By Jess Westendorf

[email protected]
Going into break, the Iowa women’s gymnastics squad will kick off its season ranked No. 22 in the Road to Nationals preseason poll.
The GymHawks are ready to perform and top last season, one of the best in program history. This is the first time that the Hawkeyes will enter the season ranked since 2012.
In the 2017 preseason coaches’ poll, the GymHawks received 1,019 points in votes. Oklahoma, LSU, and Alabama topped the rankings.
Iowa will have three meets over winter break, starting with  Northern Illinois in DeKalb at 1 p.m. Jan. 8. Iowa will try to repeat of last year’s win against the Huskies.
Next, the Hawkeyes will face off against Michigan State at 7 p.m. Jan. 13 at home, their first conference meet of the season.
Last season, the Hawkeyes beat the Spartans in East Lansing for their first victory over Michigan State since January 2011. Six GymHawks earned 13 top-five finishes to secure the victory.
The last meet during winter break is against California-Berkley at 2 p.m.  Jan. 15 at home. This will be the first time the GymHawks and the Golden Bears will face each other. The Bears have earned a No. 10 ranking in the coaches’ poll, the first top-10 ranking in school history.
Head coach Larissa Libby and her squad are ready to start competing, and she is excited about the upcoming season to see what the team can accomplish.
“I like going on the road with this team, and I like watching them in competition because they rise to another level,” she said. “I like to see them grow; they grow tremendously through situations they are not accustomed to. I think they are going to be amazing and that it will be a great year.”