The No. 19 Iowa women’s gymnastics team will try to make some noise on April 2 — the GymHawks have been selected to compete in NCAA regional competition.
Iowa City is one of the six regional locations to play host, and the Hawks one of 36 teams nationally to qualify for competition.
Hawkeye head coach Larissa Libby loves seeing the success that her GymHawks keep producing.
“It never gets old seeing your name come up in a bracket for the first round of the national tournament,” she said. “The idea that we are entering the national tournament is just amazing in itself. To have the girls see their name in lights is a wonderful feeling.”
The Hawkeyes will host No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 12 Nebraska, No. 13 Arkansas, No. 30 Kent State, and No. 35 Central Michigan.
“Knowing that we are competing against the best as one of the best in the country at this point is absolutely gratifying for all the work we have put in all season long,” Libby said.
The GymHawks have a lot on the line; strong performance in Carver-Hawkeye will help vault them into the NCAA national meet in Fort Worth, Texas.
Only two teams and 12 all-around competitors and event specialists will advance to Fort Worth. The top two teams and the top two all-around competitors (who are not on an advancing team) from each regional competition will receive an automatic berth in the national championship.
“It’s an incredible opportunity,” Iowa senior Alie Glover said. “To be able to be on our home turf and welcome teams here, defend ourselves here in our home arena … it’s a special thing for us and we are really motivated for the experience.”
While Glover understands the importance of the meet, she and the rest of the team will do their best to remain calm and relaxed.
“Our overall goal in ever one of our competition is just to have fun and to just go out there [and do our job],” she said.
The regional competition will be the last meet of the season in Carver-Hawkeye for Iowa, and the gymnasts hope to finish the season with a bang.
“The crowd and the fans at Iowa are unbelievable,” Libby said. “That’s what picks us up and keeps us going. To come back home to them will be amazing.”
Iowa has been selected to compete in the regional completion for the ninth time in 12 years.
The Hawkeyes hope to improve from last year’s NCAA regional competition, in which they tallied 194.475 to place fifth. Five GymHawks placed in the top 15 for individual events. Mollie Drenth posted a score of 9.825 on bars, good enough for ninth. Angel Metcalf and Johanny Sotillo both posted 9.800 to tie for 12th.