Former Gophers heavyweight wrestler Gable Steveson announced his return to the amateur wrestling competition Tuesday evening with his registration in the U.S. Open, which will begin on April 26.

Steveson will return to action as a representative of the Gopher Wrestling Club (GWC), Minnesota’s regional training center for international styles. He will be competing alongside fellow GWC athlete Hayden Zillmer, the 2022 World Team member at 125 kilograms.

Steveson is looking to get a spot on the 2023 World Team, and a win at the U.S. Open guarantees him a spot at the Final X competition, which will determine the 2023 U.S. Senior World Teams.

As rumors arose of Gable’s potential return, the U.S. Open seemed to be the first event in which Steveson could come back to the mat. The U.S. Open acts as the first step in qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Trials, which take place next summer.

This will be Steveson’s first freestyle competition since his thrilling last-second win in the 2020 Olympic finals over three-time World Champion Geno Petriasvili. Stevenson still trains periodically with the GWC and Zillmer.

While competing for the Gophers, Steveson compiled an 85-2 career record with 60 bonus-point victories, collecting two NCAA titles, three Big Ten titles and two Dan Hodge trophies.

Steveson will return to the sport after a 13-month break. His last matchup was during the NCAA Championships in March 2022, where he left his wrestling shoes on center mat, a rich tradition in wrestling signaling the end of a competitor’s career.

The Gophers women’s tennis team has had an up-and-down 2023 spring season. After opening February with four straight victories, they’re currently knee-deep in an eight-match losing streak.

The Maroon & Gold have shown flashes that they can compete with anyone in the country. They are currently competing with an abbreviated roster, which has cost them a number of matches this season.

“We unfortunately were hit with some injuries and illness, some not tennis related,” said head coach Catrina Thompson. “We were hoping to have players back sooner, which just hasn’t been the case.”

Nonetheless, they have still proven to be a competitive team with an overall record of 5-12.

The team opened their season in January when they competed in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s (ITA) annual opening-weekend tournament. Sixty teams competed in the tournament overall among six locations.

Returning athletes Zeyneb Sarioglan and Lucy Lu, joined by first-year students Anet Koskel and Aiva Schmitz as well as transfer student Zoey Weil, represented the Gophers and played in a four team bracket with Texas Tech, Tulsa and Oklahoma. The Gophers lost 4-0 to Oklahoma on day one of the tournament and went on to lose to Tulsa University in the consolation round.

The Gophers traveled home after what was a rough tournament, but they went on to prove themselves on their home court by going on a 4-match win streak. The streak ultimately ended when the Gophers hit the road again and were defeated by Washington State and once again in their conference opener against Nebraska.

Minnesota quickly rebounded at home when Koskel gave the Gophers the edge in a tied match, which led to Minnesota’s first ever win against Utah. Koskel defeated Katya Townsend 2-1 at No. 1 singles.

“We had a really good win against Utah, who was ranked 36th in the country at the time,” Thompson said. “That’s a feat to the four players on our team that competed that day.”

The Gophers’ impressive victory was followed up by an ongoing 8-match losing streak, with their most recent loss being on Sunday against Maryland. Many of the Gophers’ struggles came from a lack of competitors in the fifth and sixth singles positions due to injury. This requires Minnesota to automatically forfeit 2 points.

“We kind of knew early on when we started the spring season that we were going to be down a few players and mentally had to shift where we were at,” Thompson said.

The Gophers are currently one position short, as freshman Sofia Pizzoni came back to the court on Friday to play the fifth singles position against Maryland.

The Maroon & Gold will host Northwestern for their next match on April 14 at 3:30 p.m.

The Gophers women’s gymnastics team placed third at the NCAA Denver Regional Semifinal on Friday, putting them just one place short of advancing.

The Maroon & Gold finished their night with a team-score of 197.200 as they competed with No. 3 Michigan, No. 13 Denver and Arizona.

“This is a team with a lot of new people and a lot of new routines in our lineup, and we feel like we’ve grown a lot this season and we look forward to next year and also look forward to a whole new class joining us,” head coach Jenny Hansen said.

The Gophers started their night on bars, where in the team’s very first routine of the evening, freshman Seria Johnson led the Gophers with a career-high mark of 9.900. All-Big Ten First Team member Gianna Gerdes competed in the all-around and added 9.900 to the team’s total.

Minnesota competed on the beam next, where freshman Sarah Moraw and fifth-year senior Abbie Nylin each earned a score of 9.850, a season-high for Nylin. Sophomore Lauren Pearl and junior Emily Koch both finished with a 9.825 before Gerdes and Tiarre Sales capped off the event for the Gophers, finishing with a team score of 49.150.

In what was the Gophers’ strongest event of the night, Gerdes and Halle Remlinger each scored 9.925 on floor. Mya Hooten and Johnson each finished with a 9.900, followed by Marissa Jencks and senior Mallory LeNeave, who each added a 9.850 to the team total of 49.500.

On the vault, Hooten and Maddie Quarles earned back-to-back 9.925s in the Gophers’ final two routines. Gerdes ended her all-around day with a 9.825. Moraw and Remlinger both scored 9.800, and Jencks finished with a 9.700, to round out the final team score of 59.500.

“We’re really proud of the way the team performed tonight,” Hansen said. “We knew we had a little bit more in us tonight that we think would have helped us qualify for the next day, but overall, this was one of our highest scoring meets of the year.”

Max McHugh, a fifth-year senior and team captain of the Gophers’ men’s swimming and diving team, finished out his career Saturday with an NCAA title in the 100-meter breaststroke and a third place finish in the 200-meter breaststroke.

McHugh became the seventh male in NCAA history to win three straight 100-meter breast titles and the eighth to win three titles overall. He followed up the historic day finishing out his career with a season best of 1:49:91 in the 200-meter breaststroke.

In his four trips to the NCAA Championships, McHugh never placed lower than third in the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke events.

As a freshman, he was third in the 100-meter breast before claiming the first place titles in 2021 and 2022. He entered the 2023 tournament as the defending champion in the 100-meter breaststroke event.

“Defending champion, it doesn’t mean much to me,” McHugh said in a press release. “I knew defending champion doesn’t mean anything to any of my competitors, so I had to go and get it done this year.”

McHugh followed up his NCAA title with a third-place finish in the 200-meter breaststroke event the next day. He previously won second place in the 200 event in 2019, first place in 2021 and second place again in 2022.

With such an illustrious finish to his Gophers career, McHugh said he’s not quite sure what’s next for him.

“I need to make a new goal list,” he said. “I’d love to finally break out onto that international scene, try to convert to long-course a little bit better.”

Among the other Gophers competing in the tournament, the 1650-meter freestyle event had two Gophers with Top 25 finishes. Junior Chris Nagy placed 21st with a time of 14:52.23 and sophomore Bar Soloveychik was two spots behind Nagy in 23rd.

In Saturday’s prelims, junior Kaiser Neverman placed 24th in the 200-meter butterfly even. He had a time of 1:42.93, the second fastest swim in Gophers program history.

Gophers freshman Drew Bennett competed in platform diving and finished in 25th place in the preliminary round with a score of 325.55.

Minnesota finished 21st overall at the tournament. It marks the 32nd straight season with a Top 25 finish for the team.

Katie Borowicz, a redshirt freshman for the Gophers women’s basketball team, announced Wednesday she decided to medically retire from basketball.

“My decision to medically retire is the most difficult and painful one I’ve ever had to make,” Borowicz said in a tweet. “I’ve been struggling for the past year to push through and put a smile on my face, but my body is telling me enough.”

pic.twitter.com/4qLucYXVJE

— Katie Borowicz (@katieborowicz) March 22, 2023

Borowicz missed all of the 2021-22 season after undergoing brain surgery to relieve pressure on her spine. She said her pain is, “worse when playing basketball.” She returned for the 2022-23 season, played 29 games, started in 17 and averaged 8.5 points per game.

The Minnesota women’s basketball team said on their main account, “We cannot thank @katieborowicz, our 2022-23 captain, enough for her blood, sweat and tears she poured into our program.”

We cannot thank @katieborowicz, our 2022-23 captain, enough for her blood, sweat and tears she poured into our program. Once a Gopher, always a Gopher #SkiUMah https://t.co/hrI0dR7MYw pic.twitter.com/e88LUWgoXw

— Minnesota Women’s Basketball (@GopherWBB) March 22, 2023

New Gophers head coach Dawn Plitzuweit will now look to replace Borowicz along with leading rebounder Alanna ‘Rose’ Micheaux. Talented freshmen Nia Holloway, Mara Braun and Mallory Heyer have all officially announced their decision to return, while Amaya Battle is expected to join the team next season.

Borowicz, a Roseau High School standout, was a four-star recruit and 19th-ranked point guard in the country when former head coach Lindsay Whalen recruited her to Minnesota.

Gophers freshman Jaden Henley, a 6-foot-7-inch guard, announced his decision to enter the transfer portal Monday. 

Sophomore center Treyton Thompson joined Henley in the transfer portal shortly after on Monday.

“After talking with my family, I have decided to enter my name in the transfer portal and find a new home to continue my academic and athletic career,” Henley wrote on Twitter. “I look forward to the next step in my journey.”

pic.twitter.com/dcavjnF4dt

— Jaden Henley (@Jaden2coldd) March 13, 2023

Hailing from Ontario, California, Henley was rated as the 195th-best recruit in the high school class of 2022 and chose Minnesota over a top offer from San Diego State.

In his first collegiate season, Henley averaged 5.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists and shot 37.8% from 3-point range in 20.8 minutes per game.

When the Gophers defeated Nebraska in the first round of the 2023 Big Ten Tournament, Henley had 14 points and 2 assists in 33 minutes. Four of his five double-figure scoring performances occurred in the last nine games of the season.

During his two seasons on the team, Thompson averaged 2 points and shot 37% from the field in 39 total games played.

Thompson was the Gophers’ starting center in their first seven games of the season but saw his opportunities dwindle down the stretch. He averaged three fewer minutes per game following his tenure as a starter. The next, and last, time he started for Minnesota was in a late January game against Indiana.

In that performance, the Glenwood, Minnesota, native played 37 minutes and put up career highs in basketball’s five most notable statistics: points (8), rebounds (8), assists (4), blocks (2) and steals (1).

Thompson joins teammate Henley, also a former three-star prospect, as Minnesota’s second player to transfer this offseason. Their departures open up two scholarship spots on Minnesota’s roster that can be given to a current Gopher or an incoming player.

The Gophers ended the 2022-23 season with a 2-17 conference record and lost to Maryland in the Big Ten Tournament’s second round on Thursday.

The Gophers ended their regular season with a loss to rival Wisconsin on Sunday before they flew down to Chicago for the 2023 Big Ten Tournament.

The No. 14 seeded Gophers defeated No. 11 seeded Nebraska Wednesday. Minnesota advanced to round two on Thursday, where they lost to the No. 6 Maryland Terrapins.

March 9 vs. Nebraska

The Gophers had a slow start to the game. Nebraska took an early 8-point lead amid a sea of red that packed the United Center. Ta’Lon Cooper made a pair of free throws to give Minnesota its first points more than four minutes into the game.

Junior Jamison Battle led the Gophers to their first lead of the game after he hit a layup midway through the first half. Dawson Garcia, Battle and Jaden Henley all hit consecutive 3-pointers for the Gophers, giving them a 5-point edge over the Cornhuskers.

The Gophers shot 58% from the field in the first half, resulting in a 37-33 lead.

Henley strengthened the Gophers’ lead to 11 early in the second half after he drained a pivotal 3-pointer. Nebraska’s Sam Griesel responded with a layup to bring the Cornhuskers’ deficit within 4 points.

Battle hit his last 3-pointer of the night before fouling out of the game at the nine-minute mark. The call infuriated Gophers Head Coach Ben Johnson, which cost his team a technical foul and serious momentum.

“I put myself in his shoes at that moment and said, you know what, he’s given a lot to this school. Sometimes you’ve got to let it rip and let it ride,” Johnson said. “My technical, that was on me 100%; that was probably not the smartest thing to do.”

The game started to heat up without the Gophers second-leading scorer. Griesel brought the score within 1 point for the Cornhuskers after a jump shot in the paint.

Minnesota defaulted to getting the ball to their point guard Cooper down the stretch. He responded by knocking down 8 of 10 free throws when the Gophers needed them most.

“They make me come in every day and shoot 75 free throws, 75 makes, so I think that helped a lot,” Cooper said. “Nothing was really going through my mind, just stepping up, just knocking down the free throws.”

Cooper only missed two free throws all night, which led the Gophers to defeat the No. 12 team on Wednesday 78-75.

“I thought the resolve and toughness that they showed, both mental and physical, the entire game, especially after getting off to a rough start, was phenomenal,” Johnson said. “That’s what it takes to win at this level and in this tournament.”

The Gophers advanced to the second round where they matched up with No. 6 seeded Maryland.

March 10 vs. Maryland

The Gophers answered with an early 8-2 Maryland run, with an 8-point run from a trio of true freshmen, a foundational part of their team they will hope to build upon next season.

“We had our ups and downs but just feel like we stuck with it,” freshman guard Braeden Carrington said. “To have this core group of freshmen for the next couple years is definitely exciting.”

Maryland quickly responded with a 9-2 run of their own to regain the lead. Henley cut the Gophers’ deficit to three after he put one up, but Maryland hit its fifth and sixth 3-pointers of the first half to stretch the lead to 9 points with less than five minutes left to play in the first half.

A jumper from Henley and free throws from Pharell Payne allowed Minnesota to close the half down 31-24.

The Terrapins opened the second half with a 10-2 run, just before Minnesota responded with its own 11-4 run. Payne added two more field goals to stay within 8 at 49-41.

Maryland stretched the lead to 15 points after Jahmir Young hit his free throws. Carrington sank two 3-pointers and Cooper nailed a jumper to pull the Gophers within 9.

The Terrapins, however, outscored Minnesota 12-5 over the final five minutes of game play, winning 70-54 and advancing to Friday’s quarterfinal round against No. 3 Indiana.

True freshman Payne, who scored 17 points on a perfect six of six from the field, led the Gophers.

“I thought he had a lot of energy on the offensive glass,” Garcia said. “He’s an incredible talent, and he’s only going to get better because he likes to work and he’s very coachable.”

Johnson said developing his young team will be a critical part of their off-season work.

“Player development is obviously huge, whether it’s weight room, on the court, getting guys
physically ready,” he said. “You take a look at our league, there’s a lot of older guys, and there’s mature bodies, and we’ve got to be one of those next year.”

Minnesota ended a 12-game losing streak Thursday against Rutgers thanks to a buzzer-beating Jamison Battle 3. They looked to keep the momentum going but fell to their border rivals, the Wisconsin Badgers, on senior day.

The Gophers will now enter the Big Ten tournament as the No. 14 seed and will play their first game against No. 11 Nebraska on Wednesday.

March 2 vs. Rutgers

“I just kind of talked about if you compete and you have a will to win, then anything is possible,” Gophers Head Coach Ben Johnson said before the game.

The game looked like it was going down a similar path the Gophers have faced all season with Rutgers leading 40-33 at the half. The Scarlet Knights had two players in double figures and made 15 of 29 field goals.

Gophers forward Battle found success from beyond the 3-point line all night, but the Scarlet Knights remained on fire, pushing their lead to 53-39 five minutes into the second half.

A 6-point run for the Gophers brought their deficit within 8 with 13 minutes left. The teams traded baskets for the next 12 minutes, keeping the lead between 7 and 11 points.

Tides quickly turned for the Gophers as leading-scorer Dawson Garcia scored on back-to-back possessions to cut it to 70-64 with less than a minute to go. Battle proceeded to lead Minnesota on a historic comeback, with three 3-point shots in less than 90 seconds.

It came down the wires. Battle came up with a pivotal steal and missed an open 3-pointer to tie, but freshman Jaden Henley found the bottom of the net to pull the Gophers within 1 with less than 10 seconds left.

After getting fouled, Rutgers veteran Caleb McConnell split two free throws, opening the door for Minnesota. Jamison Battle’s third 3 of the night came at the buzzer, giving Minnesota its second Big Ten victory of the season.

“There really is no feeling you know that’s something you dream about, but I think it’s just consistent with all the work we’ve put in,” Battle said. “It feels good, but I’m more excited about this next game we got coming up against Wisconsin.”

The Gophers’ win on Thursday was their first home conference win of the season and first win since Jan. 12 when they defeated Ohio State, breaking a 12-game losing streak.

March 5 vs. Wisconsin

The Gophers prepared to send their seniors off Sunday in their final regular season matchup against their border rivals, the Wisconsin Badgers.

The Gophers opened the game making three of their first four field goals, including a pair of layups from Henley. Minnesota trailed 7-6 early, but Garcia knocked down a pair of 3-pointers for the Gophers that tied the score at nine.

A putback layup from freshman Braeden Carrington put the Gophers ahead just before fellow freshman Joshua Ola-Joseph put up a layup to cap a 7-point run, resulting in a 22-18 Gophers lead. Minnesota completed one of their best halves of the season, leading the Badgers 36-29.

Wisconsin came out of the locker room with something to prove, going on a quick 7-1 run to cut their deficit to 37-36. Minnesota quickly responded with a 6-1 run of their own to maintain a 43-38 lead.

Garcia’s third 3-pointer of the night stretched the Gophers’ lead back to 6 points. A Badgers turnover led to a 3 from the top of the key for Carrington, forcing a Wisconsin timeout with Minnesota up 53-46.

A 7-point Badgers run tied the score at 55 with eight minutes left to play. The Badgers built a 62-59 edge, but a 3-point play from Cooper tied the score with three minutes to go.

Wisconsin regained a 66-62 lead with less than a minute left and went 4-of-4 at the free-throw line, which would ultimately lead them to win the game 71-67.

“I really look at this as a one-possession game. [When we] get to the line 19 times, it’s tough when you only make 11 of them,” Johnson said. “It’s a detail-oriented game, so turnovers and free throws can really come back and haunt you, especially when it’s a one-possession game.”

Minnesota will play Nebraska in Game 2 of the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. The game will begin approximately 25 minutes after Game 1 between Wisconsin and Ohio State at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

The annual Big Ten Wrestling Tournament will take place Saturday and Sunday in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with live coverage across both days on Big Ten Network and B1G+. 

The Gophers put together an impressive regular season, finishing fifth within the Big Ten as a team; they are currently ranked No. 12 in the country. 

In preparing for the tournament, each program’s starting wrestlers are voted on by the conference’s coaches in all 10 weight classes, making “pre-seeds” for the tournament. Minnesota has eight individual wrestlers seeded and six within the top six of their weight class.

Head Coach Brandon Eggum talked about the importance of the individual matchups as opposed to the Big Ten dual matchups they competed in for most of the season.

“Those head-to-head wins or losses are what really affect them for their seeds at the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA tournament because they will be competing against ranked guys in every weight for the most part,” he said. “Even in some of those duals, I think the difference-maker is when you win the close one.”

Earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament allows a wrestler to keep the dream of a national title alive for two more weeks. Qualifying, though, is a complex process — one that relies heavily on performances at the conference tournament. 

Each conference is awarded a set number of automatic qualifying spots, and any wrestler who finishes within that placement or higher is guaranteed a spot at the national tournament. 

The pre-seeds help coaches determine where their wrestlers stand in their weight class and how high they need to finish to secure a spot at the NCAA championship. Find the Big Ten’s pre-seeds below.

Big 10 Releases Pre-Seeds for Championships pic.twitter.com/Zevz8jSDRl

— Justin Basch (@JustinJBasch) February 27, 2023

The Big Ten has been allotted 88 total spots for the NCAA tournament but may only send a certain number of wrestlers per weight class. Ultimately, the Big Ten tournament will determine who qualifies for the NCAA tournament.

Junior Isaiah Salazar headlines the Gophers’ individual matchups, as the No. 3 pre-seed in the 184-pound weight division. He will have a great chance to make some noise this weekend; he finished the regular season with a 12-1 dual record, going a perfect 7-0 in Big Ten play.

Graduate student Bailee O’Reilly is seeded at No. 4 in the 174-pound field, redshirt senior Patrick McKee is fifth in the 125-pound and graduate student Jake Bergeland will look to build off last season’s third-place finish as the fifth seed at 141 pounds.

Aaron Nagao, Michael Blockhus, Andrew Sparks, Michial Foy, Brayton Lee and Garrett Joles will round out the Gophers competing this weekend.

Despite the pre-seeds, Eggum said wrestlers still need to put on their best performance this weekend.

“There’s no guarantees, they still have to go out and wrestle and compete at the Big Ten Championships and do their job,” Eggum said. “At the end of the day, some of those guys are qualified a spot, and if they didn’t have the best tournament, they’re more than likely going to get the wild card.”

Eggum said he’s focused on trying to prepare his team mentally and physically, with a mix of off days, lifting sessions and shorter practices. Eggum said he is confident about the tournament and, at this point, they’re feeling more excitement than nerves. 

The Gophers competed in their last few games of the season last week, sending off their seniors with a home win to remember against the Purdue Boilermakers.

After winning big at home against Nebraska, the Gophers dropped two on the road before concluding their season with a win against the No. 7 team in the Big Ten. Along with the win, the Gophers celebrated senior day and 50 years of the University of Minnesota’s women’s basketball program.

Feb. 22 vs. Michigan State

After falling to Northwestern, the Gophers prepared for their final road matchup of the season in East Lansing against Michigan State.

A hard fought game between the Gophers and the Spartans ultimately ended in a Michigan State victory, with a final score of 71-67. Freshman Mara Braun led the Gophers with 17 points and 4 assists, and the Spartans were led by graduate student Kamaria McDaniel with 15 points and 3 assists.

The Gophers quickly started the game with a 12-point deficit in the first quarter, their largest of the night.

Minnesota started to put up a fight in the next quarter as they outscored Michigan State 23-16. The Gophers were able to come from behind to tie the game at 23 when Mi’Cole Cayton added a pivotal bucket from beyond the 3-point line. The Spartans ended the quarter on top 33-30.

The third quarter saw graduate student Isabelle Gradwell hitting a 3-pointer to give the Gophers a 43-41 lead. Michigan State responded by going on a 10-2 run to take the lead into the final 10 minutes of play.

Redshirt freshman Katie Borowicz made a big-time 3 of her own, bringing the Gophers deficit within 2 midway through the fourth quarter. The Spartans scored 7 of the last 11 points to come out on top 71-67.

As a team, the Gophers hit a season high in 3-pointers (11), but a 44-40 deficit in total rebounds loomed large.

Feb. 26 vs. Purdue

After losing to Michigan State on the road, the Gophers came back home for their final game of the season against Purdue.

The first few minutes of the game were a back and forth battle. Minnesota led 10-9 going into the first media timeout and closed out the quarter playing some of their best ball of the season, leading 20-15 after 10 minutes of play.

The Gophers continued to build their lead in the second quarter, ending the half with a 41-30 lead over the Boilermakers, thanks to a balanced attack with five different players contributing at least 5 points.

It wasn’t until the third quarter when the Maroon & Gold started to lose momentum. A 10-point run for Purdue brought the score within 1 midway through the third quarter. The Boilermakers eventually took over the lead when senior Abbey Ellis drove to the paint for a timely layup.

Purdue’s momentum allowed them to take a 3-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. Graduate student Lasha Petree hit a big-time layup, giving Purdue the first few points of the final quarter. The Gophers refused to let that tank them, as they exploded on a 7-point run capped off by Mara Braun hitting a 3 with 2:02 left to play.

The confidence from the scoring run was enough to bring the Gophers a 77-69 victory.

“We’re starting to see what we can do to pour into each other when we continue to take different things that we’re talking about from practice and we do it together,” Head Coach Lindsay Whalen said. “They’ve got a chance to be a really special group moving forward.”

The Gophers are slated to open the Big Ten Tournament at the Target Center in Minneapolis. The first game will tip-off at 1 p.m. with Minnesota taking on Penn State, a team they’ve already faced and won against twice this season.

“We never go into a game underestimating anybody, because anything can happen, it doesn’t matter underdog or not,” Gophers sophomore Alanna ‘Rose’ Michaeux said. “Anybody can win, anything can happen in a game, so that’s why our mentality is to just go in there and do what we do best.”

The Gophers concluded their regular season with an overall record of 11-18, finishing 12th in the Big Ten Conference.