Johnson Named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week For The Fourth Time This Year - GOPHERSPORTS.COM - The Official Athletic Site of the Minnesota Gophers

Johnson Named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week For The Fourth Time This Year
University of Minnesota senior Laura Johnson was named the Big Ten Women's Gymnast of the Week for the week of March 13. This is the fourth time #$%^Johnson has received the weekly conference honor this season, and she is the only Big Ten gymnast to

University of Minnesota senior Laura Johnson was named the Big Ten Women’s Gymnast of the Week for the week of March 13. This is the fourth time Johnson has received the weekly conference honor this season, and she is the only Big Ten gymnast to win the honor four times this year.

Against Ohio State last weekend, Johnson won the bars with a score of 9.825, and the floor exercise with a mark of 9.875. On the vault, she tied with teammate Carmelina Carabajal to take first place with a season-best 9.900. Johnson was also the all around champion, winning with her second-best all around score of the year, a 39.350.

Laura Johnson is the only Gopher gymnast listed among the top 25 in the GymInfo National Rankings. Johnsonis listed at No. 19 in the all around with an RQS of 39.210, making her the highest-ranked all around performer in the Big Ten. She is the only Big Ten gymnast listed among the top 25 in the floor exercise, coming in at No. 20 this week with an RQS of 9.870. On the bars, Johnson is ranked No. 25 with an RQS of 9.855.

Johnson has won 24 event titles so far in 2006, including five first-place finishes on the vault, seven wins on the bars, three top finishes on the beam, four first-place scores on the floor, and five all around titles. She has won at least one event title at nine of the team’s 10 competitions this season.

Johnson has swept first place on all four individual events plus the all around at two meets this year, the Best of Minnesota Meet on Feb. 11, and the dual meet at Iowa on March 5.

Johnson owns the best Minnesota scores of the season on three individual events, and the all around. She has the team’s top bars, and floor scores (9.900 on each event), is tied with Carmelina Carabajal for the top vault score (9.900), and has the best all around score (39.475).

The last chance to see Johnson compete at the Sports Pavilion will be this Saturday when the Golden Gophers host their final home meet in 2006. Minnesota will host Utah State on March 18 at 6 p.m. The senior class of 2006, including Johnson, Maria Opsahl, and Kelly Stout, will be honored after the completion of the competition.