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Meet Preview: Gophers Close Out Regular Season Monday Against Illinois
3/18/2021 11:56:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
The Gopher men's gymnastics team will compete in the final meet of their 2021 regular season by hosting the University of Illinois at Maturi Pavilion on Monday, Mar. 22 at 4:00 p.m. CST.
Minnesota currently sits with a record of 1-4 on the year following a loss last weekend on the road to Michigan. Illinois enters Monday's matchup with a record of 3-3.
"We're excited to have our last regular season meet here at home at the Pavilion," head coach Mike Burns said. "Illinois is always a formidable foe so we'll need to be sharp as a tack to come away with a W in this meet. Since this will be the last regular season meet ever for us, I'd just like to thank all of those associated with Gopher gymnastics who've made our program thrive in the years I've been here at Minnesota. Your efforts are appreciated more than you know."
Despite the team's loss to Michigan last weekend in Ann Arbor, the team still saw big performances by some of the Gophers' underclassmen. Sophomore Victor Perez set three new career highs in the three events he competed in, while fellow sophomores Crew Bold and Donte McKinney both set season-high marks of 13.900 on high bar to tie for second in the event.
Monday's meet will be broadcast on Big Ten Network with live stats provided at the link above. Fans will also be able to follow along with the Gophers by following the Minnesota men's gymnastics Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram pages.
Gophers in the Rankings
The Maroon & Gold currently rank as the No. 10 team in the nation in the Road to Nationals team rankings and No. 9 in the CGA Weekly Coaches Poll. Team event rankings for the Maroon & Gold are as follows: tenth on floor exercise, eleventh on pommel horse, ninth on still rings, ninth on vault, fifth on parallel bars, and sixth on high bar.
Minnesota gymnasts finding themselves in the top 25 individual rankings this week are:
All-Around: Shane Wiskus (3rd), Mike Moran (11th)
Floor Exercise: Shane Wiskus (3rd)
Still Rings: Shane Wiskus (6th)
Vault: Mike Moran (22nd), Ben Eyles (24th)
Parallel Bars: Shane Wiskus (4th)
High Bar: Shane Wiskus (3rd), Donte McKinney (5th), Crew Bold (6th)
Scouting Illinois
No. 7 ranked Illinois is set to be competing in their first team meet since Feb. 21 when they defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers 405.500-401.600. The Fighting Illini are led by junior Hamish Carter, who currently ranks as the No. 7 all-arounder in the nation and No. 2 in the nation on high bar this season. Illinois also features specialists Ian Skirkey (4th on PH) and Danny Graham (5th on SR).
The Road Ahead
Once the Gophers wrap up their season against Illinois on Monday, the team will have a weekend off before traveling to Lincoln, Neb. for the Big Ten Championships, which will take place on Saturday, Apr. 3. The season will then conclude with the Gophers hosting the NCAA Championships right here in Minneapolis at the Maturi Pavilion Apr. 16-17.