Minnesota Hosts Iowa on Saturday Minnesota will host Big Ten rival Iowa at the Sports Pavilion on Saturday, Feb. 24. The meet will begin at 6 p.m., and live scoring will be available on www.gophersports.com. The competition will mark the first home meet this season against a Big Ten opponent.
Coming up Next Week
Minnesota will travel to Iowa State for its second competition this season against the Cyclones. The competition will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 2.
Gophers Ranked No. 26
Minnesota moved up three spots in the national rankings this week, and is currently listed at No. 26 in the GymInfo National Rankings with an RQS of 192.995. This week’ opponent, Iowa, is tied for No. 21 in the rankings with an RQS of 193.575.
National Rankings Format
For the first five weeks of the season, national rankings were based on overall average scores for the season. Beginning this week, the national rankings are based on Regional Qualifying Score, or RQS. A team’s RQS is calculated by taking the top six scores of the season, of which no more than three may be from home meets, dropping the highest of those six scores, and averaging the remaining five scores. At the end of the regular season, the NCAA uses Regional Qualifying Scores to determine which teams will advance to compete in an NCAA Regional Championship.
National Rankings by Event
Below are the team rankings by event, with Regional Qualifying Scores, for the Gophers and Iowa:
Minnesota Iowa Vault No. 34 (48.105) No. 22 (48.645) Bars No. 27 (48.220) No. 23 (48.280) Beam No. 18 (48.360) No. 24 (48.125) Floor No. 26 (48.285) tie-No. 21 (48.550) Tough Schedule
Minnesota has competitions scheduled this season against nine of the teams listed in theGymInfo National Rankings top 25 this week. So far this season, Minnesota has faced No. 5 Utah, No. 10 Iowa State, No. 13 Arizona, and No. 16 Penn State. In the next five weeks, the Gophers will compete against No. 18 Ohio State, No. 20 West Virginia, tie-No. 21 Iowa, No. 24 Illinois, and No. 25 Utah State.
Ganchan Leads the Way on Vault Again
Senior Kelly Ganchan has been anchoring the vault line up for the Gophers since Carmelina Carabajal was injured earlier this season. Ganchan has been the top Minnesota vaulter in three of six competitions, including the meet at North Carolina last weekend. She earned a 9.750 to place third on vault against the Tar Heels.
Rehana Russell Back in the Lineup
Junior Rehana Russell has competed on bars in the last two meets, earning her best score at UNC last weekend with a 9.650.
Walker and Carabajal Earn Best Beam Scores at UNC
Junior Angela Walker had her best score of the season on beam in last weekend’s meet at North Carolina. Walker earned a 9.825 to tie for third place in the event. Carmelina Carabajal earned her personal-best score of 9.800 to place fifth.
Nice Rebound on Floor
After scoring a season-low 46.875 on floor at the Best of Minnesota Meet on Feb. 10, the Gophers rebounded by earning a 48.750 at North Carolina on Feb. 16, the team’s second-best floor score of the year. All six individual floor scores at North Carolina were higher than the team’s best floor score (9.625) at the Best of Minnesota.
Carmelina Carabajal tied for first place on the floor with a mark of 9.825. Amanda Miles was also in the top three, finishing third with a 9.775. Alexis Russell tallied her personal-best mark of 9.750 to tie for fourth.
This Week’s Opponent - Iowa
Iowa is currently toed for No. 21 in the national rankings, and has a record of 4-5 on the season. The Hawkeyes’ best score this year is a 193.575, score in a quad meet against Northern Illinois, Winona State and Wisconsin-Whitewater on Feb. 2.
Last weekend, the Hawkeyes competed against No. 8 Oklahoma, and earned their second-best score of the season with a 194.525. On vault, freshman Katie Turcotte posted the highest score for the Hawkeyes with a 9.875 to tie for first place.
Larissa Libby is in her third year as the head coach of the Iowa program. She is assisted by Jeff Richards and Tayla Vexler.
Last Meeting With the Hawkeyes
The last meeting between Minnesota and Iowa was at the 2006 Big Ten Championships, where Minnesota took first place with a 195.150. Iowa was sixth with a 193.425.
In the last dual-meet competition between the Gophers and the Hawkeyes, Minnesota defeated Iowa 195.975-193.075 in Iowa City on March 5, 2006.
Last Week: at North Carolina
The Golden Gophers lost at North Carolina 193.650-195.225 lon Feb. 16. Carmelina Carabajal was the co-champion on floor exercise with a score of 9.825, and scored a career-best 9.800 on the beam.
Minnesota was up on bars in the first rotation, and earned a team score of 48.350. Kelly Ganchan was the top scorer for the Gophers, earning a 9.750 to place third. Jade Beattie tied for fourth place with a 9.725. North Carolina tallied a 48.525 on the vault in the first rotation to earn a lead of .175.
The Gophers competed on vault in the second rotation. Andy Cornelius was the top finisher for Minnesota, earning a 9.750 to place fifth. Angela Walker scored a 9.725 on bars to tie for sixth place. The Tar Heels earned a 48.950 on bars in the second rotation to increase their lead to 97.475-96.725.
Minnesota was on floor in the third rotation, and earned its highest score of the meet with a 48.750. Carmelina Carabajal tied for first place in the event with a 9.825. Amanda Miles earned a 9.775 to place third. Alexis Russell tied for fourth place with a career-best 9.750. North Carolina tallied a 49.075 on beam in the third rotation, bringing its lead to 146.550-145.475.
Angela Walker was the Gophers’ top performer on the beam, leading Minnesota to a team score of 48.175. Walker tied for third place with a season-high mark of 9.825. Carabajal was fifth with a 9.800, her personal best beam score. Miles tied for sixth place with a 9.775, tying her best score of the season. The Tar Heels scored a 48.675 on floor in the final rotation, bringing the final score to 195.225-193.650.
Alexis Russell finished fourth in the all around with a mark of 38.475, her second-best all around score of the season.
The Gophers return home to compete against Iowa at the Sports Pavilion next weekend. The meet against the Hawkeyes will start at 6 p.m. on Feb. 24. It will be the first home meet against a Big Ten opponent this season.
