By Blake Dowson
Tuesday was a big day for the Iowa Athletics Department when it came to awards. Four student-athletes were honored: two by the university, one by the Big Ten, and one by Perfect Game.
Neustrom named preseason All-Big Ten
Even though the weather Tuesday seemed like the furthest thing from baseball season, there was news on the baseball front.
Robert Neustrom, a sophomore outfielder for the Hawkeyes, was named to the preseason All-Big Ten team by Perfect Game.
Neustrom hit .307 last year as a true freshman, starting a bulk of Iowa’s games in right field. He also scored 24 runs and drove in another 21 in 52 games. His biggest damage came during the Big Ten Tournament, when he hit .462 during the Hawkeye’s run to the championship game.
Nick Gallagher was also recognized by Perfect Game as having the best breaking ball in the conference.
Gallagher did his best work out of the bullpen last season for the Hawkeyes, but he will presumably slide into a weekend starter role this upcoming season.
Gilman is No. 1 Big Ten wrestler this week
Thomas Gilman seemingly does something every match that makes people say “wow.”
He did it again versus Minnesota on Sunday, coming back from an 8-0 first period deficit against No. 6 Ethan Lizak and pinning him in the third.
Gilman’s other weekend performance, against Jens Lantz of Wisconsin, ended in a 21-8 major decision.
His 2-0 weekend record moved him to 21-0 this season, which has him perched at the No. 1 ranking at 125 pounds.
Sullivan, Theodorou named Iowa Athletes of the Month
A couple of foreign athletes stole the spotlight at Iowa during the month of January, as New Zealand native Charlotte Sullivan of the women’s gymnastics team and Greece native Lefteris Theodorou of the men’s tennis team were named female and male Athletes of the Month.
Freshman Sullivan has started her Hawkeye career with a bang. She has earned five event titles through five meets for the No. 22 women’s gymnastics squad, and she was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Jan. 8.
Theodorou is in his third year on campus, having made an impact on the Iowa tennis program each season. Theodorou has beaten two NCAA qualifiers from last year and helped the Hawkeyes beat Texas Tech in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kickoff in Lubbock, Texas, earlier this year.