ALEX KARWOWSKI: How’s it going everyone? My name is Alex Karwowski with the Minnesota Daily, and you’re listening to The Gold Standard. A podcast dedicated to the University of Minnesota, where we bring you the latest on all things Minnesota sports. 

For the first item on our docket, you may notice that Minneapolis is crawling with people dressed in what looks to be team warm up suits. That’s because the Target Center is hosting the nation’s top gymnasts for the USA Olympic team trials. Among the athletes vying for a spot on Team USA are Simone Biles, Suni Lee and Gopher alum Shane Wiskus. St. Paul’s Lee won the Olympic gold medal in the all around at the Tokyo 2020 competition, and Wiskus was part of Team USA back then, but he’s still searching for his first Olympic medal. The two gymnasts will look to qualify for a spot on the Olympic team for the first time in their home state. 

A little closer to campus, swimmers are hoping to earn a chance at repping their country in this year’s Paralympics. Inside the walls of the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center, UMN alum Mallory Weggemann and Minnesota nativist Summer Schmit and Natalie Sims are competing in the U.S. Paralympic swimming trials. Weggemann is the only one of the three with gold medals on her swimming resume. She earned two at the Tokyo 2020 games when she defeated her competitors in the 100 meter backstroke and 200 meter individual medley. Weggemann earned her other gold medal 12 years ago in London in the 50 meter freestyle. But even if none of the former Gophers make Team USA this weekend, the maroon and gold will still be well represented on the world stage. 

Sarah Bacon, a former diver for the Gophers, qualified for the Olympics last week in the women’s three meter synchronized diving event alongside Stanford alum Kassidy Cook. Bacon also qualified as an individual on the women’s three meter springboard, which means she’ll get to show her skills in not one, but two events at her first Olympic competition. Three days after Bacon qualified for Team USA in her second event, Gopher track alum, Matt Wilkinson earned his first ever roster spot for Team USA in the 300 meter steeplechase. But, his time doesn’t meet the Olympics qualification standards. He can still make the cut, though, if his time is high enough in the world rankings. We’ll know for sure on July 7th. 

For our current Gophers, the women’s basketball team held their first open practice for members of the media on Wednesday. While there are a handful of new faces to the team, for some players, it’s a bit of a reunion. Annika Stewart, a transfer from Nebraska, was teammates with Gophers leading scorer Mara Braun and Brynn Senden at Wayzata High School. Stewart will use her fifth and final year of collegiate eligibility for the Gophers.

Taylor Woodson, on the other hand, will join her former Hopkins teammate Amaya Battle after playing one season for the Michigan Wolverines. The Gophers were the runner ups in last season’s Women’s National Invitation Tournament. Although Braun’s season came to a halt after she injured her left foot in a regular season game against Illinois. She briefly returned to the starting lineup for the team’s first two matchups of the WNIT, but then missed the final three. 

Head coach for Gophers Volleyball, Keegan Cook, has been really busy preparing his team for the 2024 volleyball season. After finishing their spring matches, the Gophers added Oregon transfers Kate Thibault and Alex Acevedo. The team returned from a 12 day trip to Europe last month, where they played a total of six matches in Turkey, Slovenia and Italy. The Gophers open their season against Iowa State at Maturi Pavilion on August 24th.

That’s all we have time for today. This episode of The Gold Standard was written by Alex Karwowski and produced by Kaylie Sirovy. Thanks for giving us a listen. As always, feel free to send a message to our email inbox at [email protected] with any questions, comments or hot takes. And before we go, I’d like to wish a happy birthday to my sister, Eleanor, who turns 20 on Saturday. Happy birthday, Eleanor. I’m Alex Karwowski, and this has been The Gold Standard.