The 19th-ranked Minnesota women’s gymnastics team earned an invitation to the NCAA Region 2 gymnastics championship on April 10 in Logan, Utah. Minnesota qualified with a regional qualifying score of 195.000.
The other teams set to compete at the meet are No. 1 Georgia, No. 10 Florida, No. 13 Denver, No. 16 Iowa State and No. 17 Utah State.
The invitation marks the fourth consecutive year Minnesota has qualified for the regional meet. The top two team finishers and the all-around winner at the regional meet advance to the NCAA championships, which will be held April 22-24 in Salt Lake City.
Minnesota is one of five Big Ten teams to earn a spot in the NCAA regionals. No. 4 Michigan and Illinois will compete at the Region 3 Championship in Lincoln, Neb; No. 6 Penn State will host the Region 5 Championship; and No. 11 Ohio State will compete in the Region 6 Championship in Morgantown, W. Va.
ù Junior Judy Cavazos dislocated a joint in her right foot and will not compete. She is currently ranked No. 16 in the nation on the uneven bars and No. 24 on the floor exercise.
Men’s gymnastics
The Gophers men’s gymnastics team qualified five members for the NCAA East Regional championships, which will be held Apr. 10 in Champaign, Ill.
Junior Ryan Winterbourne qualified in the still rings and parallel bars; senior Jason Krob and freshman Justin Lecher qualified on the pommel horse; and freshmen Justin Conner and Todd Guilbeau will compete on the horizontal bar.
Wrestling
Some of the top wrestlers in the United States will wrestle the Cuba National Team in a World Dual Meet to be held Tuesday, April 6, at Simley High School in St. Paul. The World Dual is slated to start at 7 p.m.
The lineup includes NCAA champions, U.S. National Team members and former Olympic team members.
Wrestling at 119 pounds will be Lou Roselli, a member of the 1996 Olympic team. At 127.5, Minnesota 1999 All-American Leroy Vega. At 138.5 is Troy Steiner, an NCAA champion and current assistant coach at Wisconsin. Following him at 152 pounds is his brother Troy Steiner, a current national team member and also an assistant coach at Wisconsin. NCAA champion Lee Weber will wrestle at 167.5 pounds. Returning home to his alma mater is Derek Jones, a current national team member who will wrestle at 187 pounds, followed by Joel Sharatt at 197 pounds and at heavyweight, former Minnesota wrestler and All-American, Billy Pierce.
At half time of the competition, the 1999 Big Ten champion Minnesota wrestling team will be honored.