which were Minnesota season highs and career highs. His parallel bars score is Minnesota's best overall since the 2017 season and the third-best in the NCAA as of Saturday evening.
Senior captains Shaun Herzog and Vitali Kan notched scores of 14.150 and 13.800 on floor and pommel horse, respectively, for the wins. Senior Justin Karstadt scored a 13.600 on rings to go home with the gold, and also competed in the all-around for the first time since his sophomore year. He recorded an 80.450 and earned the title.
"Shane Wiskus probably had the meet of his career tonight, so that was really good to see as he gets ready to go to Las Vegas next week for the Winter Cup," Burns said. "Justin Karstadt ... He cracked an 80, which was outstanding."
The Gophers managed to claim every place on the podium in every event except one.
Floor
Minnesota started the day on floor and matched a season high score of 69.250. Herzog led the way with his first-place, season best of 14.150. Freshman Mike Moran set a new career high of 13.950 for second place, which he shared with Kan. The Gophers also claimed fourth and fifth place: Freshman Eric Nakamura scored a 13.650 and Karstadt with a13.550.
Pommel Horse
The Gophers had a solid showing on pommel horse led by Kan with a season-high 13.800 for the event title. Freshman David Pochinka also recorded a season high score, 13.550, to come in second place. Wiskus took third with a 13.500 to round out Minnesota's podium finishers. Sophomores Russell Johnson and Henry Meeker both set career highs on the event: 13.100 and 12.700, and took home fourth and seventh place. The Gophers tallied a new season event high on horse with a 66.900.
Rings
Minnesota scored a 66.650 on rings, with Karstadt coming in first place with a season-best 13.600. Pochinka earned another second place finish on the day, which he shared with teammate Johnson. They scored a 13.400, a career best for Johnson. Meeker came just behind with a 13.250 for fourth place, also a career best. Nakamura recorded a 12.950 for seventh place and the best score of his young Gophers slate.
Vault
The Gophers continued to prove their dominance on vault Saturday. Wiskus's 14.800 was Minnesota's best mark all season, and Moran and Karstadt tied for second with a score of 14.350, Karstadt's best of the year. Kan, ranked No. 7 on the event, came in fourth with a 14.300 and freshman Ben Eyles notched a 14.250 for fifth. Minnesota is currently ranked No. 4 overall on vault, and its new high score of 72.050 ranks fourth-best in the NCAA as of Saturday.
Parallel Bars
Minnesota scored an even 68.000 on parallel bars, led by career-best performance from Wiskus with a 14.800 for first place. Wiskus was ranked No. 7 on the event going into Saturday's meet, and his score is the third-best in the NCAA. Parallel bars was the lone event in which the Gophers didn't claim all podium spots, with ASU's Kiwan Watts coming in second with a 13.850. Minnesota senior Ben Winkel followed closely behind with a season-best 13.750 for third place.
High Bar
Wiskus didn't slow down a bit in the last event of the day. He tallied another career high, a 14.200, to claim his third event title for the competition. Karstadt came in second with a 13.100 and Pochinka set a new best of 13.050 for third place. The Gophers came away with a 65.750, besting their previous season record of 65.500.
The Road Ahead
Most of the team has off next weekend, but Shane Wiskus and senior captain Shaun Herzog will head west to compete in the Winter Cup Feb. 15.17 in Las Vegas, Nev. Preliminary competition will begin at 8:30 p.m. CST on Friday and the finals will kick off at 9:15 p.m. Sunday. Former Gopher NCAA Champion, Big Ten Champion and All-American Ellis Mannon will also compete, along with future Gopher Crew Bold. USA Gymnastics will stream all sessions of the competition live on YouTube. The Gophers get back to team action for a road tri-meet against Nebraska and UIC in Lincoln, Neb. on Feb. 23.
Not only did the Minnesota men's gymnastics team come away with the meet victory at Maturi Pavilion on Saturday, but the team also set some new records.
The No. 4 Gophers defeated No.14 Arizona State and the University of Minnesota Club Team with a season-high team score of 408.600 and swept the event titles for the second meet in a row. The team also set new event highs on the season on pommel horse (66.900), vault (72.050) and high bar (65.750).
"Very pleased with the outcome today, the guys really put on a good show," head coach Mike Burns said. "We're not as polished as we'd like to be yet, but we're starting to get there. I'm really seeing this team get incrementally better every week, and as a coach, that's what you're hoping for.""Take advantage of being home, have fun, enjoy it. Let's kill it." We sure did, Shane, we sure did. 😎 If this highlight video from Saturday's big day at the Pav doesn't get you pumped, we don't know what will!#MotivationMonday pic.twitter.com/jofgPeYeI4
— Minnesota Men's Gym (@GopherMGym) February 11, 2019
Each member of the Gophers that took home an event title did so by recording a new season high. Sophomore Shane Wiskus led the way with first place finishes on vault (14.800), parallel bars (14.800) and high bar (14.200), all of which were Minnesota season highs and career highs. His parallel bars score is Minnesota's best overall since the 2017 season and the third-best in the NCAA as of Saturday evening.
Senior captains Shaun Herzog and Vitali Kan notched scores of 14.150 and 13.800 on floor and pommel horse, respectively, for the wins. Senior Justin Karstadt scored a 13.600 on rings to go home with the gold, and also competed in the all-around for the first time since his sophomore year. He recorded an 80.450 and earned the title.
"Shane Wiskus probably had the meet of his career tonight, so that was really good to see as he gets ready to go to Las Vegas next week for the Winter Cup," Burns said. "Justin Karstadt ... He cracked an 80, which was outstanding."
The Gophers managed to claim every place on the podium in every event except one.
Floor
Minnesota started the day on floor and matched a season high score of 69.250. Herzog led the way with his first-place, season best of 14.150. Freshman Mike Moran set a new career high of 13.950 for second place, which he shared with Kan. The Gophers also claimed fourth and fifth place: Freshman Eric Nakamura scored a 13.650 and Karstadt with a13.550.
Pommel Horse
The Gophers had a solid showing on pommel horse led by Kan with a season-high 13.800 for the event title. Freshman David Pochinka also recorded a season high score, 13.550, to come in second place. Wiskus took third with a 13.500 to round out Minnesota's podium finishers. Sophomores Russell Johnson and Henry Meeker both set career highs on the event: 13.100 and 12.700, and took home fourth and seventh place. The Gophers tallied a new season event high on horse with a 66.900.
Rings
Minnesota scored a 66.650 on rings, with Karstadt coming in first place with a season-best 13.600. Pochinka earned another second place finish on the day, which he shared with teammate Johnson. They scored a 13.400, a career best for Johnson. Meeker came just behind with a 13.250 for fourth place, also a career best. Nakamura recorded a 12.950 for seventh place and the best score of his young Gophers slate.
Vault
The Gophers continued to prove their dominance on vault Saturday. Wiskus's 14.800 was Minnesota's best mark all season, and Moran and Karstadt tied for second with a score of 14.350, Karstadt's best of the year. Kan, ranked No. 7 on the event, came in fourth with a 14.300 and freshman Ben Eyles notched a 14.250 for fifth. Minnesota is currently ranked No. 4 overall on vault, and its new high score of 72.050 ranks fourth-best in the NCAA as of Saturday.
Parallel Bars
Minnesota scored an even 68.000 on parallel bars, led by career-best performance from Wiskus with a 14.800 for first place. Wiskus was ranked No. 7 on the event going into Saturday's meet, and his score is the third-best in the NCAA. Parallel bars was the lone event in which the Gophers didn't claim all podium spots, with ASU's Kiwan Watts coming in second with a 13.850. Minnesota senior Ben Winkel followed closely behind with a season-best 13.750 for third place.
High Bar
Wiskus didn't slow down a bit in the last event of the day. He tallied another career high, a 14.200, to claim his third event title for the competition. Karstadt came in second with a 13.100 and Pochinka set a new best of 13.050 for third place. The Gophers came away with a 65.750, besting their previous season record of 65.500.
The Road Ahead
Most of the team has off next weekend, but Shane Wiskus and senior captain Shaun Herzog will head west to compete in the Winter Cup Feb. 15.17 in Las Vegas, Nev. Preliminary competition will begin at 8:30 p.m. CST on Friday and the finals will kick off at 9:15 p.m. Sunday. Former Gopher NCAA Champion, Big Ten Champion and All-American Ellis Mannon will also compete, along with future Gopher Crew Bold. USA Gymnastics will stream all sessions of the competition live on YouTube. The Gophers get back to team action for a road tri-meet against Nebraska and UIC in Lincoln, Neb. on Feb. 23.
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