No. 15 Gophers Head to Illinois for B1G Road Meet

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The No. 15 Minnesota women's gymnastics team (7-1, 3-1 B1G) hits the road for its final head-to-head conference meet against the No. 27 Illinois Fighting Illini (6-4, 1-3 B1G) at Huff Hall in Champaign, Ill. The meet is set for Sunday, Feb. 18 at 2 p.m. CT. B1G+ will stream.

MEET INFORMATION
No. 15 Minnesota vs. No. 27 Illinois
Sunday, Feb. 18
2 p.m. CT
Huff Hall
Champaign, Ill.
TV/Stream: B1G+
Stats: GopherSports.com.

SCOUTING MINNESOTA

The Gophers roster 19 student-athletes in the 2024 season, led by five-time WCGA All-American and 2023 Big Ten Champion Mya Hooten and First Team All-Big Ten selection Gianna Gerdes.
The Gophers added eight newcomers to the fray this season, including seven freshmen and a transfer from Pittsburgh University. Notable departures from 2023 include two-time All-American and three-time Second Team All-Big Ten selection Maddie Quarles. Two-time All-Big Ten honoree Halle Remlinger also departed after earning second team honors last season as a senior.
13 of Minnesota's 19 rostered players have competed in at least one top six of an event so far this season.
A senior from Woodbury, Minn., Hooten was a 2021/2022 NCAA All-American in floor (first team, 9.500) and vault (second team, 9.9000) and 2023 WCGA Regular Season All-American in floor (first team) and vault (second team). She earned her first NCAA All-America honors in 2021 in floor (first team, 9.950) and vault (second team, 9.8750). Hooten posted a perfect 10, the seventh of her career, on the floor on Jan. 13 vs. EMU.
Minnesota earned its road-opening season-best score in program history when it tallied a 196.850 on Jan. 6 at the Mean Girls Super 16 in Las Vegas, Nev. Its best performance of the season came on Feb. 3 at Penn State, with a dazzling score of 197.525.

SCOUTING ILLINOIS

Illinois (6-4, 1-3 B1G) is led by seventh-year head coach Nadalie Walsh, who has led the Illini to NCAA appearances five times. She was named CGA Regional Coach of the Year in 2022 and helped Illinois finish second at the Big Ten Championships in 2019.
So far in 2024, the Illini went 2-1 at the Las Vegas Super 16, defeated WVU, WMU and UW-Oshkosh in a quad and took down Rutgers for their lone Big Ten meet victory. A challenging league schedule has resulted in losses to Nebraska, No. 12 Ohio State and No. 10 Michigan State.
Graduate student Mia Takekawa and senior Amelia Knight were named B1G Gymnasts to Watch by the Big Ten Conference prior to the season.
Illinois was picked to finish sixth, one spot behind Minnesota. In 2023, Illinois finished 10-10 (4-5 B1G) and took fourth at the NCAA Regionals in Norman, Oklahoma. They also finished fifth at the Big Ten Championships in Iowa City, Iowa.

WEEK SIX STANDOUTS; LAST TIME OUT

The No. 16 University of Minnesota women's gymnastics team (7-1, 3-1 B1G) fell to the No. 11 Michigan Wolverines (4-4, 3-1 B1G) on Saturday afternoon at Maturi Pavilion for its first loss of the season. Michigan finished with a score of 197.375 to 197.125 for the 'U'.
Minnesota's floor score was a season-best 49.650, which tied for the fifth-best mark in program history. The Gophers tallied a 49.200 on the uneven bars, 49.175 on vault and 49.150 on beam.
Mya Hooten took home a tie for an event title in the uneven bars, her first of the season in the event, with a 9.950. She also swept floor honors with a perfect 10.000, the eighth of her career and second this season.
On floor, five of Minnesota's six competitors went 9.900-or-higher. In addition to Hooten's 10, Gianna Gerdes and Emily Koch were up next at 9.925. Seria Johnson and Lauren Pearl both tallied excellent 9.900s to round out the top five.
The attendance for the night was an announced crowd of 4,803, the highest of the season and one of the top-five highest in program history.

LAST SEASON

The 'U' is coming off a 2023 season that saw it post a 10-6-1 (4-4-1 Big Ten) meet record, finishing fifth in the regular season standings. The Gophers went on to finish third at the Big Ten Championships (197.250) and fifth at the NCAA Regionals (197.200). They will be looking to qualify for nationals for the third time in the last four seasons in 2024.

GOPHERS HISTORY VS. ILLINOIS; STATS TO KNOW

Against Illinois, Minnesota is 12-6 all-time in head-to-head and quad meets. Minnesota is just 2-5 overall at Huff Hall, but won the last meeting in 2022, 197.125-195.775. The Gophers have won four of the last five meets in the series, including a 196.675-195.775 win in 2023 at the Pav.
Five times a Golden Gopher has won Big Ten weekly awards this season, led by Mya Hooten winning Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week three times. Stillwater, Minn., native Jordyn Lyden has won Big Ten Freshman of the Week twice, including most recently on Feb. 6 after she tied the school record for best bars performance (9.975) at Penn State.
The Gophers are 3-1 at home in 2024, 3-0 at neutral sites, 1-0 on the road. They are 20-2 at home in the last four years (two losses to Michigan).

COACHING STAFF

Head coach Jenny Hansen is in her 10th season at the helm of the program. Associate head coach Rich Stenger and assistant coach Geralen Stack-Eaton also enter their 10th years with the team. Fellow assistant Kiki Parenteau was promoted to assistant coach this summer after serving as a volunteer assistant for the past two years. She will be entering year three in 2024.
During her time with the Golden Gophers, Hansen is 115-45-1 (62-28-1 B1G) in meets.
Also under her watch, Gophers took home the 2021 Big Ten title their first conference championships crown since 2006 and the program's sixth ever. They also won the 2016 Big Ten regular season title, the programs third (2013/2014). In 2022, Minnesota set a program-record by finishing sixth (197.1125) at the NCAA Championships.

WCGA AND ROAD TO NATIONALS RANKINGS

Entering week seven, the Golden Gophers improved to No. 15 in the Road to Nationals rankings. The 'U' ranks 12th in the nation in beam, 11th on floor, 20th on bars and 19th in vault.
Minnesota's Gianna Gerdes ranks 23rd in the nation in all-around. Mya Hooten ranks 7th in floor and 14th in vault while Brooklyn Rowray ranks No. 1 in the country on beam after posting a 9.975 on Jan. 6. She hasn't competed since then after suffering an achilles injury on Jan. 13.
Minnesota began the 2024 season ranked No. 18 in the WCGA Preseason poll. The 'U' is coming off a 2023 season that saw it go 10-6-1 (4-4-1 Big Ten), finishing fifth in the conference standings. The 'U' finished third at the Big Ten Championships (197.250) and fifth at the NCAA Regionals (197.200). They will be looking to qualify for nationals for the third time in the last four seasons in 2024.
The Gophers ended 2023 ranked No. 18 in the nation, including a No. 12 rank in floor, 14th in vault, 19th in bars and 40th on beam.

B1G WEEKLY AWARDS

Mya Hooten was named Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week for the third time this season after her perfect 10 on floor Saturday against Michigan. She also won on Jan. 16 after her first perfect 10 of the season against EMU. Hooten also took home the award Jan. 30. She's won nine times in her career at Minnesota.
Jordyn Lyden was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Jan. 9, 2024 and Feb. 6, 2024. This past week, she earned rookie of the week honors after tying a program record with a 9.975 outing on the uneven bars at Penn State.

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UP NEXT
Minnesota travels to University Park, Pa., for the Big Five Meet on Friday, Feb. 23. It will begin at 5 p.m. CT on BTN.

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Players Mentioned

Gianna Gerdes

Mya Hooten

Mya Hooten

Seria Johnson

Emily Koch

Jordyn Lyden

Lauren Pearl

Maddie Quarles

Halle Remlinger

Brooklyn Rowray

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