Women head to regionals; men compete in Big Tens

The three competing seniors on the Gophers women’s gymnastics team know the stakes at this weekend’s NCAA regional.

It’s essentially win, finish second or go home.

“I think they don’t want to be done,” coach Meg Stephenson said of the seniors. “Their mindset is [that] we’ve got regionals, and then we’ve got one more meet.”

No. 23 Minnesota enters Saturday’s regional meet in Ann Arbor, Mich. ranked fifth of six competing teams. In order to advance, the Gophers need to finish in the top two to claim an automatic berth to the NCAA championships, something they haven’t done since 2002. Senior Kendra Elm won’t be thinking about the possibility of ending her career this weekend.

“We try and focus on our gymnastics and our events,” she said. “So that way nothing else gets in the way.”

One thing that has gotten in the way for the Gophers this season is injuries. Elm was among the numerous victims, pulling a calf muscle a few weeks ago that has since healed. Freshman Dusti Russell missed five weeks earlier this season with an elbow injury, but she will also be in action this weekend.

Two gymnasts the Gophers need to perform well are senior Kristin Furukawa and freshman Kayla Slechta, who have been two of the most consistent scorers all season. Slechta is rated fourth on vault in the Big Ten, and Furukawa is tied for eighth on uneven bars. Elm might be the Gophers’ best shot in the all around, entering the meet 10th in the conference.

Playing the underdog role is nothing new for Minnesota. At the Big Ten meet two weeks ago, the Gophers were ranked sixth of seven teams but came away with a fourth-place finish.

“We definitely have the potential all over the place for individuals and the team to go to nationals,” Elm said. “It’s just a matter of getting it done.”

Men hope to do damage at Big Tens

In the Gophers men’s gymnastics team’s final meet before the Big Ten championships, the team didn’t exactly gain momentum. Minnesota lost to Iowa and Nebraska, two teams ranked lower than the No. 7 Gophers.

Junior Adam LaFleur will use the loss as motivation when the team travels to Champaign, Ill. for the conference meet, which begins Friday.

“I want to keep remembering the feeling of that loss,” LeFleur said, “because we had been beating those teams consistently.

The Gophers will need a strong performance this weekend if they hope to vie for the conference crown because they head into the meet ranked fourth of six Big Ten teams.

Luckily, coach Mike Burns said, the team will start on vault, Minnesota’s best event.

“If we do what we’re capable of doing in that event, it will be a great emotional boost,” Burns said. “A lot of times that can carry through the meet.”

The men haven’t finished better than fourth since 2006-07 when they claimed third place at the Sports Pavilion.

Illinois, the host and defending conference champion, comes in ranked No. 4 in the country and best in the Big Ten. Burns said the Illini certainly deserve to be the odds-on favorite, but the Gophers have been consistent for most of the year. They also have the depth to avoid any colossal meltdowns on a single event.

“We’re pretty much going to leave it all out there,” LaFleur said. “We just need to put an entire meet together where we’re just all on the same level.”