COACHING STAFF

Head Coach
Jenny (Alf) Hansen

Head coach Jenny Hansen enters her 10th year in charge of Golden Gopher Gymnastics in 2023-24.

In her ninth season coaching the Golden Gophers, Hansen once again led the program through a successful season. The Maroon and Gold qualified for regional competition for the 27th season in a row, making it nine consecutive seasons with Hansen at the helm.

Hansen guided Mya Hooten through another awe-inspiring season in 2023, in which she collected WCGA First Team All-American honors on floor and Second Team honors on vault. Hooten also earned two more perfect 10s on floor, bringing her career total to six. Maddie Quarles was named a Second Team All-American on vault.

Minnesota had four All-Big Ten selections in 2023, including Hooten (first team), Gianna Gerdes (first team), Halle Remlinger (second team) and Maddie Quarles (second team).

The Gophers excelled in the classroom yet again under Hansen, with 15 members of the gymnastics team earning Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2023. Those who earned the honors were as follows: Maya Albertin, Gianna Gerdes, Kate Grotenhuis, Mya Hooten, Katie Horak, Marissa Jencks, Emily Koch, Mallory LeNeave, Abbie Nylin, Lauren Pearl, Maddie Quarles, Halle Remlinger, Tiarre Sales, Ella Sirjord and Ali Sonier.

Also in the classroom, Minnesota set a program record with 19 WCGA Scholastic All-Americans. Minnesota made the top five in team GPA's for the first time ever, coming in at number three with a 3.8095 overall GPA. 16 student-athletes earned over a 3.5 GPA, while three earned a 4.0 GPA. Coach Hanson's squad took top percentage honors by having 100% of her team, all 19 members, receiving Scholastic All-America status.

Hansen led the women’s gymnastics team to historic success in her eighth season leading the Maroon and Gold. The 2022 season was highlighted by a program-best sixth-place finish, as well as claiming a spot at the National Championship.

Under her guidance, the Gophers broke numerous team records including a new team score record of 198.025 vs. Iowa in February. Minnesota also set a new record on floor six different times in 2022, ending the year with a new record score of (49.750). The Gophers also scored their second-highest vault score in program history (49.575) vs. Michigan.

Hansen coached fifth-year senior Lexy Ramler through another historic year, one in which she won NCAA Championships First Team All-American honors and NCAA Region 2 Gymnast of the Year. Ramler won two more Big Ten event championships in 2022, bringing her career total to seven. She tied the previusly-held team record of 9.975 (by Ramler) on unever bars at Maryland in February. Ramler also scored a perfect 10 on beam, the fourth of her career in the event.

Hansen guided sophomore Mya Hooten to another show-stopping season in 2022, as she scored three perfect 10s (vs Michigan, at Iowa and vs. LIU, Utah State and Temple), bringing her career total to four entering her junior season.

In the classroom, the Golden Gophers set a program record with 15 student-athletes being named WCGA Scholastic All-Americans. Maya Albertin, Gianna Gerdes, Kate Grotenhuis, Mya Hooten, Katie Horak, Emily Koch, Mallory LeNeave, Ona Loper, Abbie Nylin, Maddie Quarles, Lexy Ramler, Halle Remlinger, Tiarre Sales, Ella Sirjord, Ali Sonier and Hannah Willmarth were given the honors. Six members of the women’s gymnastics team also won Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honors including Albertin, Grotenhuis, Koch, LeNeave, Loper and Ramler.

During her seventh season at the helm of the Golden Gopher program, Hansen led the women’s gymnastics team to a heightened level of success. The season was highlighted by the program’s first Big Ten Championship since 2006 and claiming a spot at the National Championship for the first time under the new eight-team format.

Under Hansen’s guidance, the Gophers broke numerous team records including a new team score record of 197.750 set at the Big Ten Championship. Minnesota also set a new record on floor (49.575) and uneven bars (49.575) while notching the second-highest vault score in program history (49.525) at the NCAA Regional Semifinal and third-highest beam score (49.600).

Hansen coached senior Lexy Ramler to her third consecutive Big Ten Gymnast of the Year honor and the prestigious AAI Award. Ramler won 31 event titles this season and was named the Big Ten Gymnast of the Week six times. She ended the year tied for No. 1 in the nation on beam, No. 3 on bars, tied for No. 5 on vault, tied for No. 28 on floor and No. 2 overall in the all-around. Ramler was a Big Ten Champion on bars, beam and in the all-around. At the Big Five Meet, Ramler set the program record all-around score with a 39.850.

With Hansen’s support, senior Ona Loper had a season of a lifetime in 2021, starting with an all-around title and Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honors during the first week of the season. Loper went on to secure 12 event titles and two perfect 10s on vault, including one at the Athens Regional Semifinal. At the conclusion of the regular season, Loper was ranked tied for No. 3 on vault, No. 10 on floor, No. 17 on bars and No. 13 in the all-around. Loper's influx of success heightened in the postseason, becoming the Big Ten Floor Champion and Athens Regional Vault and Floor Champion. She was the top finisher for the Maroon and Gold at the NCAA Championships after she set a career-high 39.6375 in the all-around with event scores of 9.9625 on vault, 9.9250 on floor and 9.8750 on both bars and beam. Loper finished third on vault and fourth in the all-around at the competition.

Hansen guided freshman Mya Hooten to an incredible breakout year as she secured the first perfect 10 on floor in program history

The Gophers had multiple All-Big Ten Team representatives in 2021 including Ramler, Loper and Hooten leading the way with first team honors. Mary Korlin-Downs, Maddie Quarles, Tiarre Sales and Hannah Willmarth represented the Maroon and Gold on the Second Team All-Big Ten. The Gophers touted the highest number of gymnasts to be honored by the conference, with Michigan earning the next highest with five gymnasts recognized.

There was a record-breaking number of All-Americans from the 2021 season. Ramler earned WCGA All-American honors in the all-around, vault, bars and beam. Loper was named a WCGA All-American on vault and also Second Team All-America on floor and in the all-around. Freshman phenom Hooten was recognized as an WCGA All-American on floor. Korlin-Downs was awarded with Second Team WCGA All-American honors on beam and Quarles was Second Team WCGA All-American on vault.

At the conclusion of the 2021 NCAA Championship Semifinal, the University of Minnesota made program history with 11 total Championship All-American honors. Loper led the way for the Gophers with All-American honors on vault and in the all-around, along with Second Team All-American honors on floor. Ramler earned All-American recognition on beam, while also recording Second Team honors on bars, vault and in the all-around. Hooten continued to impress in her first collegiate season, with All-American honors on floor and Second Team honors on vault. Korlin-Downs was awarded the first All-American honor of her career on beam and Quarles rounded out the honors as a Second Team All-American on vault.

In the classroom, all 13 age-eligible student-athletes in Maya Albertin, Kate Grotenhuis, Korlin-Downs, Mallory LeNeave, Loper, Lexi Montgomery, Abbie Nhylin, Quarles, Ramler, Halle Remlinger, Tiarre Sales, Ali Sonier and Hannah Willmarth earned Academic All-Big Ten honors. Eight representatives of women’s gymnastics also earned Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honors including Albertin, LeNeave, Loper, Nylin, Ramler, Remlinger, Sales and Willmarth. 

The 2020 season was Jenny Hansen’s sixth as head coach of the Golden Gophers. Under her direction, Minnesota had one of the most successful seasons in program history before the season ended on March 12, 2020, when the Big Ten and NCAA announced they were ceasing competitions and championships because of COVID-19 public health concerns. The Gophers finished the shortened season ranked No. 10 overall, No. 16 on vault, No. 8 on bars, No. 4 on beam and No. 19 on floor in the nation. They hit 197+ three times during the 2020 season, notching the second-highest team score in program history with a 197.625 against NC State, and the Maroon and Gold finished the 2020 season with a NQS of 197.410. For the first time in program history, Hansen led Minnesota to be ranked No. 1 nationally on beam for two weeks when they set a school record, scoring a 49.700 as a team at the Rutgers quad meet. At the conclusion of the season, Hansen was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year for the second straight season and third time overall.

Hansen coached junior Lexy Ramler to her second Big Ten Gymnast of the Year honor, back-to-back Region 2 Gymnast of the Year selection, two-time B1G Gymnast of the Week and a finalist for the prestigious Honda Sport Award. Ramler notched back-to-back perfect 10s, becoming the first Gopher gymnast to reach perfection in Maturi Pavilion and have multiple perfect 10s in one season. She finished the 2020 season No. 1 on beam, No. 8 in the all-around and No. 6 on bars nationally.

With Hansen’s guidance, the Gophers had multiple All-Big Ten Team representatives in 2020. Ramler, Ona Loper, Ivy Lu, and Tiarre Sales all earned First Team honors and Maddie Quarles was named to the Second Team. Hansen helped Loper earn her first Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honor in 2020 and win one title on the uneven bars and four on vault and floor. Loper spent four weeks at No. 1 in the all-around in the Big Ten and was ranked as high as No. 9 in the nation. Lu was named Minnesota’s Big Ten Medal of Honor recipient and nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year award. The senior was Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week twice and ended the season ranked No. 22 nationally and No. 2 in the Big Ten on bars, and No. 19 nationally and No. 4 in the conference on beam. Hansen coached Sales to career-highs on floor, bars, beam, and in the all-around throughout the season. Sales was named the Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week once in 2020 and closed out the season ranked No. 7 on beam and No. 9 on the uneven bars in the conference. Quarles spent most of her time as the anchor of the vault lineup, won two event titles and notched a career-high 9.925.

Hansen stressed the importance of hard work in the classroom and guided Minnesota to academic success. The team led all winter programs at Minnesota and Big Ten gymnastics teams with 15 Academic-All-Big Ten selections. A record six gymnasts were 2019-20 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award recipients and the 2020 spring term 3.82 grade point average was the highest in program history.

In her fifth season as head coach, Jenny Hansen led the Gophers to their 24th straight NCAA Regional, where Minnesota advanced to the final day of competition at the Baton Rouge Regional. The Maroon and Gold finished their season ranked No. 13 overall, as well as in the top-15 in every event: No. 11 on vault, No.9 on bars, No. 12 on beam and No. 13 on floor. Minnesota also remained undefeated at home for the second season in a row. The Maroon and Gold ended the season with an 8-1 record and a second-place finish in the Big Ten regular season. At the Big Five/Elevate the Stage meet, the team finished second with a score of 196.700. Overall, the Gophers finished the season 18-4-0 and led the Big Ten with a 81.8 winning percentage. After the team's success, it was no surprise that Hansen earned her second Big Ten Coach of the Year award in 2019.

Under Hansen’s guidance, sophomore Lexy Ramler advanced to the 2019 NCAA Championships for the second time in here career. As an individual all-arounder, the sophomore finished as the NCAA runner-up in both the all-around competition and on the uneven bars, marking the best individual finishes of any Gopher gymnast since 1990. Ramler also became the first gymnast in program history to earn First Team All-American Honors in four events (V, UB, BB, AA) in the same year.
Hasnen also boasted five All-Big Ten honors on her team. Ramler, Ivy Lu, Paige Williams and Ona Loper all earned First-Team honors, while Tiarre Sales was named to the Second-Team

With Hansen's guidance, Ivy Lu competed on bars and beam at the National Semifinals, advancing to the Regional Finals on bars. Earned Second Team All-American honors on the uneven bars after being ranked No. 10 in the country and No.1 in the Big Ten on the uneven bars. Williams earned a second place finish on floor at the Big Ten Championships and competed on floor and vault at the NCAA Regionals. Hansen helped Ona Loper battle through injuries to earn All-Big Ten honors for the first time. Loper scored a career-high on the vault at the NCAA Regional Semifinals, becoming the Baton Rouge Regional Vault Champion.

The 2018 season marked Jenny Hansen’s fourth season as head coach of the Golden Gophers. The team took fourth place at their 23rd straight NCAA Regionals appearance.  During the season they finished ranked No. 22 overall and No. 10 on bars. They were undefeated at home and set home attendance records for both regular season and postseason competition. Hansen coached freshman Lexy Ramler to a Second Team All-American accolades on beam at the NCAA Championships where she qualified in the all-around. During the season Ramler received First Team All-American honors on beam and was a Second Team All-American on both all-around and bars. She was also named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Ivy Lu received First Team All-American honors for bars during the regular season and was the Big Ten Championship on that event.

Hansen finished her third season at the helm for the Gopher women's gymnastics program in 2017. Under her tenure, the Gophers advanced to the 2016 NCAA Championships as a full team - the first time since 2013. Hansen was named the 2016 Big Ten Coach of the Year as the team finished with a 9-0 Big Ten record, a feat the program has never done. The Maroon and Gold also were named the Big Ten Regular-Season Champions. In her time with the Gophers as a full-time coach since 2007, Minnesota has gone 167-102-3 and has been selected for an NCAA Regional every season.

The 2017 season boasted the largest team in program history with 18 gymnasts, including nine returners and nine newcomers. 11 new routines were included in lineups at the Big Ten Championships and nearly half of the routines were from first time competitors.

During the 2015 and 2016 seasons, Minnesota repeated as the Big Ten regular season champions and achieved its highest national finish ever, placing eighth. Hansen has coached Big Ten individual champions Carmelina Carabajal and Lindsay Mable and helped lead Mable and Hanna Nordquist achieve All-American status. Mable also earned a place at the NCAA Qualifier, was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Year in 2015 and 2016, Big Ten Champion on floor exercise and vault, NCAA Regional Champion, regular season All-American, North Central Gymnast of the year and was a Honda Award Nominee.