Slechta qualifies for NCAA tourney, Gophers miss by slim margin

Freshman gymnast Kayla Slechta set a pretty high bar this weekend.

And it wasn’t one on which she had to perform during this weekend’s NCAA regional meet.

After four strong performances, including two top-10 finishes, Slechta ended the meet in fourth place in all-around to advance to the NCAA championships in two weeks.

“It definitely puts a little bit more pressure on me [for the future], but I like the challenge,” she said. “Hopefully next year we’re making it as a team.”

Minnesota finished tied for fourth with No. 4 Stanford at the regional meet. Needing to finish in the top two of six teams to advance to nationals, the Gophers fell short by just .225 points.

“I really feel like the Gophers should celebrate the year,” coach Meg Stephenson said. “It’s been a few years since we’ve been able to say, ‘We just missed it.’”

Slechta, meanwhile, didn’t miss much Saturday, but the meet didn’t start how she planned. Minnesota started on uneven bars, and Slechta landed a 9.65.

“On bars I felt like I could’ve done a lot better,” she said. “I didn’t let that get me down, and I just thought about going in there and hitting and picking up for the bars on my other three events.”

She set a career best on the next event with a 9.8 on balance beam. Slechta’s standing improved again when she scored a 9.875 to finish in a tie for sixth on floor exercise. Her 9.8 on the vault was good enough to tie for 10th at the meet.

With the meet’s top three all-around performers advancing with their teams (Michigan and Kent State), Slechta and Iowa State’s Michelle Shealy will move on.

Slechta’s performance is another example of her continued improvement this season. The freshman came to Minnesota after tearing two ligaments in her right ankle at the start of her senior year at Shakopee High School. Making a comeback proved to be most difficult on the floor, her favorite event, but Stephenson said the coaches made routines that put less pressure on her ankle.

“She came in and really did have an ankle injury, so we kind of steered away from some of the skills she was doing that were aggravating it,” Stephenson said, adding that front landings would be easier on the ankle than back landings. “She’s so talented that she really does have a good skill repertoire to choose from.”

But as is always the case, the Gophers wanted to make nationals as a team — a feat they haven’t accomplished since 2002. The team’s three competing seniors (the fourth senior, Yuri Nagai, hurt her foot at UCLA) performed well in their last shot at nationals. Kendra Elm and Kristin Furukawa had Minnesota’s high scores on bars, and Ana Balboa contributed scores on beam and floor.

“I think one of the exciting things was that they all hit all of their routines,” Stephenson said.

Slechta said she saw mixed emotions from the seniors after she advanced to nationals. Her advancing certainly lifted their spirits, she said.

“It definitely shows everyone out there that Minnesota’s a good team,” Slechta said. The Gophers moved up from No. 23 to No. 21 nationally after the meet.