At 7 a.m., most college students are sound asleep catching up on Z’s they did not get after the previous evening’s studying. But, for the Gophers rowing team, practice is about to start.

Being a college student is hard enough, but being a college student on the rowing team is another challenge entirely. The varsity rowing team arrives at the Irene Claudia Kroll Boathouse for their two-hour practice on the water before the start of their classes.

Rowing at the collegiate level is much more than spending mornings on the water. Head coach Alicea Strodel said athletes must be in prime physical condition to move all the mass that comes with rowing.

“There is just some raw power that is necessary due to the boat having drag and the actual weight of the boat,” Strodel said.

The team maintains an intense training schedule involving both easy and hard days on the water, challenging not only their physical condition but also their mentality.

“Our hard days are hard. Our women will say they’re like an eight to nine out of 10,” Strodel said. “The easy days are not as physically challenging, but can be mentally challenging if we’re working on skilled work.”

When out on the water, the athletes are heavily concentrated on working together to synchronize each stroke and move the boat as one unit. 

With 40 athletes on the varsity team, developing a team dynamic is critical for the athletes to perform well together in the boat. 

Senior Grace Loescher said it can be frustrating to see a boat pass ahead, but at the end of the day, the team shares the common goal of becoming better rowers.

“We’re all rooting for each other rather than getting too focused on personal experience,” Loescher said.

The team runs together, carries out boats together and packs them away together. Loescher said the team will also change up who is in the boats so athletes can get an idea of what it’s like to row with different people.

Even though rowing is a seasonal sport that happens in the fall and spring, like many other DI programs, practice is not limited by the season. When it gets too cold to be out on the water, athletes will train indoors in a tank.

The tank has seats that move as if you’re in a boat, which sit in a pool that acts like an infinity pool. It allows athletes to hold an oar and gives them the feeling as if they’re rowing a real boat.

Aside from that, Strodel said the team utilizes rowing machines, bikes and their weight room in the Bierman Athletic Building.

In addition to the more standard offseason training one would see with weights, graduate student Meg Messer said the team sometimes runs stairs at 3M Arena at Mariucci, which allows the team to connect.

“The winter sucks, but it’s a lot of fun as a team to be able to push each other,” Messer said.

The University of Minnesota has access to the Mississippi River right in the backyard of its boathouse. Views of sandstone caves, man-made art and Pennywise the Clown are scattered along the route.

Loescher said the team has dealt with snow, rain and heat during practices. She added learning to battle these conditions well gives them an edge over their competitors.

“We get to come in with this energy and grittiness that [competitors] don’t really have to have defined being in like maybe a nicer climate,” Loescher said. 

Last season, the Gophers finished seventh out of eight at the Big Ten championships. Messer said the team is hoping to capitalize on their performance last season and finish in the top half of the conference. 

“We’d love to get a medal, but we really want to improve on last year,” Messer said. “Getting all boats across the line. Top half would be great.”

Strodel said the team had spent the early parts of the fall focusing on certain parts of their rowing strokes. 

Wednesday and Friday practices are the team’s hard days and involve recording data that is used to create intrasquad competition.

“We’ll send multiple boats out, we’ll switch people around, we’ll see what changes, who’s making it go faster and what that looks like,” Strodel said.

All of the data collection for setting lineups begins upstairs in the boathouse on the rowing machine.

“We use that a lot just for power output and understanding somebody’s physical capacity,” Strodel said.

Athletes will then go out on the water where Strodel figures out the technical component. 

“We want to have the most fit, aggressive, people in the boats,” Strodel said.

One of the biggest challenges for freshman Emily Franke is adjusting to the rowing style. She said she used to row with only one or two people in the boat, so eight was a big transition.

“I’m not used to having to follow anyone really,” Franke said. “It’s a lot of different moving parts.”

The Gophers will take to the water in their first tournament of the season on a river very familiar to them at the 43rd Annual Head of the Mississippi Regatta on Oct. 7.

The Gophers women’s volleyball team will continue to focus on growth as a whole before they enter their second weekend of Big Ten play beginning Friday.

The Gophers traveled to Iowa City, Iowa and Lincoln, Nebraska last weekend and the team defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes in five sets, only to be swept by the No. 2 ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Head coach Keegan Cook said he learned a lot about his team and what they needed to work on throughout the 10 matches they have played so far.

“The adversities are never what you predict,” Cook said. “We’re all really good and bad at fortune telling.”

Nonetheless, Cook said he knew he had the right group of people in the gym after seeing their performance against Nebraska.

“They were ready to practice the next day,” Cook said. “I didn’t see dejection or emotions.”

That intensity-focused mindset is what the Gophers needed heading into a weekend against Michigan and Penn State on back-to-back nights. Cook said he is hoping to utilize the team’s depth to make sure they are in a good position to play up to 10 sets of volleyball in less than 30 hours.

“These are the kinds of weekends where, if you’ve got depth, you better use it,” Cook said. “This week in practice, we’ll be looking through all of our options to make sure we can make it through the weekend with everyone healthy.”

Senior Lydia Grote, a transfer from the University of California, has stepped up at the opposite position for the Gophers. She ranks second on the team in kills per set (2.65) and third in aces per set (0.216).

Grote complimented the efforts made by her team, saying much of her performance comes down to the Gophers’ ability to work as a team.

“In order for me to score points, or our outsides to score points, there is a digger back there making an awesome dig and our setters are working to put up perfect balls,” Grote said before competing against Iowa and Nebraska.

Despite splitting the opening weekend of conference play, the Gophers noticed significant improvements in their cooperative play. Melani Shaffmaster said the team is observing growth in the areas they are focusing on when looking back at the film.

Kylie Murr said for the team to continue their momentum as they make their way through fierce conference play, they will need to focus on improving for the future. 

“It’s a good thing we still have room to grow, we don’t want to be at our peak right now,” Murr said.

Aside from Minnesota, the Big Ten has five teams ranked within the top 25. 

With the bulk of the conference season still ahead, Murr hopes to lead her team to find the courage within themselves to attack bigger challenges during intense, in-game settings.

“It’s all about grit, it’s all about heart,” Murr said. “I’m just trying to empower them more to just go for it and take those big risks.”

The Gophers women’s tennis team embraces a fresh start to their season after their first tournament of the fall season under a new head coach.

The Gophers had to forfeit their 2023 spring season due to an overwhelming number of injuries on the team. Since then, the program brought in a new coach, Lois Arterberry, from the University of St. Thomas.

Now, with a new season ahead of them and their first tournament completed, the team is hoping to put the past behind them and start fresh.

Sophomore Aiva Schmitz was on the team last season and welcomed the transition. According to Schmitz, she sees it as a chance to show other programs what Minnesota has been building throughout the offseason.

“We all just see it as an opportunity to really show everyone, ‘hey we’re back and we’re better and we can really work well together as a team,’” Schmitz said.

The team dynamic and coaching staff attracted talent from across the country. Anali Kocevar, a transfer from Grand Canyon University, came to the Gophers team after helping her previous team win the Western Athletic Conference and earn a bid to the NCAA tournament.

Kocevar said she likes the camaraderie among the Gophers athletes and wanted the chance to play against Big Ten teams.

“I love the style of the coach that is here,” Kocevar said. “I also love the team vibes. I feel like it’s important to like the people you surround yourself with and here I can only say positive things.

Part of what brings the positive energy into the program is a practice Arterberry brought to the team called “Gratitude Friday,” where athletes, coaches and staff all gather in a circle and speak about what they’re grateful for.

“When you play with a mindset of ‘wow, I have this,’ it’s like I have to make the best out of it,” Arterberry said. “It’s just a different meaning when you say it out loud in front of everyone.”

Arterberry said the coaching staff has been working to create more opportunities for one-on-one time between players and a member of the staff. As of now, every athlete gets one session per week, but Arterberry is hoping to bump that up to two.

“We really get to hone in and focus on their individual needs,” Arterberry said. “We’ll work on the technical and tactical side of their game.”

Schmitz played doubles with both Sofia Pinto and Sofia Pizzoni and mentioned the team is primarily focused on figuring out each other’s playing styles, when deciding doubles partners.

“When we decide who plays with who, it kind of comes down to, ‘Oh I prefer the forehand, do you prefer the backhand,’” Schmitz said. “Communication-wise and vibes-wise, we all get along really well.”

The team was very chatty with each other and shared a few laughs while stretching before their practice on Sept. 22, an indication of a strong bond among the team.

Schmitz said her biggest goal for the team this year is to prove they are more than what they are on paper.

“I feel like we still have that reputation from last year and like all the mess that it was,” Schmitz said. “But I think we can be really good this year.” 

The Gophers finished out their first tournament of the season with overall records of 12-6 in doubles and 14-4 in singles.

Arterberry said the first tournament was great because it gave the team a baseline of what is needed before the spring season and Big Ten play.

The Gophers will travel to the San Diego State University Invitational and begin competition there on Sept. 29.

“When we go to San Diego, the level is a little bit higher, so I’m actually really excited to go see what our student-athletes do,” Arterberry said.

Between the new season for the Gophers and putting the past behind them, Arterberry agreed with Schmitz in that she believes her team can surprise a lot of programs this year.

The Gophers women’s golf team has set several records in two tournaments this season, putting them in conversations with nationally ranked programs.

Between Isabella McCauley finishing as the top competitor at the first tournament of the season to picking up their first program victory at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate tournament, the Gophers started their season hot and have exhibited no signs of slowing down.

In April, the middle of McCauley’s spring season her freshman year, she said two of her biggest collegiate goals are to play in the national championships and individually win a collegiate event.

Since then, McCauley achieved both. She represented the Gophers in the NCAA Championship last season and, more recently, came out on top at the Boilermaker Classic. McCauley was the first Gopher to individually place in a tournament in eight years.

“Having a college win was one of my dream goals since the start of my freshman year, and I’m so grateful to have my first one in the Midwest at Purdue with all my incredible teammates,” McCauley said in a press release.

Fifth-year Grace Curran is another Gopher who succeeded early in the season. She tied for 18th at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate after a triumphant third round where she hit four under par (68), bolstering her 21 spots up the leaderboard.

Curran said she was proud of the way she played in the first two rounds but knew there were some simple mistakes she could fix in the third.

“I’m a very competitive person — competitive spirit — and tend to get very emotional when it comes to a certain shot or when I play a certain way,” Curran said. “I’ve really just been trying to stay level-headed and calm throughout the round.”

Curran’s ability to stay calm contributed to the Gophers’ impressive finish at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate. The team competed against 13 top-30-ranked teams and finished 11th overall, beating out No. 12 Baylor.

Head coach for the Gophers, Rhyll Brinsmead, said this was the first time the team had ever recorded a win at this tournament.

“This might seem like an odd stat to highlight, but to me, it shows the growth and future of this program,” Brinsmead said in a press release. “What Grace did this week was remarkable. I am so proud of her and I know this finish means the world to her, as it does to us.”

Throughout the offseason, the Gophers brought on new talent including transfers Hailey Loh and Megan Furtney and freshmen Phitchanaj Phongthammarug and Sara Tomaszewski.

Loh comes to Minnesota after playing in the two very different climates of California and Singapore.

“Coming here where it’s like kind of dry and cold — I have to watch out for my distances because the ball doesn’t travel very far back in Singapore, so I have to be attentive to that,” Loh said.

Courses in the Midwest also contain bentgrass, which is different from what Loh played on in California and Singapore. Loh said her golf wedges are designed for courses in California and Singapore, which makes it hard for her to hit shots low to the ground.

“Coach did get me a new wedge to help me with the bentgrass, but I have also been working with my teammate Bella and coach to help me cope with the bentgrass,” Loh said while practicing at the John W. Mooty Golf Facility.

With the individual and team success from the Boilermaker Classic and the ANNIKA Intercollegiate, Minnesota is drawing in more alumnae and supporters to their games.

Curran said she is looking forward to coming back post-grad to watch the team, much like how Gophers golf alumna Leah Herzog did on Wednesday.

“I know multiple people who had actually marked those days on their calendar,” Curran said. “It just shows the love and support that people have for this program.”

The Gophers will look to build on their early success as they round out the season. They have two tournaments left in their fall season, the next beginning the Leadership and Golf Invitational in Tacoma, Washington, on Monday.

Kylie Murr prides herself on her confident, competitive nature. So, when she joined a new team for the first time in four years, she knew she would be able to handle the pressure. 

Murr, a fifth-year graduate transfer from Ohio State, spent a short amount of time with her new Gophers team before stepping into a leadership role. The native out of Yorktown, Indiana will fill the libero position for the Minnesota Golden Gophers after playing the same position for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Melani Shaffmaster, a fourth-year for the Gophers and former teammate of Murr, said Murr is a “social butterfly.”

“She’s going to be just fine,” Shaffmaster said.

Ohio State to Minnesota

Murr’s journey to the Gophers began in the spring when Buckeyes head coach Jen Flynn Oldenburg decided to part ways with five seniors due to scholarship complications caused by an extra year of eligibility.

“We kind of came together as a little group of seniors and were like, ‘If we’re not all going to stay, we’re all going to find our new journeys,’” Murr said on the Six Rotations Podcast.

The seniors went their separate ways and each continued their career in the place that was best for them. For Murr, that place was Minnesota.

“I’m a competitive person,” Murr said. “At Ohio State, I got competitiveness every single night from every team and so I knew that’s what the Big Ten had to offer.”

When searching for a program to be a part of, Murr said she wanted a place that would allow her to keep growing as a player.

She added she knew she could get an opportunity to play for a Big Ten program again, and when that opportunity eventually appeared, she took it.

“[Minnesota] made me feel like I could bring a lot to this team,” Murr said. “They wanted to help me beyond college volleyball.”

Murr is known to be a confident player on the court. Her attitude translates well to her defensive abilities, which earned her 2022 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. 

Gophers volleyball head coach Keegan Cook said Murr’s confidence in the competitive moment sets her apart as an athlete.

“Matches get big and matches get intense,” Cook said. “Kylie thrives in that moment.”

Murr’s unceasing defensive tactics are unmistakable to her teammates.

“You’re going to have to probably kill her to make her lose,” Shaffmaster said.

The Minnesota libero

Murr will take over the libero position for the Gophers, one which now-alumn CC McGraw held since 2018. McGraw acquired 1,924 career digs while at Minnesota. She currently holds the third-highest number of digs in Minnesota volleyball history.

“I feel some pressure,” Murr said. “CC is a great player and I’m honored to take her spot.”

Murr, on the other hand, broke the Ohio State career digs record during the 2022 season. Throughout her Buckeyes career, she hit a total of 1,935 career digs. 

Despite the pressure Murr is feeling, she said the game has not changed and she is “going to go out there and just do [her] thing.”

“She’s not going to give up,” Shaffmaster said. “I don’t think it matters if we’re down 24-2, I think it’s going to be everything she has all the time.”

The Murr/Shaffmaster connection

Murr reunited with former teammate Shaffmaster when she decided to come to Minnesota for her final season. The two played together at Munciana Volleyball Club in Indiana as kids.

Murr started playing at Munciana when she was 12 years old and was teammates with Shaffmaster until they were 18.

The two played against each other in high school and then again when Minnesota would match up against Ohio State.

“Whenever we saw each other at Ohio State, I could not make eye contact with her because I would just start laughing,” Shaffmaster said.

Murr, now living with Shaffmaster, is routinely in the gym with her hitting the ball “just like old times,” Shaffmaster said.

A new Big Ten team

Cook said the team must allow Murr to be her confident, competitive self and play to her strengths, and also integrate her into the Gophers’ values and style of play.

“You want her to be the player that we’ve all experienced and you also want her to feel very tightly connected to how we’re doing things,” Cook said.

Murr said she took a step outside her comfort zone by stepping back to learn the dynamic of what goes on in the gym at Minnesota.

“I just kind of had to bite my tongue sometimes,” Murr said. “I wanted to see how they [Minnesota] operated.”

With such a short amount of time left in her collegiate volleyball career, Murr said she does not have time to be shy, especially given she’s a fifth year with four years of experience playing in the Big Ten.

The Gophers will play the Buckeyes twice this upcoming season: the first match between the two will be in Columbus on Nov. 3. Murr said it will be strange wearing different colors, but she is ready for the next chapter.

“I think I can teach these girls a lot, and I think I can learn a lot from them,” Murr said. “I need to use my voice as much as I can.”

CHICAGO – Big Ten volleyball coaches and athletes voiced their opinions on transfers and how athletes from the transfer portal fit in with an established culture at the conference’s second annual volleyball media days on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Big Ten had nine intraconference transfers this offseason across six different teams (Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers, Wisconsin), a 28% increase from the previous season. 

Head coach for the Wisconsin Badgers Kelly Sheffield said one of the most important parts of being active in the transfer portal is making sure recruits feel welcome and fit in with the culture of the program.

“When you’re going to take in transfers, that is more important than just chasing talent,” Sheffield said. “It is somebody that is going to fit into the culture that you’ve established and want to be a part of that.”

The Badgers picked up former Gopher Carter Booth and former Wildcat Temi Thomas-Ailara. Both were named to the Preseason All-Big Ten team. 

Penn State picked up two intraconference transfers: 2022 Big Ten Setter of the Year Mac Podraza from Ohio State and a transfer from Michigan, outside hitter Jess Mruzik. Head coach for the Nittany Lions, Katie Schumar-Cawley, said this was because they had the scholarship money.

“We want to be the best and waited to see who was available and got some really great players,” Schumar-Cawley said.

Nebraska head coach John Cook said this trend of transferring intraconference “bothers [him].”

“You invest all that time and energy and then they turn around and go to another team and you’re going to play against them,” Cook said. “As an old-school coach, that part bothers me. I don’t like it.”

Athletes across the conference transfer for various reasons. One of the more notable transfer situations was due to the COVID-19 pandemic leading Ohio State head coach Jen Flynn Oldenburg to let go of five senior players, two of which stayed in the Big Ten.

“The COVID thing really changed the world and, in the scheme of athletics, it makes it a little bit different and a little bit weird.” Flynn Oldenburg said. “At the end of the day, you have to go out and compete regardless of who’s on the other side of the net.”

Minnesota, on the other hand, gained a new head coach and lost two of their players who transferred intraconference.

Fourth-year setter for the Gophers Melani Shaffmaster played under former head coach Hugh McCutcheon the past three years. When asked if transferring ever crossed her mind, she responded with a resounding “no.”

“I’ve been here for three years and, [to] the people I’ve grown close to, there was never a thought in my mind of leaving Minnesota,” Shaffmaster said.

Culture is an aspect many programs pride themselves on and one which veteran athletes must work to integrate transfers into. Senior setter for the Badgers MJ Hammill said the Wisconsin transfers fit in well due to the program’s ability to always be authentic.

“They knew coming in this is who we are,” Hammill said. “We are who we are and we’re proud of the culture.”

Both representatives for the Badgers spoke highly of the work they have seen from Northwestern transfer Thomas-Ailara.

“She raises the level of play of everybody around her,” Hammill said. “The way she goes about things just increases the level of play of everybody.”

Taylor Landfair, a redshirt junior for the Gophers, said Ohio State transfer Kylie Murr has had no problem finding her niche in the Gophers program.

“I think she’s very fiery and gives a lot of energy to us, which I really appreciate because I feel like we really need that on our team,” Landfair said. “I think she’s really, really good for our team, and I’m really excited that she came here.”

Head coach for the Gophers Keegan Cook said he feels a responsibility to take care of his athletes. While a coach at Washington, he never had a player enter the transfer portal.

“It’s a privilege to coach them, and I don’t ever want to forget that,” Cook said. “The transfer portal probably lets coaches not forget that more than ever.”

Gophers women’s basketball guard Amaya Battle has an eye for shots on and off the court. 

While the team was on a break in May, Battle started a photography Instagram account, @battletimeflicks. She started sharing her new hobby with her friends and family to explore her identity outside of being a basketball player.

Battle has been interested in photography since her senior year of high school, when she began taking photos with her phone. In May, she decided to level up to a better camera to shoot photos for a scrapbook of her summer.

“I went to the camera store and they gave me a real 35-millimeter camera,” Battle said. “I started with that and just took off ever since.”

Since then, it’s been all gas and no brakes for the young photographer. Battle has been experimenting with different types of photography — including nature, sports and using people as subjects.

“I really like taking pictures with people,” Battle said. “I love their natural element.”

Of all the subjects Battle has captured through her lens she said her favorite topics are street photography and basketball. Battle’s skills behind the camera are still very raw. She is hoping to learn more by taking a photography class in the future.

Exploring hobbies outside of basketball is nothing new for Battle. She and teammate Mara Braun go back to third grade when the two played in a 3-on-3 league together. 

“Between every game, she would be reading Harry Potter or something,” Braun said. “She was the biggest little nerd.”

Braun and Battle would go on to play against each other in high school before the two joined the Gophers. Now good friends, Braun has been a supportive part of Battle’s photography journey.

“I’ve been to the camera store multiple times. Literally within a week we’ll go like three times,” Braun said.

As Battle navigates her new hobby, she is working to prioritize it while balancing basketball.

“You want something outside of basketball to balance you out,” Battle said. “Basketball can be a lot, and whether it’s going your way or not, it’s important to have something you can put your time and energy into.”

University of Minnesota Director of Sport Psychology Services Carly Anderson echoed what Battle said about athletic identity’s positives and negatives. Anderson said sport psychology research references a concept known as “athletic identity.”

An article in the National Library of Medicine defines athletic identity as “the degree of strength and exclusivity to which a person identifies with the athlete role or the degree to which one devotes special attention to sport relative to other engagements or activities in life.”

Athletic identity protects against burnout, according to Anderson, but when an athlete is injured or retired and no longer able to produce on the court, they have no way of feeding this identity. An inability to fulfill one’s identity could then lead to mental health issues.

Delving into hobbies allows athletes to pour themselves into other interests when they cannot compete. Anderson said this balance with an athlete’s sport is critical. Examples include things as simple as spending time with family, volunteering, practicing one’s faith or working a part-time job.

“That would be a healthy and important, feeding of the buckets of our identity,” Anderson said. “It’s increasingly very hard to do at the highest levels in sport.”

For athletes like Battle who have identified a hobby, Anderson said it is critical to make time for their hobby just as they would for sleep and nutrition.

“You just sort of need to put it as a priority,” Anderson said. “If you see value in it making you a better person and a more balanced person and a better version of yourself, then we have to prioritize it in your life.”

Battle’s teammates said she has been actively working to prioritize her passion. Aside from going with her to the local camera store three times a week, Braun watched Battle take pictures at the Twin Cities Pro-Am tournament.

“She always gets so excited to show the photos,” Braun said. Battle swiftly chimed in, saying “I actually have more to show you.”

Although Battle is often seen behind the camera, she can be found in front of it as well. She has recently taken charge of the Gophers women’s basketball team’s “Gold-Blooded Podcast.” 

“I had a little phase where I was kind of into broadcasting,” Battle said. “I still kind of think I can do it and also I love podcasts.”

The podcast, traditionally hosted by Minnesota Lynx guard and former Gopher Rachel Banham, invites current athletes to discuss hoops and life off the court. With the WNBA’s regular season in full swing, Banham’s plate is full.

“I was just like, ‘Can I do it just to get some experiences to see if it’s something I really like or could see myself doing?’” Battle said.

All of the experience with the camera has not pushed Battle away from the court. She recently took charge of Team Tyus as head coach in the Twin Cities Pro-Am on July 19, where she went head-to-head with former Hopkins teammate Paige Bueckers.

Bueckers, now a guard for the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team, coached Strictly BBall. The game ended with a final score of 116-109 and Battle’s first career win as head coach.

Whether Battle is leading her team to victory or chatting with teammates on the Gold-Blooded Podcast, she has been nearly everywhere this summer perfecting her shot on and off the court.

Arizona Coyotes General Manager Bill Armstrong announced Thursday the Coyotes signed Gophers men’s hockey forward Logan Cooley to a three-year entry-level contract. 

“Logan is an incredibly skilled player who had an excellent season with the Golden Gophers last year,” Armstrong said in a press release for the Coyotes. “We look forward to watching him play for the Coyotes for many years to come.” 

Cooley previously announced he would return to the Gophers for his sophomore season, but has since said he feels “ready for the challenge of playing at the highest level in the world.”

“The hardest part of coming to this decision was feeling like I was letting people down,” Cooley said on Instagram. “I have to be true to myself and do what’s in my heart.”

Cooley completed his freshman season for the Gophers as the team’s leading scorer with 60 points (22 goals and 38 assists) and second in NCAA scoring. The Hobey Baker finalist finished the season with a point in 16 of his final 17 games. 

Cooley finished second in Big Ten Conference scoring and led the Gophers to the Frozen Four Championship game before falling to Quinnipiac 3-2 in overtime.

Cooley also represented the United States at the 2023 World Junior Championship in Canada earlier this year, leading the U.S. to a bronze medal. He recorded the second-most points in the tournament and led the team in scoring with 7-7-14.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

For the first time in 11 seasons, the Minnesota women’s volleyball team will take to the court under a new head coach.

Keegan Cook, who replaced Hugh McCutcheon in December, is preparing the team for their first serve in August. Cook has added promising new talent to the squad and expects a national championship.

“That’s what I was hired to do and I’m not going to shy away from those expectations,” Cook said in a press conference on Monday.

When McCutcheon announced he would be stepping down, it came as a surprise given his success as a head coach. 

“This is the second time I’ve been part of a different kind of transition where things have been going well and there is a great responsibility to maintain and exceed the performance from before,” Cook said.

Cook had previously replaced Jim McLaughlin at the University of Washington after McLaughlin served as head coach from 2001-2014. During that span, McLaughlin produced a national championship title, four Final Four appearances, three national players of the year and three Pac-12 conference titles.

“There is a lot of meaning in Minnesota volleyball,” Cook said. “This program means a lot, not just regionally, but nationally and that responsibility connected with me.”

Throughout Cook’s eight seasons at Washington, the Huskies held a record of 198-56 and a 74% winning percentage, the seventh-best among all coaches in Pac-12 history. More recently, Cook was named president of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) in January.

Already, players are noticing the difference in Cook’s coaching style versus McCutcheon’s.

Outside hitter Mckenna Wucherer enters her second year on the team having played her first season under McCutcheon and the spring season under Cook.

“Hugh’s practices were a lot more relaxed and kind of like – just focused on breaking down every single skill,” Wucherer said in the Monday press conference. “Keegan is more like breaking down the skill and then applying it right away.”

Wucherer said she loved the opportunity to play for both Cook and McCutcheon and described them both as “legendary coaches.”

The legendary behavior is what the Gophers need after losing prominent players such as CC McGraw, Carter Booth, Jenna Wenaas, Rachel Kilkelly, Ellie Husemann and Naya Gros.

Cook brought in three new transfers, one of them being Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Kylie Murr.

“I wanted to stay in the Big Ten,” Murr said at the press conference. “Minnesota is a really good program historically and it just felt right.”

Murr left her Ohio State team after scholarship complications arose due to the extra year of eligibility COVID-19 provided.

Murr, however, is not completely unfamiliar with the Minnesota team. She and fourth-year Melani Shaffmaster played volleyball together as kids at Munciana Volleyball Club in Indiana.

Murr said she selected Minnesota to compete, but having Shaffmaster as a teammate again was a bonus.

“To have that friendship and someone you’re comfortable playing with was a big factor,” Murr said.

Confident, outgoing and energetic are all terms that describe Murr’s style of play on the court.

“Not everybody is willing to go get hit by a ball coming at you,” Murr said. “You got to have heart.”

Cook’s expectations and the competitive nature of Big Ten volleyball pair well with Murr’s combative energy on the court.

The Gophers’ non-conference schedule consists of teams that all played in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, including defending national champion Texas.

“There is nothing I dislike about [the schedule],” Murr said. “I think having that tough preseason is going to get us ready for the first game of the Big Ten.”

The team has been working hard in their open gym and the chemistry is beginning to build amongst each other as the screams of excitement can be heard through the walls.

“Our transfers are – wow,” Wucherer said. “We’ve just grown into a huge family.”

The Gophers will play on Aug. 18 against Northern Iowa in an exhibition match before returning to Maturi Pavilion for the regular season on Aug. 25.

The Gophers football season is quickly approaching with the first kickoff scheduled for Aug. 31 at Huntington Bank Stadium.

With athletes stepping into leadership roles, others returning to the field from injury and the focus on a detail-oriented defense, Gopher fans have a lot to look forward to in the fall. In preparation for the season, athletes met with the media at the annual media days to discuss what to expect for the season.

Last season, quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis started five of the 11 games for the Gophers and compiled a 3-2 record as a starter. 

Despite the success Kaliakmanis had for the Gophers, he said he wants to improve on “becoming a better teammate, a better football player and a better person.”

The native out of Antioch, Illinois, suffered an injury when Minnesota took on Syracuse in the Pinstripe Bowl. Throughout his recovery, he said he has looked up to the late Kobe Bryant. 

“No matter what you go through in life, you always get back up no matter what’s going on,” Kaliakmanis said in a press conference. “Kobe Bryant always did that.”

Kaliakmanis is set to compete with Cole Kramer for the starting quarterback position in fall camp.

Kramer competed in eight games last season and completed five passes. He said he felt the most confident in the quarterback position from the first spring practice to the spring game. 

“I’d say just the whole mental side of things,” Kramer in a press conference said on what clicked for him. “I’m making decisions a little bit quicker, being more decisive.”

Among the returning talent for the Gophers is wide receiver Chris Autman-Bell who suffered a lower leg injury against Colorado, preventing him from seeing the field for the remainder of the season.

As far as Autman-Bell playing next year, he said he is “not clear yet” but is quickly reaching the point where he will be ready.

“Finding that trust within myself and getting smoother again,” Autman-Bell said in a press conference on his final steps in recovery. “It’s definitely the goal to play against Nebraska.”

With the added help in the backfield, the Gophers have been focusing on the finer details of the game, especially on defense.

Defensive Linemen Danny Striggow said Defensive Coordinator Joe Rossi emphasizes details through his coaching technique.

“That’s the number one thing in our defense,” Striggow said in a press conference. “As long as you do the little things right –– the details right –– you’re more likely to have success.”

Defensive Back Tyler Nubin said the team must understand the playbook before fall camp begins so the defense is not spending time re-teaching base concepts.

“We can talk about game plan stuff, adjustment stuff, things that are actually going to help us during the season,” Nubin said in a press conference. 

Making defensive adjustments for different teams in fall camp is critical because there is not much time to work out the kinks between regular season games.

“We try to really expedite that process and have us learn those things now so that when we do have to go in our toolbox and use those during the season, it’s just like memory,” Nubin said.

The veteran Gophers’ commitment to details serves as an example to the younger athletes on the team who will one day take on leadership roles.

Redshirt senior Nathan Boe had his second career start as center against Syracuse this past season. He said he learned a lot about what it takes to be a center from former Gopher John Michael Schmitz through Minnesota’s strong mentorship culture.

“He wasn’t always the most vocal guy, but he always led with his presence,” Boe said about Michael Schmitz. “I’ve learned from him every single day for five years and he’s impacted me a ton.”

Linebacker Derik LeCaptain spoke heavily on the support from friends, family and teammates he receives.

“Playing Division I football is something that me and my dad had talked about since I was a little kid,” LeCaptain said. “Kind of just makes you really appreciate everything you have here.”