'U' Ready for B1G Opener Versus No. 5 Michigan

MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 20 University of Minnesota women's gymnastics team (2-1, 0-0 B1G) is preparing for its first Big Ten home meet of the 2026 season. The Gophers host No. 5 Michigan (3-0, 0-0 B1G) on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 4 p.m.

Fans are encouraged to arrive early for introductions at 3:45 p.m. B1G+ will provide streaming coverage while fans can follow along with stats at Gophersports.com. The Gophers haven't defeated the Wolverines in the regular season since 2016, but outscored the Wolverines at both the 2024 and 2025 Big Ten Championships.

Minnesota is coming off an upset win over No. 10 Arkansas in its home opener last week while Michigan went 3-0 at the Sprouts Farmers Collegiate Quad.

MEET INFORMATION
No. 20 Minnesota vs. No. 5 Michigan
Saturday, Jan. 17
4 p.m. CT
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
TV/Stream: B1G+
Commentators: Lexy (Ramler) Bergeland and Halle Remlinger
Live Stats: GopherSports.com

MARKETING AND PROMOTIONS

Saturday's meet will be Educator Appreciation Night in addition to Always Dreaming Cancer Awareness Night.

WEEK TWO RECAP VS. ARKANSAS

No. 15 Minnesota gymnastics came from behind to defeat No. 10 Arkansas in their home opener Saturday evening, 196.775-196.700. The win was Minnesota's first home victory over a top-10 ranked team since taking down No. 9 Iowa on Jan. 17, 2022.
The Gophers trailed 98.350-98.100 after two rotations before tallying a 49.425 on beam to tie it up heading into the final rotation. A standout floor performance from the 'U' put the home team over the top, notching an early-season top-10 victory.
Minnesota posted scores of 49.075 on vault, 49.025 on bars, 49.425 on beam and 49.250 on the floor. Arkansas outscored Minnesota on vault (49.250) and bars (49.100) but the 'U' had higher scores than the Gymbacks did on beam (49.175) and floor (49.175).
Individually, Sarah Moraw and Emma Slevin (9.850) led the Gophers on vault, Jordyn Lyden (9.850) led on bars and Gianna Gerdes (9.925) was the top beam score. On the floor, Sophie Swartzmiller and Arianna Ostrum paced the 'U' with 9.875s. Gianna Gerdes went 39.175 on the all-around.
There was a three-way tie for the floor title with UA's Morgan Price and Minnesota's Sophie Swartzmiller and Arianna Ostrum (9.875). It was the first career event titles for both Swartzmiller and Ostrum.
"It was just an incredible meet from both teams," said head coach Jenny Hansen. "I'm so proud of our team. We learned a lot last week and really applied that going into this week. We made some really good improvements and looked more confident and consistent."
Career-highs from Saturday included Emma Slevin on vault (9.850) and bars (9.775), Gianna Gerdes on beam (9.925), Arianna Ostrum on floor (9.875) and Lacie Saltzmann on bars and floor (9.825).

SCOUTING MICHIGAN

The No. 5 ranked Michigan Wolverines are led by first-year head coach Maile'ana Kanewa-Hermelyn. She took over for longtime head coach Bev Plocki. They started their season with a quad victory last Saturday over Michigan State, Kentucky and Cal. They broke the program balance beam record en route to a Sprouts Collegiate Quad victory with a 197.225.
The Wolverines scored a program-best 49.650 on the beam in the final rotation of the night behind three 9.950s, besting its 49.625 in the 2023 campaign. Rookie Quincy Walters, sophomore Ava Jordan and junior Kayli Boozer shared the beam title with career-high 9.950s, while Carly Bauman recorded a 9.925 to tie for fourth overall. Bauman was named Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week and Walters was Freshman of the Week.
Prior to the season, Michigan was picked to finish third in the Big Ten Preseason Poll. Sophomore Sophia Diaz and junior Ava Jordan were honored as Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch. Last season, UM made the NCAA Regional Semifinals in State College, Pa. They went 19-11 (6-3 B1G) in 2025.

COACH HANSEN BACK FOR 12TH SEASON

Head coach Jenny Hansen is in her 12th season at the helm of the program. Overall, she holds a 235-132-1 record and a 73-31 mark in the Big Ten. Fellow assistant Kiki Parenteau is in her fifth year as an assistant coach at Minnesota in 2026.
Five-year Gophers star Mya Hooten (2020-25) was added to the staff as an assistant coach, as was Sam Scherwinski, in the off-season. Scherwinski spent last season as an assistant at Nebraska and will specialize in coaching bars. Hooten will coach the beam team in addition to helping out on floor choreography.
Under the watch of coach Hansen, the 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. They've made 10 NCAA Regionals appearances, including four of the last five regional finals, under her leadership.

EARLY 2026 ROAD TO NATIONALS INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS

Gianna Gerdes ranks 30th nationally in the all-around with a 39.125 average. Her high through two meets is 39.175..

WCGA AND ROAD TO NATIONALS RANKINGS

After week two, Minnesota comes in at No. 20 (196.125 avg.) in the Road to Nationals rankings. The Gophers rank 26th on vault (48.950 avg.), 29th on bars (48.913 avg.), 12th on beam (49.100 avg.), and 17th on floor (49.163 avg.).
Minnesota began 2026 ranked No. 15 in the WCGA Preseason poll. They ranked behind only No. 4 UCLA, No. 6 Michigan St. and No. 14 Michigan in the Big Ten.

LYDEN LIGHTS IT UP

Gophers junior Jordyn Lyden has had a stellar first two years in the program. As a rookie in 2024, she was a Big Ten Freshman of the Week three separate times, competing in every meet. She tied the school record at Penn State in the balance beam, going 9.975.
So far this season, Lyden has gone 9.850 on bars twice this year. She tied her career-highs on beam (9.900) and floor (9.850) vs. Arkansas.
In year two in 2025, she was a staple on the bars and beam teams, leading the team on both and ranking in the top 40 nationally with 9.886 bars and 9.841 beam averages. Lyden went 9.900 seven times on bars in 14 meets, never going below 9.850. On beam, she hit 9.900 five times and has been 9.850-or-better eight times. She ranked second on Minnesota with 12 event titles in 2025 (eightbars, four beam).
Lyden was named to the Big Ten All-Championships Team after going 9.950 on the uneven bars at the Big Ten Championships. She tied for third at the NCAA Regionals with a 9.900 bars score. As a freshman in 2024, she was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week three times.
Lyden earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors in 2025, her first career postseason honor.
Named a Big Ten Gymnast to Watch in 2026, Lyden is one of Minnesota's stars and competes on three events this season.

OSTRUM GOING ALL-AROUND AS A ROOKIE

Named one of College Gym News' Freshmen to Watch, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., native Arianna Ostrum has stood out early for the Maroon and Gold. She competed all-around in her second career meet last Saturday, earning a 39.075 score. She posted a 9.850 on beam and tied for an event title with a 9.875 floor score. Her and teammate Sophie Swartzmiller split the honor.

SWARTZMILLER CONTINUES FLOOR HOT STREAK

Junior Sophie Swartzmiller has been one of Minnesota's most consistent gymnasts on the floor dating back to last season. She's posted 9.850-or-better scores six straight times on the event dating back to 2025. Her career-best came on Senior Day last season, when she went 9.900 in the quad meet. This year, she tied for her first career event title Jan. 10 vs. Arkansas, going 9.875.

2025 YEAR IN REVIEW

The Minnesota gymnastics team posted a 25-7 (8-1 B1G) record last season, finishing 15th in the final rankings. The 'U' held a season-high score of 197.425, an NQS of 197.210 and an average of 196.825. Of Minnesota's 25 wins, nine came against teams that were ranked in the Road to Nationals top-25.
Minnesota finished in second place in the Big Ten conference, which is tied for the second-best ever in the 12-year Jenny Hansen era. The Gophers took third place at the Big Ten Championships with a 197.425 score, behind only UCLA and Michigan State. Their score was the third highest ever for the Gophers in their Big Ten Championships history.
They tallied their best beam performance of the season there at 49.525, a figure that ties for the eighth-best beam score in program history.
The Gophers ranked 12th on vault, 16th on bars, 16th on beam and 11th on floor in 2025. Their vault high score was 49.400, bars 49.425, beam 49.525 and floor 49.550 in 2025.
The 'U' held wins over CMU, UNH, Penn State, Iowa, Ohio State, Washington, Nebraska, Illinois, ISU, Maryland, Michigan (2x), LIU, Centenary, Southern Utah and Boise State. Its only losses came to Michigan St. (2x), UCLA (3x), Utah and Denver. Michigan State, UCLA and Utah all made nationals, with UCLA and Utah making the NCAA Championship Finals.
With its second place finish at the NCAA Regional Semifinals last year in Salt Lake City, Utah, the Gophers advanced to their fourth NCAA Regional Finals in the last five seasons. They were one of three Big Ten teams to do so last year, joining MSU and UCLA.
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. Minnesota is seeking its 7th-ever nationals appearance in 2025.

UP NEXT
The 'U' travels to Lincoln, Neb., for a meet on Saturday, Jan. 24 at Nebraska. The meet will be at 3 p.m. CT on BTN.

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Players Mentioned

Gianna Gerdes

Jordyn Lyden

Sarah Moraw

Arianna Ostrum

Lacie Saltzmann

Emma Slevin

Sophie Swartzmiller