For the Minnesota Golden Gophers, the mission is just starting after upsetting in the Corvallis regional final. The team went 197.625, just behind the regional champs. But perhaps we’re burying the lede, because it wasn’t Utah who walked away the regional champs, but the UCLA Bruins. The Utah Utes, who would’ve punched their 50th consecutive ticket to nationals this year, found themselves very uncharacteristically in third place after the final rotation, with a 197.500.
The difference? A few steps here and there, but for head coach Jenny Hansen, Minnesota had a spark that night: “We started off so strong on the floor, and it just kept building. I mean, we had one of our best vault rotations, bars was fantastic, and beam was on fire.” And they were on fire—the Gophers had the best beam rotation out of any team by nearly two tenths. In a meet where everything was on the line, those tenths were precious.
The Gophers forged themselves in that very fire, putting up nothing less than a 9.875 for every routine in the final rotation. During a rotation that was rowdy with Alabama’s sticky feet on bars and UCLA busy bringing the regional title home on floor, the beam queens of Minnesota had more than just nerves to contend with, but you would never have known it from watching. In a movie where the superhero walks away from explosions without flinching, you could cast that entire beam lineup.
There were naysayers throughout the season, doubting that Minnesota could do so well on the road, let alone in such a high-stakes situation. “It doesn’t matter where we are,” junior Jordyn Lyden remarked. The Gophers always find a way to make the equipment and their energy feel just like home.
As for the lead-up to nationals? This moment is momentum for freshman Arianna Ostrum and her teammates. “We knew that we could do it. We embodied [feeling at home], and we knew that we could do it,” she said. And they did; Minnesota is heading to nationals for the seventh time in program history.
Although there’s no place like home, one thing is for certain: the Golden Gophers will be happy to be on the road again, this time to Texas.
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Article by Allison Freeman
