University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, January 11
Colorado Springs, Colo.
7:00 PM
University of Minnesota
at
Rocky Mountain Open
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
Photo by: Michael Glasgow
Meet Preview: Rocky Mountain Open
1/8/2020 4:12:00 PM | Men's Gymnastics
The Minnesota men's gymnastics team will officially open its season this weekend at the Rocky Mountain Open, hosted by Air Force, on Saturday at 7 p.m.
The No. 6 Gophers will be joined in the meet by No. 13 host Air Force, No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 5 Nebraska, No. 17 Washington and the team from the US Olympic Training Center.
"Really the key thing that we want to do is go out and put on a good showing in terms of hit routines," head coach Mike Burns said. "These first two meets, the Rocky Mountain Open and Windy City the week after that, they give us a chance to see who's going to be in the lineup later in the season."
The meet will be an opportunity to see what the young Gophers squad has in store for the season. Fourteen of Minnesota's 19 gymnasts are underclassmen, with nine sophomores ready to take on their second years.
New additions Crew Bold, Andrew Hyde, Donte McKinney, Victor Perez and Valen Watrous will all look to crack the lineups this season as rookies.
"This freshman class has been really working hard in the past couple of months they've been here," junior Henry Meeker said. "They're putting up some very exciting gymnastics and bringing a lot to the table."
The Gophers got to have some practice before the season started with two of their annual events: the Maroon and Gold intrasquad in December and the 53rd Annual Alumni Meet on Jan. 4.
While the Alumni were able to come away with their 53rd straight victory, the day gave a glimpse of what the varsity squad needed to work on this week.
"We found out that our team is slowly but surely heading into the direction to prepare for the season," Burns said. "We had some struggles, but we also had some bright spots."
Live scores and streaming will be provided via Air Force and shared prior to the meet. Fans can follow Minnesota men's gymnastics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all of the latest updates on the team's weekend.
2019 In Review
The Gophers start their 2020 season in the same way they did the last, at the Rocky Mountain Open. Minnesota had five meet victories in the 2019 slate, won a share of the first-ever Big Ten regular season title and had three Big Ten Gymnast of the Week and five Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors. The Gophers had two First Team All-Big Ten selections in Justin Karstadt and Shane Wiskus, and Wiskus was named the Big Ten Gymnast of the Year for the second time in as many years at Minnesota. At the NCAA Championships, the Gophers missed the team final but brought in five All-American honors from Wiskus (AA: 2nd, PB: 1st, VT: 6th), Karstadt (PH: 6th) and then-freshman Ben Eyles (VT: 5th). Wiskus also became Minnesota's first NCAA champion in five years, coming home with the title on parallel bars.
The Road Ahead
Minnesota hits the road for its first two meets of the season, the Rocky Mountain Open and the Windy City Invitational in Chicago, Ill. on Jan. 18. The meets have become annual staples for the Gophers and host a wealth of talent to compete with. The team's home debut comes in a dual meet with Illinois on Friday, Jan. 24 at Maturi Pavilion. It's the Gophers' first Big Ten meet of the season as the squad looks to retain their 2019 regular season title. Single meet tickets are available now through Gopher Sports.
Red, White and Blue and Maroon and Gold
Minnesota's two Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch this season are also members of their respective U.S. National Teams. Shane Wiskus represented his home country at his first-ever World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany with the Senior National Team in October. Wiskus, a Spring Park, Minn. native, was the youngest member of the team and hit all of his routines en route to a fourth-place team finish for the U.S. Last season, he held all of Minnesota's top scores on floor, rings, parallel bars and high bar. Freshman Crew Bold was also selected as a Big Ten Gymnast to Watch and was named to the U.S. Junior National Team over the summer after earning top-10 finishes on all events, including third place in the all-around and high bar and fourth on rings and parallel bars at the National Championships.
The No. 6 Gophers will be joined in the meet by No. 13 host Air Force, No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 5 Nebraska, No. 17 Washington and the team from the US Olympic Training Center.
"Really the key thing that we want to do is go out and put on a good showing in terms of hit routines," head coach Mike Burns said. "These first two meets, the Rocky Mountain Open and Windy City the week after that, they give us a chance to see who's going to be in the lineup later in the season."
The meet will be an opportunity to see what the young Gophers squad has in store for the season. Fourteen of Minnesota's 19 gymnasts are underclassmen, with nine sophomores ready to take on their second years.
New additions Crew Bold, Andrew Hyde, Donte McKinney, Victor Perez and Valen Watrous will all look to crack the lineups this season as rookies.
"This freshman class has been really working hard in the past couple of months they've been here," junior Henry Meeker said. "They're putting up some very exciting gymnastics and bringing a lot to the table."
The Gophers got to have some practice before the season started with two of their annual events: the Maroon and Gold intrasquad in December and the 53rd Annual Alumni Meet on Jan. 4.
While the Alumni were able to come away with their 53rd straight victory, the day gave a glimpse of what the varsity squad needed to work on this week.
"We found out that our team is slowly but surely heading into the direction to prepare for the season," Burns said. "We had some struggles, but we also had some bright spots."
Live scores and streaming will be provided via Air Force and shared prior to the meet. Fans can follow Minnesota men's gymnastics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all of the latest updates on the team's weekend.
2019 In Review
The Gophers start their 2020 season in the same way they did the last, at the Rocky Mountain Open. Minnesota had five meet victories in the 2019 slate, won a share of the first-ever Big Ten regular season title and had three Big Ten Gymnast of the Week and five Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors. The Gophers had two First Team All-Big Ten selections in Justin Karstadt and Shane Wiskus, and Wiskus was named the Big Ten Gymnast of the Year for the second time in as many years at Minnesota. At the NCAA Championships, the Gophers missed the team final but brought in five All-American honors from Wiskus (AA: 2nd, PB: 1st, VT: 6th), Karstadt (PH: 6th) and then-freshman Ben Eyles (VT: 5th). Wiskus also became Minnesota's first NCAA champion in five years, coming home with the title on parallel bars.
The Road Ahead
Minnesota hits the road for its first two meets of the season, the Rocky Mountain Open and the Windy City Invitational in Chicago, Ill. on Jan. 18. The meets have become annual staples for the Gophers and host a wealth of talent to compete with. The team's home debut comes in a dual meet with Illinois on Friday, Jan. 24 at Maturi Pavilion. It's the Gophers' first Big Ten meet of the season as the squad looks to retain their 2019 regular season title. Single meet tickets are available now through Gopher Sports.
Red, White and Blue and Maroon and Gold
Minnesota's two Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch this season are also members of their respective U.S. National Teams. Shane Wiskus represented his home country at his first-ever World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany with the Senior National Team in October. Wiskus, a Spring Park, Minn. native, was the youngest member of the team and hit all of his routines en route to a fourth-place team finish for the U.S. Last season, he held all of Minnesota's top scores on floor, rings, parallel bars and high bar. Freshman Crew Bold was also selected as a Big Ten Gymnast to Watch and was named to the U.S. Junior National Team over the summer after earning top-10 finishes on all events, including third place in the all-around and high bar and fourth on rings and parallel bars at the National Championships.
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