No. 21 Minnesota Opens B1G Competition with No. 16 Penn State

MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 21 Minnesota women's gymnastics team opens Big Ten competition this weekend against No. 16 Penn State at Maturi Pavilion. The meet is set for 4 p.m. CT on B1G+. Minnesota (2-0, 0-0 B1G) and Penn State (5-1, 0-0 B1G) are both looking to start league play on a positive note.

MEET INFORMATION
No. 21 Minnesota vs. No. 16 Penn State
Saturday, Jan. 18
4 p.m. CT
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
TV/Stream: B1G+
Commentators: Lexy Bergeland (Ramler) and Tiarre Sales
Live Stats: GopherSports.com

EVENT ROTATION ORDER
Minnesota: Vault-Bars-Beam-Floor
Penn State: Bars-Vault-Floor-Beam

PARKING ADVISORY
Minnesota men's hockey will be competing at 3M Arena at Mariucci at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18, so parking could be backed up. Gymnastics fans are encouraged to park at the University Avenue Ramp.

MARKETING THEMES

Always Dreaming Cancer Awareness Night: The Gophers are collecting toys for patients and families impacted by cancer in the local community. Fans who donate a toy will get a BOGO link for future meets and be entered to win a Gopher Gymnastics prize pack! Preferred donation items include games, books, legos, activity kits, crafts, and puzzles. Toys can be dropped off at the marketing table inside the west entrance of the Pav.
Hometown Days: Mya Hooten will be the featured athlete and Classic Gymnastics will be recognized.

SCOUTING MINNESOTA

The No. 21 Minnesota women's gymnastics team bounced back after a tough week one with a 196.375 performance on Jan. 11 at New Hampshire, moving to 2-0 on the year. The Gophers went 49.250 on vault, 49.050 on bars, 48.925 on beam and 49.150 on the floor on Saturday vs. New Hampshire.
Mya Hooten was named Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week on Jan. 14 after earning a 9.950 on vault at UNH.
The 'U' came in at No. 18 in the WCGA Preseason rankings and were picked to finish fifth in the Big Ten Preseason Poll.
The Gophers are coming off a 2024 season that saw them go 20-11 (6-3 Big Ten) and finish second at the B1G Championships. The Gophers went to the NCAA Regional Finals for the third time in the last four seasons and their No. 12 final ranking was the highest finish of any Big Ten team.
Heading into 2025, Gophers seniors Mya Hooten and Lauren Pearl were named Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch. Hooten, a fifth-year, has earned 11 All-America honors in her career. Pearl earned All-Big Ten Second Team and All-Big Ten Championships Team honors in a breakout junior year.
The Gophers finished fourth in the B1G regular season standings with a 6-3 league record. Minnesota then finished second at the Big Ten Championships on March 23 with a score of 197.500, missing winning the conference crown by .100 to Michigan State (197.600). It was the second-best finish at Big Ten's since 2006 (won Big Ten title in 2021).
Minnesota made its 43rd NCAA Regionals appearance all-time in 2024 in year 50 of program history. The Gophers have made regionals for the past 28 seasons (not including 2020 COVID year).
The 'U' made nationals three times (2016, 2021, 2022) in the past 10 seasons, finishing second each time in their regional. Their two regional titles in program laurels came in 1980 and 1982.
Mya Hooten was named a WCGA regular season First Team All-American on both floor and vault. It was her fourth straight first team honor on floor and third straight on vault (two-time second team honoree).

SCOUTING PENN STATE

Penn St. (5-1, 0-0 B1G) is led by eighth-year head coach Sarah Brown. PSU ranks 16th overall in the Road to Nationals poll. They currently rank 30th on vault, 19th on bars, 14th on beam and 12th on the floor.
Kalea McElligott is the No. 29 All-Around gymnast in the country, averaging 39.150 through two weeks. Jessica Johanson is No. 8 in the Big Ten on the floor with a 9.863 average while Dani Latronica, Elizabeth Leary and Maddie Johnston average 9.825 on bars (No. 14 in the Big Ten).
PSU is 5-1 after taking victories over Penn and New Hampshire on Jan. 5, scoring 195.775. They then finished 3-1 at the Lone Star Collegiate Invitational in San Antonio, Texas last Saturday. They scored 196.100, behind only No. 7 Auburn. PSU took wins over Temple, Maryland and ASU.

HISTORY VS. PENN STATE

Against Penn St., Minnesota is 13-11 all-time. The Gophers have bested the Nittany Lions seven straight times, dating back to 2018. Last year at Rec Hall, the 'U' delivered a season-best performance in a win at Penn State, totaling a score of 197.525 to PSU's 197.025. Mya Hooten took home an event title with a 9.900 on vault while Jordyn Lyden tied the school-record with a 9.975 on the uneven bars.
As a team, the Gophers totaled stellar scores on both beam (49.575) and floor (49.475).
Under coach Hansen, the 'U' is 8-2 all-time against Penn State.

NEW FACILITY OPENED ON JAN. 16

After starting construction in June, the $15.5 million Minnesota Gymnastics Facility project was officially opened Jan. 16, 2025.
The new performance center is in the Athletes Village footprint, which will allow for student-athletes to study, train, eat and recover all in one location. The facility is being constructed on the south side of the department's indoor football field.
"It's hard to believe this day is finally here," said head coach Jenny Hansen. "We have worked a long time to make this day a reality for our student-athletes and we're so grateful to everyone who made this a reality. To Mark Coyle, Marc Ryan and all our senior administrative staff, thank you. You believed in our program and saw the need. We now have the ability to train in a world class facility and the possibilities are endless for this program. We're so excited for our team to train at a facility of this level and we can't wait to get started."
The team's old practice facility, Peik Gymnasium, has been proposed for future demolition by campus leadership.
"It's just pure excitement and pure joy," said junior Sarah Moraw. "We have so much honor and gratitude to those that came before us and made this possible. Everyone who was involved in this process had a vision and made it come to life. I couldn't be more grateful for that."

HOOTEN THRIVING IN FIFTH SEASON IN 2025

A fifth year senior from Woodbury, Minn., Hooten elected to use her fifth year (due to COVID) and return to Minnesota in 2025. She's an 11-time All-American, including a four-time WCGA First Team All-American on floor (2021-24), a First Team All-American on vault (2024) and a two-time Second Team All-American on vault (2022, 2023). Hooten earned two NCAA Championships First Team All-America honors on floor (2021, 2022) and two NCAA Championships Second Team accolades on vault (2021, 2022).
In 2024, Hooten posted three perfect 10's on floor (vs. EMU, Jan. 13; vs. Michigan, Feb. 10); (Senior Day, March 17). She's done so nine times in her career. Also last season, she earned Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week five times (11 times in her career), and won 20 event titles (10 floor, seven vault, three uneven bars). She made SportCenter's top-10 plays for her floor performance on Jan. 13 vs. Eastern Michigan.
An AAI Award nominee, Hooten made the Big Ten All-Championships Team for the fourth consecutive season after winning Big Ten Championships on the floor (9.950), uneven bars (9.925) and vault (9.975). It was her third Big Ten floor title, second vault title and first UB title.
Hooten started her fifth year with event titles in both vault (9.900) and floor (9.825) on Jan. 4 in the CMU meet. She then went 9.950 on vault and 9.900 on the floor at UNH, winning event titles on both again. She was named Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week on Jan. 14.

WCGA AND ROAD TO NATIONALS RANKINGS

Minnesota finished the 2024 season at No. 12 in the Road to Nationals rankings. They ranked 19th on vault, 21st on bars, eighth on beam and 11 th on the floor. Individually, Mya Hooten ranked eighth nationally on vault and second on the floor, earning WCGA All-America honors in both.
Minnesota began the 2025 season ranked No. 18 in the WCGA Preseason poll.
After week two, the Gophers come in at No. 21 in the Road to Nationals rankings. They come in at No. 22 on vault, 20 on bars, 18 on beam and 43rd on the floor. Individually, Hooten ranks 4th nationally on vault.

LYDEN LOOKING TO BUILD OFF STRONG YEAR ONE

Gophers sophomore Jordyn Lyden had a standout rookie season in the Maroon and Gold in 2024. She was a mainstay in the uneven bars lineup, where she posted a 9.867 average, including a career-high 9.975 on Feb. 3 at Penn State. Her score tied the school record for best uneven bars score. She earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors three separate times as a freshman last season.
Lyden started her second year in the Maroon and Gold with an event title on the uneven bars. She went 9.850 on Jan. 4 in the opener vs. CMU. She won event titles on both bars (9.875) and beam (9.825) on Jan. 11 at UNH.

STEWART PROVIDES HUGE BOOST AS A FRESHMAN

Bowmanville, Ontario native Ava Stewart came to the Gophers in 2025 after competing for Team Canada in both the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics. This past Olympics, Stewart placed 19th in the Artistic Women's All-Around Final. Stewart competed in all for events for Canada, where her vault score was 13.333, bars was 12.633 and she earned scores of 13.166 on beam and 12.500 on floor. Her total score was 51.632.
In her first meet as a Gopher, Stewart started on the beam team, where she took home an event title with a 9.875 on Jan. 4 vs. CMU. She earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Jan. 7. Stewart started on vault, bars and beam on Jan. 11 at UNH. She earned career-highs on vault (9.825) and bars (9.825) during the meet.

STEENSLAND STARTING OFF STRONG

A Chaska, Minn., native, Megan Steensland has emerged into the starting lineup on vault and floor after spending the first two years of her career mainly on exhibitions.
She posted career-highs on both vault (9.775) and floor (9.825) on Saturday at New Hampshire. She earned a 9.675 in her first non-exhibition vault on Jan. 4 versus Central Michigan.

UP NEXT
Minnesota opens Big Ten play on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 4 p.m. against Penn State. The meet will be streamed on B1G+.

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Players Mentioned

Mya Hooten

Jordyn Lyden

Sarah Moraw

Lauren Pearl

Megan Steensland

Ava Stewart