Last season, the Gophers men’s gymnastics team entered the Big Ten championships fresh off a win against Illinois-Chicago. Unfortunately, that was Minnesota’s only win of the season.
The Gophers will try to close out the season at Illinois-Chicago on Sunday in similar fashion, which would again give the team its only win this season.
Things might only get worse for Minnesota at the Big Tens on March 26-27 in Iowa City, Iowa. The nations’ top 10 is stacked with six representatives from the Big Ten.
With overall team success unlikely, individual performances will be the only measure of what goes well for the Gophers at the championships.
One likely success story might involve senior Jason Krob. The pommel horse specialist has been nearly unbeatable against Big Ten opposition this season, winning the horse event versus Iowa, Ohio State and Illinois.
Although he struggled at the New Mexico Invitational last weekend and against Michigan State on Tuesday, the one-time walk-on is poised to overcome recent mediocre performances for a successful Big Ten outing.
“We have one or two walk-ons every year,” coach Fred Roethlisberger said. “We were fortunate to get Jason, who is a very talented and intelligent gymnast.”
Roethlisberger might add courageous to that list, considering Krob walked on to a Minnesota team in 1995 that was fresh off a Big Ten title.
“I knew that I’d be coming into a good core of gymnastics talent, and I figured everything would fall into line,” Krob said of his hopes for success four years ago. “It’s another one of those things that you can’t really foresee.”
The team has not put together a stellar record since Krob’s arrival, but the St. Charles, Mo., native has enjoyed other successes as a student-athlete.
Krob will graduate in June and has already accepted a position with General Mills as a financial analyst. His analysis of the Big Tens is an optimistic one.
“I wouldn’t put it past us to not finish in last place,” Krob said. “I think honestly we could not only not finish last, but we might surprise a few teams.”