By Courtney Baumann
Iowa women’s gymnastics head coach Larissa Libby announced Monday that Vince Smurro would be the newest addition to the team as an assistant coach.
Smurro came to Iowa after spending the past two years as an assistant coach at Central Michigan. In his time there, the Chippewas finished first in both the 2015 MAC regular season and tournament. Central Michigan ended the season ranked No. 19 in the NCAA.
Before Central Michigan, Smurro was the USA Gymnastics women’s coach at Devlin Gymnastics in his hometown of Manasquan, New Jersey. He was in charge of daily workouts on uneven bars, vault, and floor.
Smurro was a two-time All-American as a student-athlete at the College of William and Mary. The first was in 2010 for the high bar and again in 2011 for the parallel bars.
He transferred to Illinois in 2011. In 2012, he helped the Illini to both NCAA and Big Ten team titles. The team finished sixth at the 2013 NCAA Championships. Individually, he finished 10th at NCAAs in 2012.
“Vince is a very driven and focused young coach, and he will certainly bring a new outlook and intensity to the program,” Libby said in a release. “It was evident throughout the interview process that he had a clear understanding of what the student-athletes endure throughout their collegiate careers. We know that he is prepared to assist them in becoming the best student-athletes they can be.”
