University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, April 5
Iowa City, Iowa
7:00 PM
University of Minnesota
at
Big Ten Championships
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
Meet Preview: Gophers Set For B1G Championships
4/3/2019 4:09:00 PM | Men's Gymnastics
The Minnesota men's gymnastics team will try to follow its regular season title with another big win:The Big Ten Championship.
The Gophers will head to Iowa City, Iowa this weekend for the 2019 Big Ten Men's Gymnastics Championship. Minnesota will face each of the six other Big Ten programs at the event, with team competition kicking off at 7 p.m. CST on Friday, and individual event finals to follow at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Big Ten teams are all ranked within the top 10 in the nation, coming in at No. 3 through No. 9. The Gophers sit in the middle at No. 6, and Minnesota's only losses in conference came against No. 3 Michigan and No. 4 Illinois.
Minnesota will start Friday's team competition on high bar and then floor before a bye rotation in the third. The team will then pick up with pommel horse, rings, vault and parallel bars to round out Friday's action. The top 10 finishers from each event on Friday will move on to the event finals Saturday, and sophomore Shane Wiskus and senior Justin Karstadt will compete all-around.
The Gophers will look to put the cherry on top of a historic regular season that ended with Minnesota claiming a share of the first-ever Big Ten Regular Season Title. The team came up big in its final meet, scoring a season-high 410.950 to defeat Iowa and Penn State. The Gophers share the regular season crown with Michigan and Iowa. Wiskus was also named the Co-Big Ten Gymnast of the Year for the second time in his career for his outstanding sophomore season on Monday.
Both days of competition will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network, but they can also be streamed online via BTN2Go on Friday and Saturday. The host Iowa Hawkeyes will provide live stats, and fans cheering on the Gophers at home can also follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for coverage.
Last Time Out: 2018 Big Ten Championships
Last season, Minnesota came in fifth in the team competition with a final score of 405.450, with Illinois taking first place.The Gophers advanced five gymnasts to the individual finals: Vitali Kan on floor and pommel horse, Tristan Duran on parallel bars on high bar, Shane Wiskus on rings and high bar, Alex Wittenberg on vault and Jalon Stephens on high bar. Duran ended up the conference co-champion on parallel bars with a score of 14.150, while Stephens (14.125) and Wiskus (14.100) took second and third on high bar.
Gophers in the Rankings
Minnesota is currently ranked No. 6 overall as a team, and is also in the top 10 on each event: No. 9 on pommel horse and high bar, No. 8 on rings, No. 5 on floor, No. 4 on vault and No. 3 on parallel bars. Two Gophers are ranked in the top 10 on parallel bars: Wiskus at No. 3 and freshman David Pochinka at No. 10. Wiskus is also ranked No. 2 all-around and No. 4 on high bar. Seniors and Nissen-Emery Award Finalists Justin Karstadt and Vitali Kan are also both just outside the top 10 on pommel horse and vault, at No. 11 and No. 12, respectively.
Nissen-Emery Watch
Karstadt and Kan were recently both named finalists for the prestigious Nissen-Emery Award. The award is the highest honor in men's college gymnastics, and has been presented annually to that year's outstanding senior gymnast since 1966. Karstadt and Kan are two of eight finalists, five of eight come from the Big Ten, and Minnesota is the only school to have more than one finalist. In addition to outstanding achievements in competition, each nominee must "be an example of good sportsmanship and fair play...a champion in defeat as well as in victory," and "must maintain a high standard of scholarship throughout his college career." The winner of the award will be announced during the weekend of the NCAA Championships, on April 18.
The Gophers will head to Iowa City, Iowa this weekend for the 2019 Big Ten Men's Gymnastics Championship. Minnesota will face each of the six other Big Ten programs at the event, with team competition kicking off at 7 p.m. CST on Friday, and individual event finals to follow at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Big Ten teams are all ranked within the top 10 in the nation, coming in at No. 3 through No. 9. The Gophers sit in the middle at No. 6, and Minnesota's only losses in conference came against No. 3 Michigan and No. 4 Illinois.
Minnesota will start Friday's team competition on high bar and then floor before a bye rotation in the third. The team will then pick up with pommel horse, rings, vault and parallel bars to round out Friday's action. The top 10 finishers from each event on Friday will move on to the event finals Saturday, and sophomore Shane Wiskus and senior Justin Karstadt will compete all-around.
The Gophers will look to put the cherry on top of a historic regular season that ended with Minnesota claiming a share of the first-ever Big Ten Regular Season Title. The team came up big in its final meet, scoring a season-high 410.950 to defeat Iowa and Penn State. The Gophers share the regular season crown with Michigan and Iowa. Wiskus was also named the Co-Big Ten Gymnast of the Year for the second time in his career for his outstanding sophomore season on Monday.
Both days of competition will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network, but they can also be streamed online via BTN2Go on Friday and Saturday. The host Iowa Hawkeyes will provide live stats, and fans cheering on the Gophers at home can also follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for coverage.
Last Time Out: 2018 Big Ten Championships
Last season, Minnesota came in fifth in the team competition with a final score of 405.450, with Illinois taking first place.The Gophers advanced five gymnasts to the individual finals: Vitali Kan on floor and pommel horse, Tristan Duran on parallel bars on high bar, Shane Wiskus on rings and high bar, Alex Wittenberg on vault and Jalon Stephens on high bar. Duran ended up the conference co-champion on parallel bars with a score of 14.150, while Stephens (14.125) and Wiskus (14.100) took second and third on high bar.
Gophers in the Rankings
Minnesota is currently ranked No. 6 overall as a team, and is also in the top 10 on each event: No. 9 on pommel horse and high bar, No. 8 on rings, No. 5 on floor, No. 4 on vault and No. 3 on parallel bars. Two Gophers are ranked in the top 10 on parallel bars: Wiskus at No. 3 and freshman David Pochinka at No. 10. Wiskus is also ranked No. 2 all-around and No. 4 on high bar. Seniors and Nissen-Emery Award Finalists Justin Karstadt and Vitali Kan are also both just outside the top 10 on pommel horse and vault, at No. 11 and No. 12, respectively.
Nissen-Emery Watch
Karstadt and Kan were recently both named finalists for the prestigious Nissen-Emery Award. The award is the highest honor in men's college gymnastics, and has been presented annually to that year's outstanding senior gymnast since 1966. Karstadt and Kan are two of eight finalists, five of eight come from the Big Ten, and Minnesota is the only school to have more than one finalist. In addition to outstanding achievements in competition, each nominee must "be an example of good sportsmanship and fair play...a champion in defeat as well as in victory," and "must maintain a high standard of scholarship throughout his college career." The winner of the award will be announced during the weekend of the NCAA Championships, on April 18.
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