Former Minnesota soccer assistant coach Brandon Barkus was named the head coach at Augustana on Saturday.
Barkus was the goalkeeper coach for the Gophers beginning in January 2004 when coach Mikki Denney Wright took over the program. He served in that position for the 2004 and 2005 seasons.
Under Barkus’ coaching, goalie Molly Schneider was named first-team All-Big Ten and set a single-season school record with a goals against average of 0.65 in 2005.
Men lose at Illinois
Minnesota’s men’s gymnastics team lost its season-opening dual meet at Illinois by a score of 207.300-201.650.
The ninth-ranked Gophers were led by junior Jake Lee, who won the all-around competition by posting a score of 49.950. Lee also took the title in the vault and logged a pair of seconds and a third.
Freshman Adam Reichow broke his fibula during the competition and will be out indefinitely.
Minnesota opens its home season against Illinois-Chicago at 1 p.m. Saturday in the Sports Pavilion.
Women’s team wins
Minnesota’s women’s gymnastics team defeated Illinois-Chicago on Saturday by a score of 193.625-192.900.
The 19th-ranked Gophers were beneficiaries of a standout performance from junior Laura Johnson. Johnson finished first in the uneven bars, took second in the vault and floor exercise and was second in the all-around.
Sophomore Ashley Mutchler was another Minnesota gymnast to compete in the all-around. She placed fifth.
Minnesota opens its Big Ten dual season at 6 p.m. on Saturday against No. 7 Penn State at the Sports Pavilion.
Tennis falls at home
Minnesota’s men’s tennis team opened its dual season with a 5-2 loss to top-ranked Virginia at the Baseline Tennis Center.
The 54th-ranked Gophers received wins from D.J. Geatz and 71st-ranked Raoul Schwark. Geatz and Schwark were both straight-sets winners.
Minnesota also had one win in the doubles portion of the dual. Adrien Debreyne and Schwark won their match 8-7.
The Gophers continue their season-opening home stand next weekend with duals against No. 13 Texas A&M and No. 22 Texas.
