'U' to Host No. 5 UCLA in Front of Sold Out Crowd

MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 17 University of Minnesota women's gymnastics team (4-2, 2-1 B1G) is preparing for its third Big Ten home meet of the 2026 season. The Gophers are getting set to take on No. 5 UCLA (7-2, 3-0 B1G) on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 4 p.m. Minnesota will be celebrating National Girls & Women in Sports Day in addition to it being their Social Equity Meet.

The meet will be hosted at Maturi Pavilion and B1G+ will stream the event. Gophers alumnae Lexy Bergeland (Play-By-Play) and Tiarre Sales (Analyst) will be on the call. The Gophers are expected to set an attendance record Saturday, with a sellout crowd expected and over 5,000 tickets sold. Fans can still purchase tickets on our secondary market, SeatGeek.

Minnesota is 3-0 at home this year, winning meets against No. 10 Arkansas, No. 5 Michigan and No. 24 Iowa. UCLA was the national runner-up last season and features two-time Olympian Jordan Chiles.

MEET INFORMATION
No. 17 Minnesota vs. No. 5 UCLA
Saturday, Feb. 7
4 p.m. CT
Maturi Pavilion
Minneapolis, Minn.
TV/Stream: B1G+
Commentators: Lexy Bergeland (Play-By-Play) and Tiarre Sales (Analyst)
Live Stats: GopherSports.com

PARKING AND TRANSPORTATION

Individuals arriving on campus without a parking pass are encouraged to park in surface lots on the east side of Huntington Bank Stadium (Gold, Victory, Ski-U-Mah lots).

WEEK FIVE RECAP VS. IOWA

The No. 18 Minnesota gymnastics team moved to a perfect 3-0 record at home after defeating the No. 24 Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday night at Maturi Pavilion. The final score was 197.050-196.775. Minnesota moved to 4-2 (2-1 B1G) while Iowa dropped to 4-4 (1-2) B1G.
The Gophers posted scores of 49.100 on vault, 49.300 on bars, 49.325 on beam and 49.325 on the floor.
Individually, Arianna Ostrum led the 'U' on vault (9.900) and Jordyn Lyden (9.900) led Minnesota on bars. Lauren Pearl (9.900) led on beam and Sophie Swartzmiller led on the floor (9.900).
Arianna Ostrum tied for her third career event title with her career-best 9.900 on vault. Lyden won her second bars title of the season with a 9.900 while Pearl tied for her first beam title with her 9.900. Swartzmiller tied for her second floor title of 2026.
Arianna Ostrum hit her career-best on the all-around, going 39.375 and narrowly missing out on the title.

SCOUTING UCLA

No. 5 UCLA is led by fourth-year head coach Janelle McDonald. Last year, she led the Bruins to an NCAA runner-up finish and three conference titles. UCLA won the Big Ten last year in its first season in the conference, sweeping through with a perfect 9-0 record. They're 12-0 since joining.
So far in 2026, UCLA (7-2, 3-0 B1G) has only fallen to No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 3 LSU at the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad on Jan. 10. They've defeated Washington, Cal, Oregon St., Utah, Nebraska, Michigan State and Washington so far this season.
UCLA was picked to finish first in the Big Ten Preseason Poll. Their gymnasts to watch are senior Jordan Chiles and freshman Tiana Sumanasekera.
Chiles is a 16-time All-American, two-time Olympian, 2024 Gold Medalist and the 2023 and 2025 NCAA Uneven Bars Champion. She also won the 2023 floor title as well.
Sumanasekera is a five-time U.S. National Team member and was an alternate for the U.S. Team at the 2024 Olympic Games. She was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Jan. 6.

'U' UNBEATEN AT HOME, A TOUGH OUT UNDER COACH HANSEN

The Golden Gophers are a perfect 3-0 at home this year, defeating No. 5 Michigan, No. 10 Arkansas and No. 24 Iowa in head-to-head meets.
Dating back to 2024, Minnesota has won its last 14 competitions at Maturi Pavilion, including a perfect 8-0 record there in 2025. It's last home loss was on Feb. 10, 2024, falling 197.375-197.175 to then No. 11 Michigan.
In Hansen's time at Minnesota, the Gophers are 83-13 (.865) in home competitions. Since 2019, the 'U' is 51-2 at home (.962). The program's only two home losses during the past seven years came to Michigan in 2022 and 2024.

EVENT TITLES APLENTY

So far in 2026, the 'U' holds 13 event titles. Teryn Crump (9.900) won on vault, Jordyn Lyden (9.925) won on bars and Leah Gonsiorowski (9.900) won on the floor vs. Michigan. Arianna Ostrum and Sophie Swartzmiller (9.875) tied for the floor title vs. Arkansas.
On Jan. 31 vs. Iowa, Minnesota won four more titles. Arianna Ostrum tallied a career-best 9.900 on vault for her third title of the season, including first on the event. Jordyn Lyden won her second bars title of the year with a 9.900 while Lauren Pearl won on beam with a 9.900, her first event title of the year. Sophie Swartzmiller won her second floor title of 2026 with a 9.900, tying a career-best.
Overall in 2025, Minnesota won 47 event titles in 14 meets. That included 11 vault (by four individuals), 13 bars (three individuals), 12 beam (five individuals) and 11 floor (two individuals).

WCGA AND ROAD TO NATIONALS RANKINGS

After week five Minnesota comes in at No. 17 (196.305 avg.) in the Road to Nationals rankings. The Gophers rank 19th on vault (49.005 avg.), 21st on bars (48.970 avg.), 15th on beam (49.070 avg.), and 10th on floor (49.260 avg.).
Minnesota began 2026 ranked No. 15 in the WCGA Preseason poll. They ranked behind only No. 4 UCLA, No. 6 Michigan St. and No. 14 Michigan in the Big Ten. Currently, UCLA is 5th, Michigan is 8th and Michigan State is 11th.

INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS

Nationally, Minnesota has four gymnasts ranked in the top-50 of events this season.
Jordyn Lyden ranks 40th on bars (9.865 avg.) and 31st on beam (9.865 avg.).
Arianna Ostrum is 34th on all-around (39.200 avg.) while Gianna Gerdes ranks 44th (39.125 avg.).
Sophie Swartzmiller ranks 48th nationally on the floor (9.870 avg.).

TOP SCORES PER EVENT

Minnesota's top vault performance of the year came on Jan. 17 vs. Michigan, as the Gophers totaled 49.250. On bars, their top outing came on Jan. 31 vs. Iowa with a 49.399.
For the beam team, their 49.425 on Jan. 10 vs. Arkansas took the cake. They improved from just a 48.775 team score just eight days prior.
On the floor, Minnesota tallied a 49.350 Jan. 24 at Nebraska. They've gone 49.300-or-higher the last three meets.
Minnesota's team score of 197.150 on Jan. 17 was the earliest in a season the Gophers recorded a 197-or-higher since totaling a 197.025 on Jan. 15, 2021. The 'U' also went over 107 on Jan. 31, tallying a 197.050 vs. Iowa.

OSTRUM MAKING IMPACT AS A ROOKIE

Named one of College Gym News' Freshmen to Watch, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., native Arianna Ostrum has stood out early for the Maroon and Gold. She competed all-around in her second career meet Jan. 10 earning a 39.075 score. She posted a 9.850 on beam and tied for an event title with a 9.875 floor score. Her and teammate Sophie Swartzmiller split the honor.
She had her best vault of her young career against Michigan on Jan. 17, posting a 9.875. Ostrum also went 9.825 on beam.
Ostrum won her second event title at Nebraska Jan. 24, going a career-best 9.900 on the floor. She leads MN in event titles with three.
Ostrum went all-around for the second time in her career on Jan. 31, posting a career-best 39.375. She hit a career-best 9.900 on vault to win her first title on the event. She followed that up with 9.775 on bars, 9.850 on beam and floor. She missed the all-around title by .025.

PEARL PUTTING IN THE WORK

Coming off an ankle injury in the off-season, fifth-year Lauren Pearl has been rounding into form in the first few weeks of the season. Her best beam performance came this past weekend vs. Iowa, where she hit a new season-best with a 9.900, winning her first event title of 2026.
Pearl made her floor debut on Jan. 17 vs. Michigan, tallying a stellar 9.875. She has not yet competed on vault this year, her third event.

UP NEXT
The 'U' travels to Penn State for a meet on Saturday, Feb. 14. B1G+ will stream the event, which starts at 1 p.m. CT.

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Players Mentioned

Teryn Crump

Gianna Gerdes

Leah Gonsiorowski

Jordyn Lyden

Arianna Ostrum

Lauren Pearl

Sophie Swartzmiller