Gophers gymnasts Mya Hooten, Emily Koch to return next season

The University of Minnesota gymnastics program got a big lift on Friday when seniors Mya Hooten and Emily Koch announced they both plan to return to the Gophers next season to use their final year of eligibility.

The news is a big boost to the program, which finished second at the Big Ten Championships and made the NCAA Regional Finals for the third time in the last four seasons.

Minnesota’s No. 12 final ranking was the highest of any Big Ten team.

Hooten was the lone Gopher to qualify for nationals this year after winning a career-high 20 event titles, including 10 on floor, seven on vault and three on bars. Over her career, she’s won two NCAA Regional titles and six Big Ten titles, hitting nine perfect 10s on floor and earning All-Big Ten and Academic All-Big Ten honors four times each.

Koch was a staple for the Gophers on balance beam and floor and posted a career-best 9.950 score on both beam and floor on senior day at the Pav. She won two event titles (one each) and is a four-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, two-time WCGA Academic All-American and a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar.