For Iowa head men’s gymnastics head coach JD Reive, the Dec. 4 Black and Gold intrasquad meet was about seeing how his team would perform in front of judges and a crowd.

The Black team’s 494.23-486.65 victory over the Gold team in the UI Field House left the new Hawkeye coach pleased — for the most part.

"They did what I expected them to, which is to compete how they practice," Reive said. "A couple of the guys couldn’t handle their nerves, but that’s something we can work on."

Senior Mike Jiang — a returning All-American — had a standout performance, scoring team highs on the high bar and the pommel horse, the event Jiang finished seventh nationally in last season.

Sophomore Matt McGrath also scored team highs in two events, in the vault and the floor exercise.

Reive was "absolutely thrilled" with the crowd in the Field House, reported to be near 500 people.

The squad will not return to the Field House for competition until Jan. 22 against Illinois-Chicago.

— by Ryan Murphy