The Iowa women’s gymnastics team is set to compete in its fifth-straight NCAA regional on Saturday in Seattle at the Alaska Airlines Arena.
The GymHawks have earned six regional berths under head coach Larissa Libby, 12 in program history.
Competition is set to begin at 6 p.m.; it will be hosted by No. 23 Washington.
Iowa will be joined by defending NCAA champion and current No. 4 Alabama, No. 9 LSU, No. 16 Arizona, and No. 23 Washington. The GymHawks are ranked No. 30 in the nation, according to troester.com’s women’s gymnastics rankings.
The Hawkeyes faced then-No. 10 LSU in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 9 and finished second, 196.3-195.7. The Tigers were one of 14 teams Iowa faced this season that qualified for NCAA regionals.
The top two teams — and the top two all-around competitors not on an advancing team — from each regional will receive an automatic berth to the NCAA championships on April 20-22 in Duluth, Ga.
Iowa has advanced from regional competition twice in its history, in 2003 and 2004. Five individual Hawkeye gymnasts have moved on to the NCAA championships.
— by Alex French
