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No. 13 'U' Wins Second Straight Big 4 Meet
3/1/2026 6:13:00 PM | Gymnastics
The Gophers posted a season-best 197.700
MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 13 Minnesota gymnastics team took home its second straight Big 4 title on Sunday afternoon at Maturi Pavilion. The Gophers posted a season-high score of 197.700 to take down No. 11 Michigan State, Illinois and Rutgers. MSU took second with a 196.650 while Rutgers finished third with a 195.750. Illinois placed fourth at 195.650.
Minnesota finished their conference slate with a 7-2 mark (9-3 overall), meaning they placed second in the league and will compete at the third and final session at the Big Ten Championships with UCLA, Michigan and Michigan State.
"The team has been so consistent but we always talked about taking that next step," said head coach Jenny Hansen. "We knew what we needed to do and always had belief on what was possible. They believed today and it showed up in this incredible environment."
4,312 fans showed up to watch the Gophers win the Big 4 title as they posted scores of 49.225 on vault, 49.425 on bars, 49.525 on beam and 49.525 on the floor. The bars, beam and floor scores were all season-bests for the 'U'.
Minnesota earned event titles on all four apparatuses Sunday afternoon. Teryn Crump earned a vault title with her 9.900, her fourth of the season. Arianna Ostrum split the bars title (9.925) with Illinois' Chloe Cho. Jordyn Lyden (9.950) split the beam title with Cho as well. On the floor, Lyden, Ostrum and Sophie Swartzmiller split the title with Michigan State's MaKayla Tucker (9.925).
Ostrum won the all-around title all by herself with a career-best 39.625. She had 9.925's on three events and outlasted Illinois' Cho (39.575) and MSU's Nikki Smith (39.450).
Coach Hansen touched on her standout freshman's performance.
"Arianna was in her element today. She looked calm, relaxed and executed just how she does in practice. The most special thing to me was her bars routine. She's been doing that in practice but that's the event she's probably not as confident in. For her to do that in competition and get that 9.925 was huge for her and the team."
The team now has three weeks until the Big Ten Championships and it has high aspirations for the rest of the season.
"We just need to keep building," Hansen said. "We want to repeat this a few more times so it gives our team the confidence going into every meet that we can do this. We don't have to do anything extra, just be ourselves."
EVENT BREAKDOWN:
FLOOR
The 'U' tallied a season-best 49.525 floor score to start off the meet. For the first time this year, four Gophers had 9.900-or-higher scores, led by Arianna Ostrum, Sophie Swartzmiller and Jordyn Lyden with 9.925's. Leah Gonsiorowski went 9.900 while Lacie Saltzmann and Gianna Gerdes rounded out the group at 9.850. After rotation one, Minnesota led MSU (49.150), Rutgers (48.725) and Illinois (48.700).
VAULT
Minnesota earned a 49.225 on vault. Teryn Crump led the way with a 9.900, tying her season-high. Arianna Ostrum and Sarah Moraw both went 9.850, followed by Gianna Gerdes at 9.825. Sophia Nguyen rounded out the group with a 9.800. After two rotations, Minnesota led 98.750 to 98.275 (MSU), 97.800 (Rutgers) and 97.675 (Illinois).
BARS
The Gophers earned a season-best 49.425 on the uneven bars. Arianna Ostrum's career day continued with a 9.925, a collegiate-best on the event. Gianna Gerdes, Jordyn Lyden, Lacie Saltzmann and Teryn Crump all earned 9.875's to round out the group. After three rotations, the Gophers led the meet 148.175 to 147.550 (MSU), 146.675 (Illinois) and 146.625 (Rutgers).
BEAM
Minnesota finished the meet with a 49.525 beam score, another season-best. Lyden anchored the team with a 9.950 while Arianna Ostrum, Sarah Moraw and Brooklyn Rowray all tallied 9.925s. Ava Stewart and Lauren Pearl rounded out the group with 9.800s to secure the meet title for Minnesota.
NOTABLE:
-The 'U' hit season-bests on both floor (49.525), beam (49.525) and bars (49.425).
-197.700 was the season-high score, topping the 197.275 vs. UCLA on Feb. 7.
-Minnesota took home its second straight Big 4 Meet title.
-Arianna Ostrum hit her career-best on bars (9.925) and all-around (39.625), taking home her first career all-around title.
-Ostrum also tied for her first career bars event title and tied for a floor title.
-Sophie Swartzmiller went a career-best 9.925 on floor, marking her 13th straight meet with a 9.850-or-higher on the event.
-Lyden, Ostrum and Swartzmiller all tied for the floor event title.
-Lyden tied for the beam title with a season-best 9.950 score.
-Teryn Crump won her fourth vault title of the year with a 9.900, tying her career-best.
-Brooklyn Rowray and Sarah Moraw (9.925) tied their season-highs on beam.
UP NEXT
Minnesota will travel to No. 17 North Carolina for a road meet next Friday, March 6. The meet will start at 5:45 p.m. CT on ESPN+.