'U' Closes out Big Ten Slate at Big 4 Meet

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The No. 13 Minnesota women's gymnastics team heads to the Big 4 Meet in College Park, Md., this weekend to compete with No. 15 Michigan, No. 24 Illinois and Maryland. The meet begins at 5 p.m. CT and Big Ten Network will televise while Dean Linke (play-by-play) and Olivia Karas (analyst) are on the call.

The Gophers are 7-1 (5-1 B1G) and have a chance to clinch at least a share of the Big Ten Regular Season Championship this weekend. Minnesota has to go 3-0 and needs UCLA (9-2, 6-0 B1G) to finish at best second in their quad meet with Nebraska, Ohio State and Rutgers to win a share of the conference crown.

MEET INFORMATION
No. 13 Minnesota vs. No. 15 Michigan, No. 24 Illinois, Maryland
Saturday, March 1
5 p.m. CT
Xfinity Center
College Park, Md.
TV/Stream: BTN
Commentators: Dean Link and Olivia Karas
Live Stats: GopherSports.com

EVENT ROTATION ORDER
Minnesota: Floor-Vault-Bars-Beam
Michigan: Bars-Beam-Floor-Vault
Illinois: Beam-Floor-Vault-Bars
Maryland: Vault-Bars-Beam-Floor

SCOUTING MINNESOTA

No. 13 Minnesota defeated No. 20 Nebraska on Saturday in their Big Ten home finale at Maturi Pavilion. The Gophers outlasted NU 197.075-196.500.
"It felt pretty incredible in the Pav today," said head coach Jenny Hansen. "We really felt the energy and passion from our fans. Our team keeps getting better and more confident of achieving what they're capable of."
The Gophers (7-1, 5-1 B1G) earned 49.100 on vault, 49.425 on bars, 49.325 on beam and 49.325 on floor. The 49.425 on bars was a season-best total and highest score on the event since the regional finals in 2024.
Mya Hooten won a solo event title on bars, going a season-best 9.950. It also tied her career-high set in 2024. She tied for the title on floor (9.925) while Jordyn Lyden and Ava Stewart (9.900) tied for the beam title.
Minnesota ranks 13th nationally in the Road to Nationals rankings for the second straight week with an NQS of 196.880 (196.569 avg.). The Gophers rank ninth on vault, 17th on bars, 12th on beam and 10th on floor.
The 'U' holds wins over CMU, UNH, Penn State, Iowa, Ohio State, Washington and Nebraska. It's only loss came at No. 7 Michigan State.
Minnesota is looking to win their fourth Big Ten regular season title of all-time and its first since 2016 this weekend. To win at least a share, the 'U' likely needs to go 3-0 and have UCLA lose at least once this weekend.
Individually, Mya Hooten (12 event titles) ranks No. 14 on vault and 8th on floor nationally this season. Jordyn Lyden ranks 29th nationally on both the uneven bars and balance beam. Sarah Moraw is 30th on vault.
The Gophers are coming off a 2024 season that saw them go 20-11 (6-3 Big Ten) and finish second at the B1G Championships. The Gophers went to the NCAA Regional Finals for the third time in the last four seasons and their No. 12 final ranking was the highest finish of any Big Ten team.
The Gophers finished fourth in the B1G regular season standings with a 6-3 league record. Minnesota then finished second at the Big Ten Championships on March 23 with a score of 197.500, missing winning the conference crown by .100 to Michigan State (197.600). It was the second-best finish at Big Ten's since 2006 (won Big Ten title in 2021).
The 'U' made nationals three times (2016, 2021, 2022) the past 10 years, finishing second each time in their regional. Their two regional titles in program laurels came in 1980 and 1982.

SCOUTING MARYLAND

The Terrapins (7-5, 3-3 B1G) are paced by 16th-year head coach Brett Nelligan. UMD is looking to earn its first winning season in league play since 2018. The Terps hold wins over ASU, Temple, Rutgers, Fisk, Utica, Washington and Iowa. They've lost to Auburn, Penn State (2x), UCLA, Nebraska.
Maryland broke its attendance record at their home opener, drawing an incredible 7,287 fans for the highly anticipated matchup against the previously ranked No. 11 UCLA. The Terps are led by Natalie Martin, who ranks 23th nationally (7th B1G) on vault with a 9.865 NQS (9.864 avg.).

HISTORY VS. MICHIGAN

The No. 15 Wolverines (8-3, 4-2 B1G) are led by 36th-year head coach Bev Plocki. During her career, she's won Big Ten Coach of the Year 11 times and National Coach of the Year twice. Michigan won the program's first ever national title in 2021. So far this season, UM is 8-3 (4-2 B1G) with wins over NC State, Clemson, Arizona, Washington, Ohio State, Nebraska, Rutgers and Kent State. They've fallen to Denver, Michigan State and UCLA.
Michigan ranks 18th on vault, 14th on bars, 11th on beam and 16th on the floor. UM is led by Carly Bauman, a three-event specialist who ranks in the top-20 nationally on bars, beam and floor this year. She's won Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week three times in 2025.

HISTORY VS. ILLINOIS

No. 24 Illinois (7-7, 3-3 B1G) head into the Big 4 Meet coming off wins over Washington and Illinois State. UI has also beaten Eau Claire, SEMO, Nebraska, Ohio State and Iowa. Their losses have come to Ball St., UCLA, Penn State, Missouri (2x), Alabama and Iowa.
Illinois is paced by eighth-year head coach Nadalie Walsh, who's led her teams to four regionals in her first seven years. So far in 2025, UI's standout has been freshman Chloe Cho, who ranks as the No. 4 all-arounder in the B1G (39.442 avg). She's a four-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week.

B1G REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP RACE

UCLA enters the weekend at 6-0 in the Big Ten, followed by Minnesota and Michigan State at 5-1.
In order for Minnesota to win the title outright, they will have to win their session (3-0), Michigan State would have to finish second or worse and UCLA would have to finish third or worse in their session.
The Gophers can win a share of the title by going unbeaten Saturday and UCLA finishing second.
Minnesota has won the Big Ten Regular Season title three times, in 2013, 2014 and 2016.

GOPHERS HISTORY AT BIG 5 (2025 IS FIRST YEAR OF BIG 4)

In the nine years since the Big Ten has been using Big Five's as the Big Ten Championships qualifier, Minnesota has finished first twice, second twice, third three times and fourth twice. Their best ever score was 197.425 in 2016, clinching their third ever Big Ten regular season title.
2024: 3rd: (196.900): Minnesota's floor score led the way with a 49.450, Mya Hooten posted a 9.975 to win an event title.
2023: 4th (195.800): Senior Maddie Quarles received a perfect 10 on vault, the first of her career and 6th Gopher to record a 10 on vault.
2022: 3rd (196.500): Lexy Ramler won the all-around (39.575) and T-1st on beam (9.950). Mya Hooten claimed the top spot on the floor (9.975).
2021: 1st (197.375): Lexy Ramler broke her own Gophers all-around record with a 39.850. Her previous record was 39.725. The new program-best score was highlighted by her first career perfect 10 on vault. Shhe scored a 9.925 or higher on each event and won every event title.
2020: 2nd (196.650): Lexy Ramler took home the balance beam title for Minnesota.
2019: 2nd (196.700): Lexy Ramler took third in the all-around competition with her score of 39.450.
2018: 3rd (195.150): Ramler won a share of the all-around title with a 39.450. Ivy Lu won the bars title and Williams won a share of the floor title.
2017: 4th (194.825): Bailey Holst earned gold in the all-around competition, posting a 39.425. The score marked a personal record as well.
2016: 1st (197.425): Senior Hanna Nordquist notched a perfect 10.00 on the balance beam to earn the event title. Fellow senior Lindsay Mable tied for first for the floor exercise and finished second in the all-around with a final tally of 39.500.

HOOTEN BY THE NUMBERS

Mya Hooten is an 11-time All-American (7-time WCGA, 4-Time NCAA Championships), six-time Big Ten Champion (three floor, two vault, one bars), four-time All-Big Ten selection (3-time first team), four-time Big Ten All-Championships Team honoree, four-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, two-time Academic All-American and an NCAA Regional Champion. She's also tallied nine perfect 10's on floor.
In her career, she's participated in 182 total routines (60 bars, 59 vault, 57 floor, five beam). She's been 9.900-or-better on 92 of those routines (50.5%). Hooten has gone 9.900-or-better on 28 of 59 vaults (47.4%) and 49 of 57 floor routines (86.0%).

LYDEN LIGHTS IT UP

Gophers sophomore Jordyn Lyden had a standout rookie season in the Maroon and Gold in 2024. She was a mainstay in the uneven bars lineup, where she posted a 9.867 average, including a career-high 9.975 on Feb. 3 at Penn State. Her score tied the school record for best uneven bars routine. She earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors three separate times as a freshman last season.
In year two in 2025, she's been a staple on the bars and beam teams, leading the team on both and ranking in the top 30 nationally with 9.872 bars and 9.856 beam averages. Lyden has gone 9.900 twice on bars in eight meets, never going below 9.850. On beam, she's hit 9.900 twice and has been 9.850-or-better seven times. She ranks second on Minnesota with seven event titles in 2025 (four bars, three beam).

WCGA AND ROAD TO NATIONALS RANKINGS

After week eight, the Gophers came in at No. 13 in the Road to Nationals rankings. They rank No. 9 on vault, 17 on bars, 12 on beam and 10 on the floor. The team's NQS is 196.880 and average of 196.569. Minnesota's team-high score is 197.375.
Minnesota finished the 2024 season at No. 12 in the Road to Nationals rankings. They ranked 19th on vault, 21st on bars, eighth on beam and 11 th on the floor. Individually, Mya Hooten ranked eighth nationally on vault and second on the floor, earning WCGA All-America honors in both.
Minnesota began the 2025 season ranked No. 18 in the WCGA Preseason poll.

ROAD TO NATIONALS INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS

On vault, Mya Hooten (9.881 avg.) ranks 14th nationally (4th in B1G) while Sarah Moraw (9.825 avg.) comes in at 30th (14th in B1G). Ava Stewart (9.825 avg.) places 15th in the Big Ten.
Jordyn Lyden (9.872 avg.) comes in at No. 29 nationally (6th in B1G) on bars. Hooten ranks 14th in the B1G (9.822 avg).
Jordyn Lyden (9.856 avg.) ranks 29th in the country and 8th in the Big Ten. Ava Stewart (9.847 avg.) places 13th in the conference.
Mya Hooten (9.907 avg.) ranks third in the Big Ten and 8th nationally on the floor.

EVENT TITLES APLENTY FOR THE 'U'

Overall in 2025, Minnesota has won 34 event titles in eight meets. This includes eight vault (by four individuals), eight bars (three individuals), 10 beam (four individuals) and eight floor (two individuals).
Mya Hooten leads the team with 12 event titles (seven floor, three vault, two bars) while Jordyn Lyden has seven (four bars, three beam). Freshman
Ava Stewart ranks third with six (three vault, three beam). Eight different Golden Gophers hold at least one event title this season.

STEWART PROVIDES HUGE BOOST AS A FRESHMAN

Bowmanville, Ontario native Ava Stewart came to the Gophers in 2025 after competing for Team Canada in both the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics. This past Olympics, Stewart placed 19th in the Artistic Women's All-Around Final. Stewart competed in all four events for Canada, where her vault score was 13.333, bars was 12.633 and she earned scores of 13.166 on beam and 12.500 on floor. Her total score was 51.632.
In her first meet as a Gopher, Stewart started on the beam team, where she took home an event title with a 9.875 on Jan. 4 vs. CMU. She earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Jan. 7. In Stewart's third meet vs. Penn State, she shined once again, winning an event title on vault with a stellar 9.925. She hit 9.825 on balance beam, helping Minnesota comeback to defeat PSU after trailing through two rotations.
Stewart ranks third on Minnesota with six event titles (three vault, three beam) this season. She's hit 9.900-or-better three times on vault and twice on bars this season. Stewart hit career-highs on bars (9.925) and beam (9.900) Feb. 22 vs. Nebraska, tying with Lyden for a beam title.

UP NEXT
The 'U' heads home to host Illinois State on Saturday, March 8 at 4 p.m. The meet will be streamed on B1G+.

Upcoming Events

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mya Hooten

Mya Hooten

Jordyn Lyden

Sarah Moraw

Maddie Quarles

Ava Stewart

Upcoming Events

University of Minnesota Athletics

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mya Hooten

Mya Hooten

Jordyn Lyden

Sarah Moraw

Maddie Quarles

Ava Stewart

'U' Closes out Big Ten Slate at Big 4 Meet

Related Videos