No. 15 Minnesota Ready to Host Redbirds

MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 15 Minnesota women's gymnastics team is back home this weekend for its penultimate regular season meet. The Gophers take on the Illinois State Redbirds (15-6, 0-0 MIC) on Saturday, March 8 at 4 p.m. CT. B1G+ will stream with Lexy Bergeland (Ramler) and Tiarre Sales on the call. Minnesota is a perfect 4-0 at home in 2025.

The Gophers (10-1, 8-1 B1G) finished tied for second in the Big Ten regular season standings this year with No. 8 Michigan State. Only No. 3 UCLA (9-0 B1G) had a better league record.

MEET INFORMATION
No. 15 Minnesota vs. Illinois State
Saturday, March 8
4 p.m. CT
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
TV/Stream: B1G+
Commentators: Lexy Bergeland (Ramler) and Tiarre Sales
Live Stats: GopherSports.com

PARKING INFORMATION

Please note there are several MSHSL High School events on campus in addition to B1G Men's Hockey Quarterfinals at 3M Arena at Mariucci. Fans are encouraged to plan ahead and allow for additional time when attending events on campus this weekend.
Recommended Parking: Washington Avenue or Oak Street Parking Ramps south of Maturi Pavilion. All parking is based on availability.

MARKETING AND PROMOTIONS

Fan Appreciation: Gopher fans, it's time to celebrate YOU! Stop by the marketing table and enter to win for a chance at a prize pack.
High School Team Day
Post Meet Autographs

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

SCOUTING MINNESOTA

No. 15 Minnesota gymnastics scored a 196.625 to take first place at the Big 4 meet last Saturday evening. The Gophers finished the 2025 B1G slate with an 8-1 league record, their best B1G record since the 2020 season (9-1). No. 15 Michigan (196.300) placed second, Maryland went third (196.125) and No. 24 Illinois (195.275) got fourth.
This really was a team effort," said head coach Jenny Hansen. "The upperclassmen are really showing the rest of the team the way. We have a lot of people who are really important to this team."
The Gophers (10-1, 8-1 B1G) earned 49.275 on vault, 49.150 on bars, 48.850 on beam and 49.350 on floor.
Sarah Moraw tied for the title on vault (9.900), her second of the season. Mya Hooten tied for the floor title with a 9.925, her eighth of the year.
Jordyn Lyden won the uneven bars title with a season-best 9.950. Her career-best of 9.975 last season still stands as the school record on the event.
Minnesota ranks 15th nationally in the Road to Nationals rankings with an NQS of 196.930 (196.575 avg.). The Gophers rank eighth on vault, 19th on bars, 13th on beam and 12th on floor.
The 'U' holds wins over CMU, UNH, Penn State, Iowa, Ohio State, Washington, Nebraska, Illinois, Maryland and Michigan. Its only loss came at Michigan St.
Individually, Mya Hooten (13 event titles) ranks No. 18 on vault and 8th on floor nationally this season. Jordyn Lyden ranks 29th nationally on the uneven bars. Ava Stewart ranks 24th while Sarah Moraw is 28th on vault.
Hooten was named an AAI Nominee in 2025 for the second consecutive year.
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.
Minnesota's second place finish at the Big Ten Championships on March 23 came 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).
The 'U' made nationals three times (2016, 2021, 2022) the past 10 years, finishing second each time in their regional. Their two regional titles in program laurels came in 1980 and 1982

SCOUTING ILLINOIS STATE

The Redbirds (15-6, 0-0 MIC) are led by 20th-year head coach Bob Conkling. In his tenure, he's totaled over 100 wins and sent 30 student-athletes to the NCAA Regionals. Last year, Jaye Mack and Angelica Labat advanced as individuals to regionals.
So far in 2025, ISU holds key victories over Central Michigan, Bowling Green, SEMO, Northern Illinois and George Washington. They've been defeated by Missouri, Ball State, Pitt, Towson, Illinois and Washington.
ISU's season-high score came on Jan. 24 at Northern Illinois, a 196.150-192.275 win over the Huskies. Last week, the Redbirds posted their second-highest score this season, a 195.725 total in a quad meet win over Centenary, CMU and Bowling Green.
Seniors Sara Wabi and Alana Laster took home weekly honors from the Midwest Independent Conference. Wabi was named MIC Gymnast of the Week and Laster won MIC Performance of the Week. It was each of their second weekly honors this season.

2025 POSTSEASON OPPORTUNITIES

Minnesota will compete in session III at the 2025 Big Ten Championships on March 22 in Ann Arbor, Mich. The meet will begin at 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT and the Big Ten Network will televise. Minnesota will compete with No. 3 UCLA, No. 8 Michigan State and No. 17 Michigan. Minnesota finished second behind Michigan State at last year's championships, losing by just .100.
The Gophers are well positioned for NCAA Regionals in 2025. The regionals are hosted by Alabama, Penn State, Utah and Washington.

HOOTEN BY THE NUMBERS

Mya Hooten is an 11-time All-American (7-time WCGA, 4-Time NCAA Championships), six-time Big Ten Champion (three floor, two vault, one bars), four-time All-Big Ten selection (3-time first team), four-time Big Ten All-Championships Team honoree, four-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, two-time Academic All-American and an NCAA Regional Champion. She's also tallied nine perfect 10's on floor.
In her career, she's participated in 185 total routines (61 bars, 60 vault, 58 floor, five beam). She's been 9.900-or-better on 93 of those routines (50.3%). Hooten has gone 9.900-or-better on 28 of 60 vaults (46.7%) and 50 of 58 floor routines (86.2%).

WCGA AND ROAD TO NATIONALS RANKINGS

After week nine the Gophers came in at No. 15 in the Road to Nationals rankings. They rank No. 8 on vault, 19 on bars, 13 on beam and 12 on the floor. The team's NQS is 196.930 and average of 196.575. Minnesota's team-high score is 197.375.
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 2025 ranked No. 18 in the WCGA Preseason poll. Now, they rank behind only No. 3 UCLA and No. 8 Michigan St. in the B1G.

ROAD TO NATIONALS INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS

On vault, Mya Hooten (9.880 avg.) ranks 18th nationally (6th in B1G) while Ava Stewart (9.870 avg.) places 24th (8th in B1G). Sarah Moraw (9.865 avg.) comes in at 28th (9th in B1G).
Jordyn Lyden (9.881 avg.) comes in at No. 29 nationally (6th in B1G) on bars. Hooten ranks 13th in the B1G (9.825 avg).
Jordyn Lyden (9.839 avg.) ranks 29th in the country and 9th in the Big Ten. Ava Stewart (9.842 avg.) places 17th in the conference.
>Mya Hooten (9.909 avg.) ranks third in the Big Ten and 8th nationally on the floor. Emily Koch (9.885 avg.) ranks 13th in the B1G.

EVENT TITLES APLENTY FOR THE 'U'

Overall in 2025, Minnesota has won 37 event titles in nine meets. This includes nine vault (by four individuals), nine bars (three individuals), 10 beam (four individuals) and nine floor (two individuals).
Mya Hooten leads the team with 13 event titles (eight floor, three vault, two bars) while Jordyn Lyden has seven (four bars, three beam). Freshman
Ava Stewart ranks third with six (three vault, three beam). Eight different Golden Gophers hold at least one event title this season.

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 four 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. In Stewart's third meet vs. Penn State, she shined once again, winning an event title on vault with a stellar 9.925. She hit 9.825 on balance beam, helping Minnesota comeback to defeat PSU after trailing through two rotations.
Stewart ranks third on Minnesota with six event titles (three vault, three beam) this season. She's hit 9.900-or-better three times on vault and twice on bars this season. Stewart hit career-highs on bars (9.925) and beam (9.900) Feb. 22 vs. Nebraska, tying with Lyden for a beam title.

UP NEXT
The 'U' will host LIU, Iowa and Centenary on Sunday, March 16 at 2 p.m. The Senior Day meet will be streamed on B1G+.

Upcoming Events

Players Mentioned

Mya Hooten

Emily Koch

Jordyn Lyden

Sarah Moraw

Ava Stewart