The Gophers women’s gymnastics team faced some adversity to start the Big Ten championships, as junior Cierra Tomson went down with an injury.
Tomson, who’s competed in all four events in all but one meet this season, tweaked her upper back while warming up for vault.
“I know all of our hearts kind of stopped for a second when the little mishap happened on vault,” sophomore Lindsay Mable said.
Minnesota overcame the loss as best as it could and finished third at the Big Ten meet for the second consecutive year.
“When someone goes down, it affects the team in more ways than just not having that competitor there,” head coach Meg Stephenson said. “I thought they really held their composure.”
It’s not the first time this season the Gophers have had to make lineup changes.
Minnesota was already without sophomore beam specialist Hanna Nordquist during the competition.
Still, Stephenson said the injuries aren’t a major concern as the season winds to a close.
Minnesota turned to two freshmen in Tomson’s absence, and the two made the most of their opportunity.
Kaitlin Rahon filled in for Tomson on uneven bars and stepped up with a score of 9.55.
Then Bailie Holst, only scheduled to compete on uneven bars, scored 9.825 or higher in all three events she competed in at the Big Ten meet.
Her performance earned her a spot on the All-Championship team.
She said she wasn’t necessarily surprised with her performance, but said she wasn’t expecting to compete in as many events as she did.
“I wasn’t actually planning on competing floor or vault,” Holst said. “I go in with the mentality of ‘whatever happens happens,’ because I know hard work pays off.”
Mable joined Holst on the All-Championship team after her record-breaking performances on vault and in the all-around competition.
Mable became just the third person in Minnesota women’s gymnastics history to hit a perfect 10 on vault.
“That was unreal,” Mable said. “I cried and jumped on half the team. It will probably be one of my favorite memories.”
Mable’s four impressive event scores culminated in her all-around title with a program-record score of 39.65.
“It’s absolutely crazy,” Mable said. “We had a few unforeseen events happen, so to see all the people step up … helped me keep the momentum going.”