Gymnastics Ireland’s own Emma Slevin competed in the NCAA National Final Four on Saturday 18th April with her team, the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
The Galway-born gymnast joined the Minnesota Golden Gophers this season as a graduate student and made an instant impact for the team. Emma competed on uneven bars in every meet of the season, bringing precious points to the team, with scores never below 9.85 out of 10 since 31st January. On 21st March, she became Big Ten Conference Uneven Bars Champion scoring a 9.95 out of 10.
Slevin also competed on vault throughout the season and recently debuted on balance beam at the Corvallis Regional Championships scoring a 9.875 out of 10 and positively contributing to her team's second place and qualification to National Semi-Finals (Elite 8) in Fort Worth, Texas.
Emma and Minnesota Gymnastics competed in Saturday 18th April NCAA National Finals. This is the first time Minnesota has made the Final Four in their history.
Ranked No. 13 after the NCAA regular season, the Gophers upset No.4 UCLA and No.9 Arkansas in the Semifinals, to reach the finals and compete against current champion and No.1 ranked Oklahoma, No. 2 LSU and No. 3 Florida.
Emma Slevin competed on uneven bars, scoring a 9.88 out of 10, and on vault, concluding her first season in NCAA with a 9.85 out of 10.
The spirit and skills displayed by Emma and her teammates was nothing short of that Final Four spot they achieved.
The Golden Gophers closed their season in forth place nationally, the highest finish in the Minnesota gymnastics programme history, and only 0.3125 from a bronze medal.
Minnesota Gymnastics Head Coach Jenny Hansen on Emma:
“Emma has been integral to our teams success this season. She seamlessly fit into our culture the moment she stepped on campus and has adapted incredibly well to NCAA gymnastics. We are so grateful she chose this path and the University of Minnesota!”
Photo (c) Gymnastics Ireland Facebook
