Ohio State at Minnesota

Recap

The Big Storyline: Ona Loper led the Gophers to a huge total on a career day, which also featured near-perfection from Lexy Ramler and Mya Hooten. Minnesota has proven that it is on fire at home, and now just needs to replicate a performance like this away. Ohio State was just off, counting a low number on each of vault, bars and beam. We did see the return of Emma Pritchard to the beam lineup, which will be a boost to the Buckeyes moving forward.

Implications: Big Tens are seeded by win/loss. Minnesota and Ohio State are each now 3-1 in conference play, meaning they are well on their way to night session berths at the championship (along with Michigan and Iowa, which are each undefeated). There is some pressure on both teams going into Big Fives next week, though: Minnesota really needs a mid-197 away number before we hit NQS on Feb. 21, and Ohio State will need a mid-to-high placement in its Big Five session to ensure that night session berth. 

Records: Loper set a new career high all-around number with her 39.750.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 22 Ohio State at No. 6 Minnesota

Why You Should Clear Space on Your DVR: The Buckeyes have excelled despite some injuries and COVID protocols to start the year. They just keep finding a way to put up enough solid routines to get good numbers. It finally all came together last week when a program-best team score propelled Ohio State to a huge 196.675. Minnesota, of course, has been flying to start the year, keeping pace with nationals stalwarts. Last week at Illinois was a bit of a hiccup, with a nervy bar lineup and Mya Hooten skipping floor, but the Gophers should get back on track at home. 

You Can Fast Forward, but not Through This: You already know Minnesota’s big names, so we’ll leave it at this: Lexy Ramler has no 10.0s this year but a 9.975 on each of vault, beam and floor. Some others to watch include Emily Koch, whose beam and floor work is excellent, and Maddie Quarles, who added floor for the first time last week. For the Buckeyes, Jenna Hlavach is a breakout star on vault and floor, and Elexis Edwards has come close to perfection on her Yurchenko full. Claire Gagliardi’s floor is always a fan favorite, and if she’s back in the lineup, freshman Tory Vetter is a superb bar worker.