Women’s gymnastics kicks off season in Arizona

The Hawkeye women’s gymnastics team opens the season by finishing fourth in Arizona.

Anna Kayser, [email protected]

January 7, 2018

Gymnasts during the Black and Gold Intrasquad meet at the Field House on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017. The Gold team defeated the Black team, 13-7. (Lily Smith/The Daily Iowan)

The Iowa women’s gymnastics team opened the season at Arizona State on Jan. 6, with the GymHawks taking fourth at 193.000, behind Iowa State, Arizona State, and Auburn.

The Cyclones won the meet, posting a 195.125.

“We will return home, continue to train, get stronger, and come back next weekend,” Hawkeye head coach Larissa Libby said. “It’s not about where you start, it’s where you finish.”

Iowa sophomore Clair Kaji recorded an individual victory with her floor score of 9.850. Senior Lanie Snyder finished second, 0.025 points behind Kaji.

The Hawkeyes had the highest event score of the meet with a 48.925 on floor.

Freshman Breanna Fitzke finished third on the beam (9.825) in her first college meet.

In the vault, Iowa scored 48.725, with senior Nikki Youd taking fourth at 9.825.

To finish the night, Iowa recorded a 47.050 on the uneven bars, with Kaji leading the squad and tying for third (9.800).