University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, April 6
Baton Rouge, LA
7:00 PM
University of Minnesota
at
NCAA Regionals
Players Mentioned
/ Gymnastics
/ Gymnastics
/ Gymnastics
/ Gymnastics
/ Gymnastics
/ Gymnastics
/ Gymnastics
/ Gymnastics
/ Gymnastics
Photo by: Bruce Kluckhohn
Gophers Cap Season at Regionals, Ramler Advances to NCAAs
4/6/2019 11:02:00 PM | Gymnastics
The University of Minnesota women's gymnastics team took third in the Baton Rouge Regional Finals with a final team score of 196.900, finishing behind host LSU (197.500) and second-place Utah (197.250). The Maroon and Gold's season comes to a close after tonight's competition as only the top-two teams from each Regional qualify to compete at the NCAA Championships later this month.
"I'm just so proud of the team tonight," said head coach Jenny Hansen. "They really took the energy and the environment, and performed at such a high level. I know they had a great time doing it with their team tonight. It was a really fun night and I'm just so proud of them and their season."
The Gophers put up a spectacular score of 49.400 on beam--supplementing event scores of 49.125 on vault and floor and 49.275 on bars-- to keep the top three team scores close throughout the second, third and fourth rotation. Utah proved to be too strong with their event scores of 49.425 (vault), 49.100 (bars), 49.350 (beam) and 49.375 (floor).
Minnesota finishes the 2019 season as one of the top-16 teams in the country, with exact place finishes determined at the conclusion of all four Regionals. After being ranked No. 23 in the preseason poll, the coaching staff is pleased with the team's performance.
"Honestly, the staff's goal for the season, early on, was to make it to the third day of Regionals," commented Hansen. "As the season progressed we saw the dedication and commitment of the team, their potential, and qualifying for the national championships became a reality. We thought 'alright, maybe this is something we can do." I think for us to perform at this level on this kind of a stage shows that we are right on that cusp. We're almost there. We're ready for it. I think we're excited about how the season progressed, and we're really excited for our future."
The Gophers will graduate seniors Rachel Cutler and Selena Ung, both of whom competed on floor for Minnesota this season. Ung joined the floor exercise lineup in the latter half of the season and posted a season high of 9.800. Cutler, who also competed on beam in 2019, suffered a season-ending injury back in February recorded season highs of 9.725 on beam and 9.825 on floor.
"We're losing two senior that have been important for out team, but I think the experiences we had this year are going to be instrumental in our success next season," concluded Hansen. "We're bringing in some great athletes that are going to elevate us next season to that next level so I'm really excited about our future."
Lexy Ramler will continue on to the national championships in the all-around as an individual thanks to her 39.400 all-around performance at yesterday's competition. As the top-scoring individual whose team did not qualify for NCAAs, she has earned the chance to compete for the national title in this event.
"I'm super proud of this team, and we had an amazing season," said Ramler after tonight's competition. "Having the experience from last year, I'm a little bit more confident going into [NCAA Championships], but I'm extremely excited to represent Minnesota in this way."
Last season as a freshman at the NCAA Championships, Ramler earned second team All-America honors on the balance beam with her score of 9.8875. This season, the regular season All-American and B1G Gymnast of the year returns to the national championships with more confidence and a concrete goal to work towards.
"The experience of going to nationals is amazing. Of course, I'd like to All-American again, but the experience itself is great regardless."
Vault
The Gophers followed up yesterday's outstanding performance on vault with another strong team score of 49.125. Ona Loper once again notched the highest score of any Minnesota gymnast with a 9.900. Tiarre Sales and Paige Williams followed with a pair of 9.850s for their Yurchenko fulls. Ramler earned a 9.800 and Kristen Quaglia put up a 9.725 to round out the rotation.
Bars
Team Bars improved upon their performance yesterday to post an event score of 49.275, led by Ivy Lu who earned a 9.975 for the fourth time in her career as a Gopher. This score once again ties the school record in addition to being the best bars score of any gymnast at the regional the entire weekend. Ramler added a strong 9.925 for the Gophers and Sales snagged a 9.825 from the judges. Loper and Quaglia scored matching 9.775s for their routines.
Beam
The beam team impressed the crowd tonight with a huge score of 49.400. Three Gophers gymnasts earned scores of 9.850 as Lu, Ali Sonier and Mary Korlin-Downs all hit that mark. The best scores of the night on beam came from Sales and Ramler who both notched 9.925s to bring Minnesota to their final score.
Floor
Minnesota's floor squad combined for a team event score of 49.125, improving upon yesterday's mark by .350. Williams led the Gophers with her 9.900-earning routine. Loper and Sales posted a pair of 9.850s to follow. Kaitlyn Higgins notched a 9.775 and Sonier scored a 9.750 to round out the lineup.
"I'm just so proud of the team tonight," said head coach Jenny Hansen. "They really took the energy and the environment, and performed at such a high level. I know they had a great time doing it with their team tonight. It was a really fun night and I'm just so proud of them and their season."
The Gophers put up a spectacular score of 49.400 on beam--supplementing event scores of 49.125 on vault and floor and 49.275 on bars-- to keep the top three team scores close throughout the second, third and fourth rotation. Utah proved to be too strong with their event scores of 49.425 (vault), 49.100 (bars), 49.350 (beam) and 49.375 (floor).
Minnesota finishes the 2019 season as one of the top-16 teams in the country, with exact place finishes determined at the conclusion of all four Regionals. After being ranked No. 23 in the preseason poll, the coaching staff is pleased with the team's performance.
"Honestly, the staff's goal for the season, early on, was to make it to the third day of Regionals," commented Hansen. "As the season progressed we saw the dedication and commitment of the team, their potential, and qualifying for the national championships became a reality. We thought 'alright, maybe this is something we can do." I think for us to perform at this level on this kind of a stage shows that we are right on that cusp. We're almost there. We're ready for it. I think we're excited about how the season progressed, and we're really excited for our future."
The Gophers will graduate seniors Rachel Cutler and Selena Ung, both of whom competed on floor for Minnesota this season. Ung joined the floor exercise lineup in the latter half of the season and posted a season high of 9.800. Cutler, who also competed on beam in 2019, suffered a season-ending injury back in February recorded season highs of 9.725 on beam and 9.825 on floor.
"We're losing two senior that have been important for out team, but I think the experiences we had this year are going to be instrumental in our success next season," concluded Hansen. "We're bringing in some great athletes that are going to elevate us next season to that next level so I'm really excited about our future."
Lexy Ramler will continue on to the national championships in the all-around as an individual thanks to her 39.400 all-around performance at yesterday's competition. As the top-scoring individual whose team did not qualify for NCAAs, she has earned the chance to compete for the national title in this event.
"I'm super proud of this team, and we had an amazing season," said Ramler after tonight's competition. "Having the experience from last year, I'm a little bit more confident going into [NCAA Championships], but I'm extremely excited to represent Minnesota in this way."
Last season as a freshman at the NCAA Championships, Ramler earned second team All-America honors on the balance beam with her score of 9.8875. This season, the regular season All-American and B1G Gymnast of the year returns to the national championships with more confidence and a concrete goal to work towards.
"The experience of going to nationals is amazing. Of course, I'd like to All-American again, but the experience itself is great regardless."
Vault
The Gophers followed up yesterday's outstanding performance on vault with another strong team score of 49.125. Ona Loper once again notched the highest score of any Minnesota gymnast with a 9.900. Tiarre Sales and Paige Williams followed with a pair of 9.850s for their Yurchenko fulls. Ramler earned a 9.800 and Kristen Quaglia put up a 9.725 to round out the rotation.
Bars
Team Bars improved upon their performance yesterday to post an event score of 49.275, led by Ivy Lu who earned a 9.975 for the fourth time in her career as a Gopher. This score once again ties the school record in addition to being the best bars score of any gymnast at the regional the entire weekend. Ramler added a strong 9.925 for the Gophers and Sales snagged a 9.825 from the judges. Loper and Quaglia scored matching 9.775s for their routines.
Beam
The beam team impressed the crowd tonight with a huge score of 49.400. Three Gophers gymnasts earned scores of 9.850 as Lu, Ali Sonier and Mary Korlin-Downs all hit that mark. The best scores of the night on beam came from Sales and Ramler who both notched 9.925s to bring Minnesota to their final score.
Floor
Minnesota's floor squad combined for a team event score of 49.125, improving upon yesterday's mark by .350. Williams led the Gophers with her 9.900-earning routine. Loper and Sales posted a pair of 9.850s to follow. Kaitlyn Higgins notched a 9.775 and Sonier scored a 9.750 to round out the lineup.
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