March has come to a close and April is springing into the Upper Midwest this weekend with very springlike weather. While that may shift some games times of the Gophers outdoor sports like baseball and softball later this weekend, it gives others a great chance to get comfortable on the coach and take in some Gophers action in other sports. We have one final winter NCAA Tournament taking place as the Gopher gymnastics team heads to Corvallis, Oregon for the NCAA Regionals this weekend, but otherwise
it’s all spring sports all time time. Below is the full weekend schedule and how you can catch all the action.
Friday April 3rd:
Track and Field @ Battle on the Bayou 10:30 AM
The Gopher track and field teams head to Baton Rouge, Louisiana for the Battle on the Bayou track meet hosted by LSU this weekend. Minnesota will have 54 meet entries between the men’s and women’s teams. Action begins at 10:30 Friday with the women’s hammer throw. The running events start on Friday at 5:30 p.m. with day one wrapping up at about 8:15 p.m.
The first spring track and field ranking were released this week and the Gopher men came in at #3 in the nation. In the event squad rankings the men had the # 1 ranked hammer throw group at an 67.81m average while the 3000m steeplechase quartet also were #1 with an average of 8:56.14. The 100m group is ranked #2 at an 10.31 average while the 200m crew averages 20.79 and is also #2 nationally.
The Gopher women are ranked #29 in the nation with two top-five spots in the first outdoor event squad rankings. The 10K quartet average 34:22.89 and are ranked #2 while the 400m hurdles group averages 1:00.85 and is ranked #5. Live results will be available HERE.
Baseball @ Iowa 1:02 PM B1G+
The Gopher baseball team heads to Iowa City for a three game series against the Hawkeyes this weekend. Friday’s game was shifted to a 1 PM first pitch to avoid inclement weather and will stream on B1G+.
The Gopher baseball team had struggled in Big Ten play this season going 2-7 after a 15-4 non-conference start. The Gophers were swept at home by Ohio State last weekend. Iowa enters the weekend with a 16-11 and a 3-6 record in Big Ten play. They were swept by #1 UCLA last weekend.
Rowing @ Rocky Top Invite 2 PM
The Gopher rowing team officially begins their spring championship season at the Rocky Top Invite held on Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tennessee this weekend. The Gophers will face the host #5 ranked Tennessee Volunteers as well as squads from #17 Alabama, Clemson, #15 Duke, Iowa, #14 Penn, #24 USC, and #25 UCLA.
The Friday schedule is :
Minnesota’s Friday Schedule (times listed in Central Time, subject to change)
2:30 p.m. – 3V4 Heat 2 (vs. Tennessee, Tennessee 4V4)
2:50 p.m. – 2V4 Heat 2 (vs. Alabama, Tennessee, Clemson)
3:10 p.m. – 1V4 Heat 2 (vs. Iowa, Alabama, Tennessee, USC)
3:30 p.m. – 2V8 Heat 2 (vs. Iowa, Alabama, Tennessee, USC)
3:50 p.m. – 1V8 Heat 2 Iowa, Alabama, Tennessee, USC)
Live results will be available HERE.
Gymnastics @ NCAA Corvallis Regional Semifinal 9 PM ESPN+
The Gopher gymnastics team will kick off their NCAA Championships run on Friday night in the Corvallis Region Semifinal. The #13 seeded Gophers will face off against a trio of Big Ten foes in #5 UCLA, #19 Iowa and Washington at 9 PM from Oregon State. The top two teams in Friday night’s Region Semifinal will advance to Sunday’s Region Final at 7PM. The event rotation schedule for Friday night is:
EVENT ROTATION ORDER
Minnesota: Floor-Vault-Bars-Beam
UCLA: Vault-Bars-Beam-Floor
Iowa: Bars-Beam-Floor-Vault
UW: Beam-Floor-Vault-Bars
The Gophers are a combined 4-1 against teams in their semifinal matchup this season defeating Iowa three times and Washington once and falling to #5 UCLA at home. They enter the NCAA Tournament ranked #13 overall as a team and are ranked 15th on vault (49.150 avg.), 17th on bars (49.152 avg.), 12th on beam (49.208 avg.), and 14th on floor (49.338 avg.).
Freshman Arianna Ostrom enters her first NCAA Championships after one of the best Freshman season in program history. Ostrom earned All-Big Ten First Team, Big Ten All-Freshman Team and Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors and this week was also named WCGA Second Team All-America on vault and all-around, just the third Gopher freshman in history to earn All-America nods. She recorded the first perfect 10 of her career on vault in the Gophers home finale.
The Gophers qualified for the NCAA Regionals for the 45th time in program history and the 30th straight season this year in Corvallis. The Gophers hold two regional titles, which came in 1980 and 1982. Under head coach Jenny Hansen, the Gophers have advanced out of regionals three times, making nationals in 2016, 2021 and 2022 with second place finishes. The Gophers went on to finish sixth at nationals in 2022, their best finish in program history. They have made the NCAA Region finals in four of the past five seasons, one of just two Big Ten programs to do so along with UCLA.
Friday’s action will stream on ESPN+.
Saturday April 4th:
Rowing @ Rocky Top Invite 7 AM
The second day of the Rocky Top Invite kicks off early on Saturday at 7 AM. Semifinals and Finals will take place on Saturday. Live results will again be available HERE.
Track and Field @ Battle on the Bayou 10:30 AM
Day two of the Battle on the Bayou kicks off with the women’s shot put at 10:30 Saturday morning. Action will continue through the afternoon. Live results will be available HERE.
Tennis @ Wisconsin Noon
The Gopher tennis team heads to Madison looking for their first Big Ten win on the season against Wisconsin. After a good non-conference start that looked promising the Gopher tennis team has now gone 0-8 in Big Ten action. It will not be easy to pick up the first win as Wisconsin is 12-5 on the season and 5-3 in Big Ten play. The match will stream for free HERE.
Softball vs Ohio State 1PM B1G+
The Gophers open a three game series against Ohio State at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Minnesota has struggled this season coming in with a 13-22 record and a 5-4 record in Big Ten play. Ohio State enters with a 15-18 record and also are 5-4 in conference action. They come in hot off a three-game sweep of Michigan State in which it did not allow a run.
Minnesota has struggled at the plate, but have had a star in the circle. Senior Sydney Schwartz has been the Gophers’ ace, leading the staff with nine wins, a 2.34 ERA and 91 strikeouts across 98.2 innings. Opponents are hitting just .202 against her, and she has recorded eight complete games and five shutouts which leads the Big Ten. She ranks among the top six in the conference in ERA (2.34), strikeouts (91), innings pitched (98.2), complete games (eight), opponent batting average (.202) and wins (nine).
First pitch is tentatively scheduled for 1 PM and will stream on B1G+
Baseball @ Iowa 2:00 PM B1G+
Game two between the Gophers and Hawkeyes is set for a 2 PM first pitch Saturday on B1G+.
Sunday April 5th:
Baseball @ Iowa 1:00 PM B1G+
The Gophers and Hawkeyes close out the weekend at 1 PM in Iowa City.
Softball vs Ohio State 4PM B1G+
The Gophers and Buckeyes will face off in game two of their series at 4 Pm on Sunday. The teams will also play on Monday at 2 PM for the third game of their series.
Gymnastics @ NCAA Corvallis Regional Final 7PM ESPN+
Assuming the Gophers finish in the top two on Friday night, they will advance to the Corvalis region Final on Sunday along wil barring an epic upset #5 UCLA. The Gophers and Bruins will face the top two teams from the other Corvallis Region semifinal which will feature #5 Alabama, #12 Utah, #23 Denver #25 Oregon State. The gophers are 0-1 this season against those teams with a season opening loss at Utah. Action will stream on ESPN+
