The Iowa women’s gymnastics team unofficially kicked off its season with the annual Black and Gold intrasquad meet Sunday afternoon in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“It is a fun and exciting way to start our season,” head coach Larissa Libby said, who is in her 10th season coaching. “That is why Black and Gold is so important. It is a way for the coaches to see who rises to the occasion and who ultimately crumbles.”

The Black team edged out the Gold team for the win, 146.025-144.700. Junior Sydney Hoerr led the way, winning both the beam and the bars with scores of 9.875 and 9.850. Freshman Amanda Kowalski won the vault with a high score of 9.925. Sophomore Alie Glover had a strong overall performance in each event for the Hawkeyes.

Glover is expected to have a great season for the Hawkeyes this year.

“She has developed a stronger sense of self-worth and will be one of the best in the Big Ten and possibly the nation,” Libby said.

This season, the Hawkeyes face a whole new level of inexperience with seven freshman and no seniors. Junior Emma Willis is out due to an injury.

“Everybody has challenges, but it’s how we choose to face our challenges that determine our level of success,” Libby said.  “We are an inexperienced team, but we have a lot of heart, and that will take us a long way.”  

The Hawkeyes’ main focus from this point on will be to clean up their moves and work on their consistency. 

The GymHawks will host Utah State on Jan. 11 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, beginning at 5 p.m. 

— by Jordan Bucher