The Gophers gymnastics team began 2024 with a bang, winning its session at the "Mean Girls" Super 16 championships in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Gophers gymnastics opens with victory at Super 16 championships in Las Vegas
Gianna Gerdes led the way as the Gophers beat No. 13 Oregon State, No. 24 Southern Utah and No. 31 Brigham Young to open the season.
January 7, 2024 at 4:49AM
The No. 18 Gophers finished with a score of 196.850, topping No. 13 Oregon State (196.525), No. 24 Southern Utah (196.025) and No. 31 Brigham Young (195.900).
Gophers senior Gianna Gerdes won the all-around with a 39.425 — she scored 9.900 on bars, 9.875 on both beam and floor and 9.775 on vault.
"I'm so excited for this team. This was a fantastic start," Gophers coach Jenny Hansen said. "We had a lot of new people today, and they did exactly what they've been doing in the gym. I think some of the most exciting things for us is that we had seniors competing for the very first time. They've been building and building for this moment, and they crushed it."
The Gophers' score tied for the sixth best in the nation entering Sunday and the best in the Big Ten. Mya Hooten and Ella Sirjord scored 9.875 on bars; Brooklyn Rowray had a 9.975 on beam (second in the country); Hooten matched Gerdes with a 9.875 on floor, and Hooten led the team with a 9.875 on vault.
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• Gophers football recruit Koi Perich of Esko was named MVP of the All-American Bowl after he had an interception, two pass breakups, a blocked punt and a tackle for loss in the West's 31-28 victory in San Antonio.
• Ryan O'Neill had a goal and an assist, both in the third period, and host St. Thomas beat Minnesota Duluth 3-1. … Adam Eisele's power-play goal with 2:01 remaining lifted Minnesota State Mankato to a 2-1 victory at Augustana.
Sixth-ranked Minnesota lost to third-ranked Iowa, its 11th consecutive loss to the Hawkeyes.
