University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Sports: News & Notes
9/23/2026 5:44:00 AM | Athletics
Catch up on all the latest news from Gopher Athletics from the past week.
THIS WEEK
Thursday
6:30PM: Soccer at Indiana | B1G+
7PM: #15 Volleyball at Illinois | B1G+
Friday
Tennis at Husker Invitational
9AM: Cross Country at Sean Earl Loyola Lakefront Invitational
9AM: Tennis Hosts the Gopher Invitational
5PM: Softball Hosts St. Cloud State (Exhibition)
Saturday
Tennis at Husker Invitational
9AM: Tennis Hosts the Gopher Invitational
12PM: Softball Hosts Alumni Game (Exhibition)
6PM: #15 Volleyball vs. #25 Oregon | B1G+
10PM: Football at #23 Washington | FOX
Sunday
Tennis at Husker Invitational
9AM: Tennis Hosts the Gopher Invitational
12PM: Soccer at Purdue | B1G+
3PM: Softball vs. Concordia-St. Paul (Exhibition)
Monday-Tuesday
Men's Golf at Windon Memorial Classic | Lake Forest, IL
LAST WEEK
Men's Cross Country
4th at Roy Griak Invitational
- Jace Haerter led Minnesota with a 14th place finish
- The Gophers held out their top seven runners ahead of this Friday's meet in Illinois
Women's Cross Country
1st at Roy Griak Invitational
- GopherSports.com: Isabelle Schmitz won the women's title and spoke after the race
Football (2-1)
W, 41-7 vs. Akron
- @GopherFootball: Check out highlights from the win
Men's Golf
T-11th at Gopher Invitational
- Jack Crousure finished tied for sixth place at -2
Women's Golf
9th Place at Lady Paladin Invitational
- Mariana Mesones finished tied for 11th for her 21st career top-20 finish
Soccer (5-2-2, 1-1-1)
T, 2-2 vs. Northwestern
- @GopherSoccer: Ava Westlund tied the match with less than four minutes to play
Volleyball (6-2)
W, 3-1 vs. South Dakota
W, 3-1 vs. South Dakota State
- GopherSports.com: Mckenna Wucherer was named B1G Player of the Week for the second time this month
GopherSports.com: This week's P.J. Fleck Show on Fox 9 previewed Saturday night's Big Ten opener at #23 Washington.
GopherSports.com: Next week's Stripe the Bank game against #18 Michigan will kick off at 11AM on FOX.
GopherSports.com: Men's Hockey will hold a public intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday at 7PM at 3M Arena at Mariucci.
KSTP.com: Ahead of last week's Griak Invitational, KSTP talked with Cross Country about the event's new course at Fort Snelling.
Schedule Updates
- Rowing: Fall Schedule Released
- Men's Hockey: 'U' Announces Finalized 2026-27 B1G Schedule, Nonconference Start Times
- Men's Basketball: Big Ten Announces League Slate
- Women's Basketball: Big Ten Schedule Revealed for 2026-27 Season
- Women's Basketball: Minnesota, St. Thomas Move Matchup to Dec. 2
GopherSports.com: Joe Polyak, Braylon Goodno, Katie McCarthy, and Elna Widerstrom were named Big Ten Swimmers and Divers to Watch.
GopherSports.com: Swimming & Diving announced team captains for the 2026-27 season.
GopherSports.com: With a time of six hours, nine minutes and 25 seconds, former Gopher (and Ticket Office employee) Charlie Lawrence won the IAU 100K World Championships in Spain last weekend.
@GopherWBB: Tori McKinney was named MVP as she led the USA to the FIBA 3x3 U23 World Championship.
USAB.com: USA Basketball highlighted McKinney on her first experience playing 3x3.
Gopher Shorts:
- @GopherCCTF: Gophers Win the Griak
- @GopherCCTF: Something People Don't Know About Cross Country
- @GopherMBB: Big Ten Schedule Release – Video Game Edition
- @GopherWTennis: New Season, New Gear
- @GopherWGym: What Olympic Sport Could You Do?
- @GopherMGolf: Gopher Invitational Hype
- @GopherHockey: Cullen Brothers on Playing Together
- @GopherWHockey: Practice Sights & Sounds
Fox9.com: New Gopher receiver Noah Jennings sat down with Fox 9's Pierre Noujaim before last week's game.
@MikeGrimm3: Former Gopher QB and BTN analyst Tanner Morgan was on Mike Grimm's Go Gopher Podcast.
Gophers in the NFL:
- @GopherFootball: Brevyn Spann-Ford had the big hit on special teams for the Cowboys
- @GopherFootball: Rashod Bateman had seven catches for 88 yards and a score for Baltimore
- @Fox9: Blake Cashman had 10 tackles and a sack in the Vikings' win
WCCORadio.com: Former Gopher and MLB Hall of Famer Dave Winfield talked about his new book on WCCO Radio.
GopherSports.com: Assistant coach and Gopher alum Cory Laylin was the guest on the latest Pride on Ice Podcast.
ESPN.com: ESPN's predictions for the 2026-27 NHL season included former Gopher Matthew Wood and the Nashville Predators.
The Latest from Gopher Digital:
- Hype Video: 2026 Griak Invitational
- Cinematic Recap: Volleyball wins the Diet Coke Classic
- Game Trailer: Minnesota-Akron
- Sights & Sounds: Gophers-Zips
- Sights & Sounds: Fall Softball Practice
