No. 18 Minnesota to Host No. 24 Iowa for Alumni Day

MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 18 University of Minnesota women's gymnastics team (3-2, 1-1 B1G) is preparing for its second Big Ten home meet of the 2026 season. The Gophers are getting set to take on No. 24 Iowa (4-3, 1-1 B1G) on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 4 p.m. Minnesota will be celebrating Alumni Day and will be honoring the 2006, 2016 and 2021 Big Ten Champion teams.

The meet will be hosted at Maturi Pavilion and B1G+ will stream the event. Gophers alumnae Lexy Bergeland (Play-By-Play) and Tiarre Sales (Analyst) will be on the call.

Minnesota is 2-0 at home this year, winning meets against No. 10 Arkansas and No. 5 Michigan. Iowa's biggest win came two weeks ago at home over No. 17 Michigan State, the 2024 Big Ten Champions.

MEET INFORMATION
No. 18 Minnesota vs. No. 24 Iowa
Saturday, Jan. 31
4 p.m. CT
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
TV/Stream: B1G+
Commentators: Lexy Bergeland (Play-By-Play) and Tiarre Sales (Analyst)
Live Stats: GopherSports.com

PARKING AND TRANSPORTATION

Fans are encouraged to purchase a parking pass in advance here. Individuals arriving on campus without a parking pass are encouraged to park in surface lots on the east side of Huntington Bank Stadium (Gold, Victory, Ski-U-Mah lots).

WEEK FOUR RECAP VS. NEBRASKA

The No. 14 Minnesota gymnastics team fell for the first time in 2026 Big Ten competition to the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday afternoon. The final score was 195.600-195.075.
"This was just not our best meet today and we're a much better team than what we showed," said head coach Jenny Hansen. "We have to walk away from this meet and learn from it, because that was very out of character for us."
The Gophers posted scores of 48.775 on vault, 48.475 on bars, 48.775 on beam and a season-high 49.350 on the floor. Nebraska went 48.850 on vault, 48.975 on bars, 49.075 on beam and 48.700 on the floor.
Crump and Stewart won the vault title (9.825) while Saltzmann earned her first career event title on the uneven bars (9.900). Arianna Ostrum won her second career event title on the floor (9.900).
Minnesota's score of 195.050 was its lowest in a meet since going 194.450 on Jan. 6, 2015 vs. Central Michigan. It was Minnesota's worst score in a Big Ten dual meet since Jan. 22, 2021 against Michigan (195.000).

SCOUTING IOWA

No. 24 Iowa is led by second-year head coach Jen Llewellyn. She was named the fifth head coach in program history on June 6, 2024. She came to Iowa after spending three years as the head coach at Washington, where she helped them to three straight NCAA regionals.
After being picked to finish 10th in the Preseason Poll, the GymHawks took fifth in the regular season and at Big Ten Championships in 2025. The GymHawks returned eight athletes who accounted for 37 event titles in 2025. Sophomore Aurélie Tran hopes to capitalize after a strong freshman season where she earned first team all-Big Ten and all-freshman honors after competing in every meet last season.
In 2026, Iowa ranks 14th on vault, 17th on bars, 34th on beam and 27th on floor. The Hawkeyes earned a key dual meet win over No. 17 Michigan State on Jan. 17 and currently stand at 4-3 (1-1 B1G) this season. Aurélie Tran ranks 11th nationally and fourth in the Big Ten on bars, with an average of 9.900. Tran also ranks fourth in the Big Ten on vault.

ALUMNI DAY 2026

Minnesota will be honoring the 2006, 2016 and 2021 Big Ten Champion teams on Saturday at the Pav.
The 2006 Golden Gophers became the fifth Minnesota gymnastics team in history to win a Big Ten title. The 'U' finished with a 17-8 overall record and placed fifth at the NCAA Regionals. The Gophers snapped Michigan's seven-year title streak with their performance in the 2006 Big Ten Women's Gymnastics Championships. Led by Big Ten Gymnast of the Year Laura Johnson, the Gophers were the only team to defeat Michigan in the Big Ten Championships in the past 14 years. Johnson was First Team All-Big Ten, the Big Ten vault champion and competed as an individual at the NCAA Championships.
Led by head coach Jenny Hansen, the 2016 Golden Gophers won the second ever outright Big Ten regular season title in program history. The team posted a perfect 9-0 league record on the way to clinching the title. Hansen was named Big Ten Coach of the Year as Minnesota posted its only unbeaten Big Ten slate in program history. The Gophers hosted NCAA Regionals at Maturi Pavilion, where they took second, making the NCAA Championships for the fourth time in program HISTORY. Lindsay Mable was honored with the school's first ever AAI Award as the Heisman Trophy of collegiate gymnastics. Also the Big Ten Gymnast of the Year and a regional champion on bars, Mable was named an All-American on four events, while Hanna Norquist was an All-American on Beam.
In 2021, one of the most difficult seasons in college athletics history, Minnesota took home the Big Ten Championship at home inside Maturi Pavilion. It was the program's sixth and Big Ten Championships title and the first since 2006. Minnesota tallied a program-record score of 197.750 to win it all. The 'U' then advanced to the NCAA Championships for the fifth time in program laurels after finishing second at the Athens Regional. Minnesota went on to finish eighth at the national championships, its second best finish in school history.
The Gophers had five WCGA All-Americans, including Lexy Ramler, Ona Loper, Mya Hooten, Maddie Quarles and Mary Korlin-Downs. The Big Ten Gymnast of the Year, Ramler also took home the AAI award, becoming the second Minnesota gymnast ever to do so. Ramler won the Big Ten All-Around, bars and beam titles while Loper won on floor.

SALTZMANN NAMED BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK

The Charlotte, N.C., native had a career meet against Nebraska. She earned her first ever event title, going 9.900 (a career-best) on the uneven bars. She totaled another career-best with a 9.875 in the lead off spot on the floor, helping Minnesota to a season-best 49.350 total on the event.
Saltzmann earned her first Big Ten Freshman of the Week award after her performance, the first Gopher to win a weekly award in 2026.

EVENT TITLES APLENTY

Overall in 2025, Minnesota won 47 event titles in 14 meets. That included 11 vault (by four individuals), 13 bars (three individuals), 12 beam (five individuals) and 11 floor (two individuals).
So far in 2026, the 'U' holds Nine event titles. Teryn Crump (9.900) won on vault, Jordyn Lyden (9.925) won on bars and Leah Gonsiorowski (9.900) won on the floor vs. Michigan. Arianna Ostrum and Sophie Swartzmiller (9.875) tied for the floor title vs. Arkansas.
Against Nebraska, Minnesota took home four titles. Crump and Stewart (9.825) tied for the vault title while Ostrum (9.900) won her second floor title (9.900) with a career-best score. Lacie Saltzmann earned her first event title on bars with a career-best 9.900.

WCGA AND ROAD TO NATIONALS RANKINGS

After week four Minnesota comes in at No. 18 (196.119 avg.) in the Road to Nationals rankings. The Gophers rank 21st on vault (48.981 avg.), 26th on bars (48.888 avg.), 16th on beam (49.006 avg.), and 13th on floor (49.244 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.

INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS

Nationally, Jordyn Lyden ranks 46th on bars (9.856 avg.) and 38th on beam (9.862 avg.). Gianna Gerdes ranks 42nd all-around (39.125 avg.).
Ava Stewart is No. 48 nationally on vault (8.333 avg.).

TOP SCORES PER EVENT

Minnesota's top vault and bars performances of the year came on Jan. 17 vs. Michigan, as the Gophers totaled 49.250's on each event.
For the team, their 49.425 on Jan. 10 vs. Arkansas took the cake. They improved from just a 48.775 team score just eight days prior.
On the floor, Minnesota tallied a 49.300 Jan. 17 vs. Michigan.
Minnesota's team score of 197.150 on Jan. 17 was the earliest in a season the Gophers recorded a 197-or-higher since totaling a 197.025 on Jan. 15, 2021.

197 TRACKER

Minnesota (197.150 vs. Michigan) is one of 14 teams to have hit 197 this year. Michigan and UCLA are the only two other Big Ten teams to have done so. Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Missouri, Oklahoma, Penn State, Stanford and Utah are the others.
Of that group of teams, UCLA, Oklahoma, Missouri, Utah, Florida, Alabama and LSU all made nationals in 2025.

TOP SCORES PER EVENT

Minnesota's top vault and bars performances of the year came on Jan. 17 vs. Michigan, as the Gophers totaled 49.250's on each event.
For the team, their 49.425 on Jan. 10 vs. Arkansas took the cake. They improved from just a 48.775 team score just eight days prior.
On the floor, Minnesota tallied a 49.350 Jan. 24 at Nebraska.
Minnesota's team score of 197.150 on Jan. 17 was the earliest in a season the Gophers recorded a 197-or-higher since totaling a 197.025 on Jan. 15, 2021.

UP NEXT
The 'U' hosts No. 5 UCLA next Saturday, Feb. 7 at 4 p.m. B1G+ will stream the meet. The Gophers have announced a sellout for the event.

Upcoming Events

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Teryn Crump

Gianna Gerdes

Leah Gonsiorowski

Jordyn Lyden

Arianna Ostrum

Lacie Saltzmann

Ava Stewart

Sophie Swartzmiller