Hansen is responsible for the Gophers’ vaulting team, and also works with the beam and floor competitors. She acts as a liaison with several groups, including the booster club and Gopher gymnastics alumnae. Hansen is very involved in planning the annual Minnesota Gymnastics Foundation Hall of Fame banquet.

"We were looking to find someone who is fully capable of coaching in the gym, and who can handle all of the responsibilities outside of the gym," explained co-head coach Jim Stephenson. "Jenny primarily works on vault, floor exercise and the balance beam. She also works with trampoline training and aerobic conditioning. She is more involved in the recruiting process than any assistant coach we've had. She has a great eye for gymnastics, and has experience in this area from her work at Illinois."

At Illinois, Hansen primarily dealt with the floor exercise, music selection compilation, and choreography. In addition to coaching the floor exercise competitors, she also played an important role in on-campus recruiting and alumni relations. Illinois recorded a record of 11-12 in 2006, and finished seventh at the Big Ten Championship with a team score of 192.500. At the NCAA South Central Region Championship, Illinois came in fourth with a score of 193.125, and finished the season with a No. 25 national ranking.

As a volunteer assistant coach in 2005, Hansen helped coach the Golden Gophers to a third-place showing at the Big Ten Championships, which was the team’s highest finish at the conference championships since 2002. As a student assistant coach in 2004, she helped lead Minnesota to record-breaking performances, including the program's best team score, a 197.700, and the best uneven bars and balance beam scores in team history.

As a gymnast, Hansen competed as a Golden Gopher from 2000-2003. In 2003, she finished fifth in the vault at the NCAA Regional Championships with a career-best score of 9.850. At the completion of her career, she ranked third on Minnesota's all-time top performers list on the balance beam (9.925), was tied for seventh on the floor exercise list (9.925), and was tied for ninth all-time on the vault (9.850).

Hansen, a native of Ripon, Wis., served as a team captain in her senior season with the Maroon and Gold. She was a four-year letterwinner and a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree. She completed her bachelor's degree in kinesiology in at the University of Minnesota in May of 2004.

"Jenny's return to Minnesota has been a wonderful attribute to our program," said Stephenson. "She was a great gymnast, and she is a great leader. She stayed with us for two seasons after her competition days were done to learn the other side of things. She left for Illinois for a year, where she was able to learn even more concepts and get different perspectives. Joining back with us has been a great benefit to our program."

Hansen and her husband Justin reside in Rosemount, Minn.