Big Ten Championship Session Two

Recap

The Big Storyline: It was the Wolverines’ meet to lose, and a sub-49.000 floor rotation was all it took for Minnesota to capitalize and win the title. Iowa was in the hunt until a rough beam rotation pulled the Hawkeyes back into a tie with Illinois. The Illini had a great meet except for their first rotation; beam wasn’t up to par and dug a hole they were never able to climb out of.

In the afternoon, Rutgers won the day with consistency. Every other team had highs and lows; it was a close meet start to finish, but avoiding counting any major mistakes is what pushed Rutgers to the top. The Scarlet Knights sealed it with back-to-back 9.900s from Hannah Joyner and Belle Huang on beam.

Postseason Implications: Illinois is now the sole owner of No. 16 and the final seeded regionals spot, purely because Georgia didn’t compete this weekend. Michigan lost ground to LSU for No. 3 but will still be a No. 1 seed. Nebraska and Rutgers will both miss regionals at No. 39 and No. 40 respectively, after other bubble teams had better days and moved ahead.

Records: 197.750 is a new program record for Minnesota. This is the highest-ever finish at Big Tens for both Rutgers and Maryland.

Controversies: Vault judging was pretty happy across the board, especially in session two, which is odd for a four-judge panel.

Conference Awards

• Gymnast of the Year: Lexy Ramler (Minnesota)
• Newcomer of the Year: Adeline Kenlin (Iowa)
• Coach of the Year: Larissa Libby (Iowa)

Preview

• No. 3 Michigan | 197.788 NQS | 198.100 season high
• No. 7 Minnesota | 197.344 NQS | 197.625 season high
• No. 16 Illinois | 196.781 NQS | 197.575 season high
• No. 18 Iowa | 196.713 NQS | 196.825 season high

If you can only watch one meet, here’s why it should be this one… This meet is fascinating. Perennial Big Ten power Nebraska had a rocky season, leaving a huge opening for Illinois and Iowa to join Michigan and Minnesota at the top of the conference. Michigan is coming off of two consecutive program-record 198-plus numbers. Every team in this session has had program record-breaking performances. Illinois set a record last week and Minnesota nearly toppled it’s best-ever number in January. Iowa has been consistent all year, and approached record-breaking territory last week while counting a fall. The Hawkeyes earned their first regular season title by capitalizing on mistakes from Minnesota in a dual and Michigan at Big Fives. If absolutely any team in this meet has even a shaky event, the other three will be poised to pounce. It is Michigan’s meet to lose, but it’s far from a sure thing. 

If this is one of many meets you’ll be watching, don’t miss this… Iowa will likely start this thing on floor. Tune in right as the meet kicks off to see if the Hawkeyes have a real shot at it. Floor needs to be in the 49.400-plus range for Iowa to have a chance. You’ll also catch Michigan’s shiny new six 10.0 vaults in that rotation, and Minnesota on bars. The Gophers need to total a 49.300 or so to keep pace. Tune back in after the half, right around 7:30 p.m. ET for Minnesota on floor where Mya Hooten has been perfect. Michigan will be on beam, an event where it’s often had a fall and needed routines to hit. It’ll be a tense rotation for the Wolverines, who can be as good as 49.600, but where they’ve also counted a fall. 

What’s the bigger picture to keep an eye on? This meet could be huge for Michigan. It has a chance to move on either Florida or Oklahoma—or both—depending on how they perform. The Wolverines will want as high a number as possible here to ensure their status as a No. 1 seed (top four teams by NQS) for regionals. The Gophers are comfortably situated as a No. 2 seed to regionals, and this is a home meet. While Minnesota wants a conference title, a huge number here is not critical for national dynamics. Illinois hopped into regionals seeding territory last week and will want to stay there and out of the geographical assigning zone. Iowa is just on the outside of seeding looking in and will want to gain a few spots.

By the Numbers

Past Champions

• Michigan: 25 titles, last won in 2019
• Minnesota: 5 titles, last won in 2006
• Illinois: 1 title, last won in 1990
• Iowa: 0 titles

Records Watch

• Team: 197.850 (Michigan, 2000)
• Vault: 49.725 (Nebraska, 2012)
• Bars: 49.625 (Michigan, 2004)
• Beam: 49.550 (Penn State, 2000)
• Floor: 49.700 (Michigan, 2014)
• All Around: 39.800 (Ray)
• Vault: 10.000 (Wymer, Kabnick, K. Rowland, Mable)
• Bars: 10.000 (Peters, Ray)
• Beam: 10.000 (N. Smith)
• Floor: 10.000 (Sampson, Wong)

Last Time Out

Michigan has owned this title since 2013 and has won the conference meet 24 times during Bev Plocki’s 31 year tenure—the most by any coach in any sport in Big Ten history. The Illini snuck into second in 2019, just ahead of Nebraska. Minnesota finished fourth after an uncharacteristic beam rotation. 2021 regular season champion Iowa finished sixth last time out.

*Special thanks to Drew Porche for all of the Records Watch data provided in this preview.