The Iowa women’s gymnastics team has been making big strides this season with career bests broken every meet and placing strong against other strong teams. 

All eyes, however, are on sophomore Angel Metcalf this season. 

“She is a phenomenal athlete,” head coach Larissa Libby said.

Just a sophomore, Metcalf has made a name for herself for the GymHawks. 

Metcalf recently broke two career bests during the Ohio State meet where she won both beam (9.900) and bars (9.900), and tied her career best with a 9.850 in bars during the Michigan State and Ball State competition. 

“I look at my contribution to the team as my job,” Metcalf said. “I never think of the score going into the meet, but rather focus on doing well individually and as a team dynamic.”

Last season, the Swansboro, North Carolina native, received a bid to the NCAA Regionals to compete in the all-around, posting a 38.125 in the competition. She also earned the team season best all-around score of 39.325 twice during the season.

“Metcalf has the ability to be [one of] the best all-around’s in the country,” Libby said. “Metcalf has repeated several times with her success and continues to grow.”

Both Libby and Metcalf reiterate the importance of the GymHawks team as a whole and not solely on an individual’s performance. 

“Gymnastics is a mental game,” Libby said.

With it being so mental, it becomes a very team-orientated sport.  Being able to show up and be fired up during practice and events is so hard and taxing, yet Libby feels doing this allows them to always work together. 

Libby even stated that the reason why the GymHawks compete is to reconfirm all the hard work that they have done as a team together and individually.

“Yet in every individual who gets better and contributes, the team gets better and it is a contribution to the team as well,” Metcalf said. “I am always pushing myself to be a better leader and the best that I can be.”

Libby acknowledges that even as a sophomore, she is making huge waves in the program and to the team as well as a player and as a leader.

Metcalf stated that last year as a freshman and even today she looks up to the older athletes to learn and admire their leadership abilities to keep strengthening her own and to support and push each other to be the best they can be.

Metcalf has contributed great leadership skills as well as phenomenal team and personal scores that have allowed the GymHawks to be nationally ranked at No. 20.

The women’s gymnastics team next competes Friday at 7 p.m at Carver-Hawkeye Arena against No. 40 Maryland.