By Jess Westendorf
The No. 22 Iowa women’s gymnastics team upset No. 20 George Washington on Feb. 17 with a score of 196.400.George Washington followed closely behind Iowa with a score of 196.050, Maryland took third, while Pittsburgh and William & Mary finished fourth and fifth.
“I am so proud of our team,” head coach Larissa Libby said in a release. “After a rough week of practice, I thought they did an excellent job of focusing on the task at hand. This is the time of year when pacing is everything.”
Seven GymHawks earned nine top-five finishes and recorded three titles.
Senior Mollie Drenth took first in the all-around with a score of 39.300.
On the beam, the Hawkeyes recorded their highest score of the night, 49.225. Drenth won the event with a career high of 9.950, and senior Angel Metcalf finished third with a 9.875.
On floor Iowa earned a season-high of 49.150. Drenth and junior Lanie Snyder tied their season highs with scores of 9.850 to tie for third.
Freshman Charlotte Sullivan tied for first place on uneven bars with a season-high of 9.900, with Drenth and junior Melissa Zurawski tying for sixth.
The Hawkeyes ended the night on vault with a 48.875. Sophomore Misty-Jade Carlson, Rose Piorkowski, and Maria Ortiz tied for fourth overall with scores of 9.800, season highs for Carlson and Ortiz.
“It is very important for us to have a short memory right now,” Libby said in a release. “While this was an outstanding night for us, we need to let this go and focus on the next one.”
The GymHawks traveled to Baton Rouge to compete against No. 2 LSU and No. 20 George Washington (again) in their second meet of the weekend on Sunday night.
Iowa placed third with a 194.200 overall score. LSU took first place with a 197.975, and George Washington took second.
Drenth tied for second with a total of 39.175, while the team recorded its highest score on vault with a 49.000. Ortiz led Iowa on vault with a season high of 9.825.
Freshman Clair Kaji scored the highest on floor with a 9.850, with Snyder (9.825) and Drenth (9.800) following.
Drenth led the Hawkeyes on beam with a 9.875 to tie for fourth overall, with Kaji following with a 9.825. As a team, Iowa scored a 48.425.
On the uneven bars, Iowa registered a 47.975; Metcalf led the event with a 9.875 to tie for fourth. Zurawski earned the second highest score of the night with 9.800.
The GymHawks will next travel to Provo, Utah, to face BYU on Feb. 24.