The Minnesota women’s gymnastics team continued their hot streak against Maryland on Friday, beating the Terrapins 196.850-195.325.
The win is the sixth in a row for the Gophers, who are currently tied for first place in the Big Ten with a 5-0 record in the conference and 9-2 overall.
The No. 16 Gophers saw their best performance come on the uneven parallel bars. They set a new school record on the event, tallying a 49.525.
“We hit every routine, and, even more impressively, I think we stuck every dismount, which is huge,” head coach Jenny Hansen told Gopher Sports. “I think that’s why we ended up with the school record. It was a pretty amazing night on bars.”
Ivy Lu led all gymnasts in the event, tying her career and program high with a 9.975, just .025 points away from the perfect score. One judge awarded her a perfect score while the second judge disagreed and gave her a 9.950.
Lu wasn’t the only Gopher to flirt with a perfect score. Lexy Ramler was given a perfect score by one judge on the balance beam while the other judge gave her a 9.900. Her overall score was 9.950 and she earned first place on the event.
That was just one part of Ramler’s career night as she set a school record with a score of 39.725 in the individual all-around competition. Ramler added a second place finish of 9.950 on the uneven parallel bars, an event-best 9.900 on the floor exercise and a first place 9.925 finish on the vault.
“She was fabulous tonight,” Hansen told Gopher Sports. “Really, every event was probably the best she’s done all year long. It was great to see her do what she does every day in the gym.”
Ona Loper added to her streak of encouraging performances as she had three podium finishes with a pair of third place finishes on the floor exercise and bars and a second place finish on vault. Loper has been working herself back to form after a torn Achilles tendon cut her 2018 season short.
Paige Williams continued to perform well on the floor exercise as the gymnast placed third with a 9.800 score. Williams added a second place finish on vault with 9.850.
The Gophers will hit the mats again on Saturday Feb. 23 taking on four Big Ten opponents: No. 8 Michigan, No. 22 Ohio State, Illinois and Rutgers in Toledo, Ohio.
