University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, January 2
Salt Lake City, UT
8:00 PM
University of Minnesota
195.475
at
196.625
Utah
Players Mentioned
/ Gymnastics
/ Gymnastics
/ Gymnastics
/ Gymnastics
/ Gymnastics
/ Gymnastics
/ Gymnastics
/ Gymnastics
/ Gymnastics
/ Gymnastics
/ Gymnastics
No. 15 Minnesota Finishes Second in Utah Tri-Meet
1/2/2026 10:38:00 PM | Gymnastics
The Gophers posted a score of 195.475
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAHÂ --Â The No. 15 Minnesota gymnastics team took second at the Utah tri-meet to open the 2026 season on Friday night. The No. 5-ranked Utes won the night with a 196.625 while Minnesota went 195.475. No. 22 Iowa placed third with a score of 194.825.
"I think we did a really good job handling the environment," Hansen said. "It was certainly a new and exciting environment for our newcomers, there was lots of energy in the building. We were solid, we hit our routines but they weren't quite the routines we hit in practice. We have a lot of talent that we will keep improving on."
The Gophers posted scores of 48.825 on vault, 48.000 on bars, 48.775 on beam and 49.075 on the floor. Utah won on vault (49.200), bars (49.150) and beam (49.250) while the Gophers were victorious on the floor with their 49.075.
Individually, Sarah Moraw (9.850) led the Gophers on vault, Jordyn Lyden (9.850) led on bars, Lauren Pearl (9.825) was the top beam score and Sophie Swartzmiller paced the 'U' on the floor (9.850). Gianna Gerdes went 39.075 on the all-around.
Event champions tonight were Utah's Zoe Johnson (9.925) on vault, Makenna Smith (9.900) on bars, Ella Zirbes (9.875) and Avery Neff (9.875) on beam and Zirbes on floor (9.900). Zirbes was the all-around champion with a tally of 39.350.
Next weekend the Gophers host No. 10 Arkansas at Maturi Pavilion, a meet that the 'U' will have eight days to prepare for.
"We're really excited to be able to head back home. This was a really quick turnaround after Christmas and we didn't have as many days of training leading up to this meet that we would have liked. Now we get to have this under our belt and go into next week being really clear on the things we need to improve on," Hansen said.
EVENT BREAKDOWN:
BARS
Minnesota was in second after the first rotation after posting a 48.800 on uneven bars. Jordyn Lyden led the way in the anchor spot with a 9.850 while Emma Slevin and Lacie Saltzmann went 9.775 in their first routines at Minnesota. Gianna Gerdes made her return with a 9.725 to lead it off and Teryn Crump rounded out the top five with a 9.675.
BEAM
Minnesota posted a 48.775 in their first beam rotation of the season. Lauren Pearl paced the group with a 9.825 while Jordyn Lyden anchored with a 9.800. Sarah Moraw posted a 9.775 and Gianna Gerdes went 9.725. Brooklyn Rowray rounded out the top five with a 9.650. The Gophers remained in second after two rotations with a score of 97.575.
FLOOR
The 'U' had its best rotation of the night, posting a 49.075 floor score. Sophie Swartzmiller had the highest score of the night for Minnesota in the event, going 9.850. Jordyn Lyden and Arianna Ostrum tallied 9.825 scores while Gianna Gerdes went 9.800. Leah Gonsiorowski totaled a 9.775 to complete the scoring totals for the group.
VAULT
The Gophers finished out the evening with a 48.825 on vault. Sarah Moraw stuck her landing and led the group with a 9.850. Gianna Gerdes was right on her heels with a 9.825. Arianna Ostrum and Teryn Crump both went 9.750 and Emma Slevin capped the top five with a 9.650.
NOTABLE:
-Sophie Swartzmiller posted a 9.850 to lead the group on the floor. It was her fifth straight meet going 9.850-or-better, dating back to the 2025 season.
-Jordyn Lyden had standout performances on bars (9.850), floor (9.825) and the balance beam (9.800). She was a Second Team All-Big Ten selection in 2025 and a Big Ten Gymnast to Watch entering 2026.
-Freshmen Arianna Ostrum (vault, bars, floor) and Lacie Saltzmann (bars, floor) made their Minnesota debuts. '
-Junior Emma Slevin, the Ireland Gymnast of the Year, also made her debut on the Gophers vault and bars teams.
-Sarah Moraw went 9.850 to lead the 'U' on vault. Her career-high is 9.900.
-Gianna Gerdes made her return to Minnesota after taking last year off. The two-time First Team All-Big Ten selection finished sixth in the all-around with a score of 39.075.
UP NEXT
Minnesota hosts No. 10 Arkansas at 4 p.m. CT next Saturday, Jan. 10 to open their home slate on B1G+.Â
"I think we did a really good job handling the environment," Hansen said. "It was certainly a new and exciting environment for our newcomers, there was lots of energy in the building. We were solid, we hit our routines but they weren't quite the routines we hit in practice. We have a lot of talent that we will keep improving on."
The Gophers posted scores of 48.825 on vault, 48.000 on bars, 48.775 on beam and 49.075 on the floor. Utah won on vault (49.200), bars (49.150) and beam (49.250) while the Gophers were victorious on the floor with their 49.075.
Individually, Sarah Moraw (9.850) led the Gophers on vault, Jordyn Lyden (9.850) led on bars, Lauren Pearl (9.825) was the top beam score and Sophie Swartzmiller paced the 'U' on the floor (9.850). Gianna Gerdes went 39.075 on the all-around.
Event champions tonight were Utah's Zoe Johnson (9.925) on vault, Makenna Smith (9.900) on bars, Ella Zirbes (9.875) and Avery Neff (9.875) on beam and Zirbes on floor (9.900). Zirbes was the all-around champion with a tally of 39.350.
Next weekend the Gophers host No. 10 Arkansas at Maturi Pavilion, a meet that the 'U' will have eight days to prepare for.
"We're really excited to be able to head back home. This was a really quick turnaround after Christmas and we didn't have as many days of training leading up to this meet that we would have liked. Now we get to have this under our belt and go into next week being really clear on the things we need to improve on," Hansen said.
EVENT BREAKDOWN:
BARS
Minnesota was in second after the first rotation after posting a 48.800 on uneven bars. Jordyn Lyden led the way in the anchor spot with a 9.850 while Emma Slevin and Lacie Saltzmann went 9.775 in their first routines at Minnesota. Gianna Gerdes made her return with a 9.725 to lead it off and Teryn Crump rounded out the top five with a 9.675.
BEAM
Minnesota posted a 48.775 in their first beam rotation of the season. Lauren Pearl paced the group with a 9.825 while Jordyn Lyden anchored with a 9.800. Sarah Moraw posted a 9.775 and Gianna Gerdes went 9.725. Brooklyn Rowray rounded out the top five with a 9.650. The Gophers remained in second after two rotations with a score of 97.575.
FLOOR
The 'U' had its best rotation of the night, posting a 49.075 floor score. Sophie Swartzmiller had the highest score of the night for Minnesota in the event, going 9.850. Jordyn Lyden and Arianna Ostrum tallied 9.825 scores while Gianna Gerdes went 9.800. Leah Gonsiorowski totaled a 9.775 to complete the scoring totals for the group.
VAULT
The Gophers finished out the evening with a 48.825 on vault. Sarah Moraw stuck her landing and led the group with a 9.850. Gianna Gerdes was right on her heels with a 9.825. Arianna Ostrum and Teryn Crump both went 9.750 and Emma Slevin capped the top five with a 9.650.
NOTABLE:
-Sophie Swartzmiller posted a 9.850 to lead the group on the floor. It was her fifth straight meet going 9.850-or-better, dating back to the 2025 season.
-Jordyn Lyden had standout performances on bars (9.850), floor (9.825) and the balance beam (9.800). She was a Second Team All-Big Ten selection in 2025 and a Big Ten Gymnast to Watch entering 2026.
-Freshmen Arianna Ostrum (vault, bars, floor) and Lacie Saltzmann (bars, floor) made their Minnesota debuts. '
-Junior Emma Slevin, the Ireland Gymnast of the Year, also made her debut on the Gophers vault and bars teams.
-Sarah Moraw went 9.850 to lead the 'U' on vault. Her career-high is 9.900.
-Gianna Gerdes made her return to Minnesota after taking last year off. The two-time First Team All-Big Ten selection finished sixth in the all-around with a score of 39.075.
UP NEXT
Minnesota hosts No. 10 Arkansas at 4 p.m. CT next Saturday, Jan. 10 to open their home slate on B1G+.Â
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