Just two days after dominating Ohio State, the No. 6 Gophers gymnastics team, on a quick turnaround, lost in a tri-meet Monday evening against Maryland (196.700) and Pittsburgh (196.450) after scoring 196.225.
“We actually started off really well and we experienced some troubles on balance beam, but I was really proud of the way the team came back on floor and vault today,” Gophers head coach Jenny Hansen said. “Overall, there were a lot of positives that we can take away from this meet and there is also an opportunity for us to respond better for the next [meet].”
A shining light in the loss for Minnesota was fifth-year Ona Loper. She took home four event titles, including the all-around, after scoring 39.675, the third-best score of her career.
For the second time this season, Loper achieved perfection on vault as she earned a perfect 10 on the apparatus for the fifth time of her career. Coming into the meet, she ranked No. 1 in the nation.
“She was amazing today, in every event. She really capped it off with that 10 on vault. It was a beauty,” Hansen said. “[She was] super steady and solid. Two meets in three days, [she was] just wonderful.”
Led by fifth-year Lexy Ramler, who tied her program record of 9.975 on bars to win the event title, the Gophers’ bars team totaled 49.425, their second-highest score this season. All their scoring routines earned a score of 9.850 or better.
Although Hansen rested sophomore Mya Hooten on floor due to soreness from Saturday’s meet, she shined for Minnesota as she competed on bars (9.850) and tied her career-high score of 9.950 on vault.
With Hooten out of the floor lineup, the team produced 49.375 with three scores earning at least 9.900 points from the judges, one of those being a career-best for sophomore Gianna Gerdes.
Gerdes competed for the second time in her career on floor and earned a score of 9.900 from the judges. She also competed on beam for the second time in her career, scoring a career-best 9.750.
Minnesota’s vault team closed out the meet, matching the floor’s team score of 49.375.
The Gophers had a strong meet outside their beam team, which produced an unusual 48.050 with two scoring routines under 9.475.
“We’ve got to get a little more aggressive there and believe in ourselves on that event. We’re very good. We just have to go out there and do the routines that we’re doing in practice and believe in ourselves,” Hansen said, “So it’s something we’re going to work on, but we know we have the potential there, so we just have to keep pushing forward and respond in a positive way.”
Minnesota will travel to Toledo, Ohio, where they will compete in the Big Five meet against No. 14 Michigan State, Nebraska, Penn State, and Rutgers on Saturday, Feb. 19, at 6 p.m.
