The No. 11 Gophers placed second in a quad meet with a score of 196.675 behind No. 20 Missouri, 196.775, and in front of Lindenwood, 194.700, and Ohio State, 194.675. Though the Gophers couldn’t pull out a win, a few of the gymnasts were able to set new highs and had plenty of podium finishes.
On bars, the Gophers had their second-worst outing of the year with a score of 48.925. Junior Lexy Ramler was able to get an event win, however, with a score of 9.875. On the beam, the Gophers were able to close the gap with Mizzou by posting a 49.200 team score. They didn’t pull out an event title, but Junior Ona Loper and redshirt senior Mary Korlin-Downs tied for second with 9.875.
On floor exercise, sophomore Ali Sonier tied her season-high with a 9.825 as the Gophers picked up two more podium finishes. Loper picked up her fifth 9.900 of the season for a second place finish while freshman Halle Remlinger tied for third with a 9.875.
The final event of the night for the Gophers was their best event. On vault, they posted a season-high team score of 49.275. Ramler and Sonier tied their season-highs with 9.900 and 9.850, respectively. Sophomore Tiarre Sales set a new season-high with a 9.875.
On top of that, Sales tied her career-high on all-around with 39.375 and Ramler picked up another podium finish with a 39.450.
Men fall to Wolverines
The No. 10 men’s gymnastics team faced No. 2 Michigan in Ann Arbor for the first five-up, five-count meet of the season.
For the second week in a row, junior Russell Johnson set a new career-high on the pommel horse, this time with a mark of 13.600. On floor, sophomore Mike Moran picked up the team’s first podium finish with a 14.350, tying for second place.
Just like the women’s team, the men’s team set a new season-high on vault with a 72.550. Freshman Donte McKinney posted a new career-high and a team-high on the season with a score of 14.950, which was enough to grab the event title. This was also the highest team score since 2018.
On rings, the Gophers again set a new season-high with a 68.100 that was led by junior captain Shane Wiskus. He picked up his first event title of the night with a career-high 14.450. Despite having two falls on the high bar from the Gophers, sophomore David Pochinka tied for second place with a score of 13.750.
In the final event, Wiskus found himself atop the podium again on parallel bars with a 14.600. Senior co-captain Timmy Kutyla just missed the podium with a 13.700 for a fourth place finish. The Gophers dropped the meet 408.900-396.300.
Next week, the women’s gymnastics team has its final road meet of the season against North Carolina State. The men’s gymnastics team has another bye next week then are back in action Friday, March 13, for senior night at Maturi Pavilion for a tri-meet.
