The 2009-10 All-Big Ten team selections were announced on March 27 before the Big Ten women’s gymnastics championships in Columbus, Ohio.

Iowa had the second-largest representation with three student-athletes receiving honors. Junior Rebecca Simbhudas received first team All-Big Ten recognition, and junior Houry Gebeshian and sophomore Jessa Hansen were both selected to the second team.

All three GymHawks are all-around competitors. The trio combined for seven all-around titles this season. Simbhudas led with four individual victories.

Gebeshian, a Newton, Mass., native, was a first-team selection in 2009. This is a first-time honor for both Hansen and Simbhudas, a Markham, Ontario, Canada, recruit.

Hansen also earned Iowa’s Big Ten Sportsmanship honor.

In the postseason conference meet, each member of the trio placed among the top 13 in the all-around, led by Simbhudas’ fourth-place finish.

“I’m so proud of the three all-arounders and the job they’ve done stabilizing this team,” head coach Larissa Libby said in a statement. “They’ve taken the burden upon themselves to lead this team and have been supported greatly by nine other kids. They all deserve it because without each individual, none of our team success would have come.”

— by Robbie Lehman