University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
Gophers Wrap Up 2019 Season With Team Banquet
5/4/2019 2:24:00 PM | Gymnastics
The University of Minnesota women's gymnastics program saluted the 2019 season with their annual team banquet on Saturday where they honored this year's team and looked back on this season's accomplishments.
The Gophers competed in their 24th straight NCAA Regionals this past season when they made it to the final day of competition at the Baton Rouge Regional. They finished ranked No. 13 overall as well as in the top-15 on every apparatus (No. 11 on vault, No. 9 on bars, No. 12 on beam, No. 13 on floor), and remained undefeated at home for the second straight season.
The coaching staff handed out four awards at the banquet:
Most Valuable Performer: Lexy Ramler
Ramler earns the MVP award for the second consecutive year after qualifying for the NCAA Championships as an individual all-arounder once again. The sophomore solidified her status as one of the top NCAA gymnasts when she finished as the NCAA runner-up in both the all-around competition (39.6625) and on the uneven bars (9.9375) claiming the best individual finishes of any Gopher gymnast since 1990. Her performance at the national championships made her the first ever gymnast in program history to earn First Team All-America honors in four events (V, UB, BB, AA) in the same year.
Throughout the course of the 2019 season, Ramler notched 28 event titles, set new career-highs on vault (9.925), beam (9.975) and in the all-around (39.725) and became the highest scoring all-around gymnast in program history after earning a 39.725 against Maryland on Feb. 15. The St. Michael, Minn. native was named the North Central Region co-Gymnast of the Year as well as the B1G Gymnast of the Year and earned regular season All-America honors on beam (first team), bars (second team) and in the all-around (second team). Ramler claimed a spot on the First Team All-Big Ten for the second year in a row and was selected as Big Ten Gymnast of the Week six times throughout the season.
Most Improved: Ali Sonier
The Sussex, Wis. native worked her way into the vault, beam and floor lineups as a freshman, contributing steadily improving scores for the Gophers as the season progressed. She made all three event lineups during each of the 14 weeks of competition and notched season-highs of 9.875 on all three events.
Most Valuable Teammate: Abbie Nylin
For the third year in a row, the Gophers named a Most Valuable Teammate. Nylin earned a spot on both the beam and floor lineups before an injury took her out for the remainder of the season. She posted season-high scores of 9.800 on beam and 9.825 on floor exercise, and she was a constant source of support and positive energy for her teammates.
Mariam Award: Ona Loper and Hannah Willmarth
This award is named after Mariam Pourshoushtari, a former Gopher gymnast who survived meningitis. Her perseverance is a testament to what it means to dedicate all of your personal resources and willpower to achieve something. This honor is given to the gymnast that the coaches believe has done everything they can to be their very best.
Sophomores Loper and Willmarth both had to overcome injuries with hard work in and out of the gym, were constant leaders and positive role models for the entire Gophers team.
Loper competed all-around for the Gophers and became the first NCAA Regional Champion since 2016 when she scored a career high 9.950 on vault at the Baton Rouge Regional. Willmarth was an Uneven Bars specialist for the Maroon and Gold. She notched a career high 9.875 this season and helped the team to record the two highest team Uneven Bars scores in program history.
2018-19 Letterwinners
Casey Betts*
Rachel Cutler
Kaitlyn Higgins*
Mary Korlin-Downs
Ona Loper
Ivy Lu
Abbie Nylin*
Kristen Quaglia
Lexy Ramler
Tiarre Sales*
Ali Sonier*
Becca Taylor*
Paige Williams
Hannah Willmarth*
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