Minnesota’s gymnastics team finished third overall at the Big Ten Championship this past weekend, but former individual champion Mya Hooten did not reclaim a title.
After a second-place finish the previous year, the Gophers had a chance to win a team title against No. 5 UCLA, No. 9 Michigan State and No. 17 Michigan.
The Gophers started the meet fiercely, led by Emily Koch, Leah Gonsiorowski and Lauren Pearl, who all scored 9.900 on the floor. Their routines placed Minnesota in second place behind the No. 9 Spartans.
Hooten made a rare mistake on her last pass, finishing with a 9.875.
Ava Stewart shared the lead on vault with a 9.875, tying with her teammate Hooten. Despite standout performances, the Gophers sat in fourth place after the vault.
Fortunately for the Gophers, Jordyn Lyden rallied for the team, taking her first Big Ten event title on bars. Posting a 9.950, her sixth time going 9.000 or better in the last seven meets.
Graciously thanking her faith for her success, Lyden spoke on her goal for the end of the season.
“First of all, I want to thank my Lord and savior, Jesus Christ, I just went out there and executed to the best of my ability,” Lyden said. “My goal is to get a perfect 10 on bars this year.”
Lyden appreciates her teammates, who she said were a big reason for why she decided to commit to the Gophers in the first place.
“I’m glad my teammates have my back and trust me to go last,” Lyden said. “I absolutely love the team culture. It is so family-like, they made it feel like home.”
Saving their best performance for last, the Gophers earned a season-high team score of 49.525 on the balance beam. This jumped them up to third right at the last second.
Hooten, happy for her teammates, spoke on working together.
“To be a successful team, you have to be able to work together,” Hooten said.
Hooten added that the team’s success is not just based on wins and losses, but on becoming strong women.
Head coach Jenny Hansen was grateful for the happy ending to a nail-biting meet.
“I was especially proud of how we finished the meet on beam, we just attacked it,” Hansen said. “We wanted to leave here as a better team than we walked in as, and I definitely think we accomplished that.”
Minnesota will compete next April 2 in Salt Lake City for their regional meet, which will determine if their season ends or if they advance to the regional semifinals.
