This weekend the menâ脛么s gymnastics team heads to Columbus, Ohio, to compete in the NCAA championships. Though winning the outright title isnâ脛么t necessarily the expectation, the 8th-ranked Gopherâ脛么s shouldnâ脛么t be excluded from consideration.
â脛煤Winning the title would be hard to do,â脛霉 head coach Mike Burns said. â脛煤But we are here and anything can happen.â脛霉
The championships begin Thursday and run through Saturday, and the countryâ脛么s top 12 teams are split into two qualifying sessions, each of which contains six teams attempting to reach Fridayâ脛么s team finals. Saturday is host to the individual championships.
The Gophers will participate in Thursdayâ脛么s afternoon session, where they will vie against the likes of No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 4 Illinois, No. 5 Penn State, No. 9 Air Force and No. 12 UIC. To reach Fridayâ脛么s finals, the team must finish in the sessionâ脛么s top three.
Individuals can also progress â脛卯 even if the team doesnâ脛么t â脛卯 by placing in the top three of a given event, a feat accomplished by nine Gophers at last yearâ脛么s nationals. That said, Burns is focused on where Minnesota can finish collectively.
â脛煤Our goal is to make it to [Friday] as a team,â脛霉 he said. â脛煤All our decisions are geared around how we can get the best team score and individuals are â脛¦ the second priority.â脛霉
Senior Michael Paulus was stoic in his comments on the high stakes of his final weekend of collegiate gymnastics.
â脛煤Iâ脛么m trying not to think about it,â脛霉 he said. â脛煤Thinking about it doesnâ脛么t make you any more prepared, itâ脛么s not productive. Once the weekendâ脛么s over Iâ脛么ll have time to look back.â脛霉
Under Burns, Minnesota has been to the team finals once before, in 2007. Overall, the Gophers have qualified for the NCAA championships 43 times.
Slechta is lone womenâ脛么s representative
The womenâ脛么s championships are also this weekend, but wonâ脛么t include Minnesota as a team; the Gophers were knocked out at the NCAA regionals. Yet Minnesotaâ脛么s maroon and gold will still make an appearance at nationals courtesy of Kayla Slechta.
Slechta qualified to compete at the national championships as an individual by placing fourth at regionals with her all-around performance.
Slechta, a second team All-Big Ten gymnast, will participate in all four events, though her best is the vault, womenâ脛么s head coach Meg Stephenson said.
Finishing in the top-four of any of the events would give Slechta All-America honors, in addition to qualifying her for the finals. Gymnasts who place in the top-eight receive Second Team All-America standing, but do not advance.
â脛煤The fact that sheâ脛么s here says a lot about her abilities,â脛霉 Stephenson said. Add the fact that Slechta is just a freshman makes her progress is all the more impressive.
â脛煤I want to place on the podium,â脛霉 Slechta said. â脛煤Thatâ脛么s my goal.â脛霉
