Tonight, the women’s gymnastics team heads out to Champaign/Urbana, Illinois, to take on the Illini, while the men will try to hold down the fort in Carver-Hawkeye against the Illinois men on Saturday.
For the women, Illinois will be a step up from Iowa’s previous three Big Ten opponents — at least in ranking. Iowa, No. 37 in the NCAA, is No. 2 in the Big Ten; Illinois ranks two places below Iowa at No. 4 in the Big Ten. The Illini rank above all three of Iowa’s defeated opponents.
“Illinois will present us with another challenge, as they have been exceptionally strong this year,” said women’s gymnastics head coach Larissa Libby. “However, with every challenge comes an opportunity to better ourselves. We are excited to be back in Big Ten action and looking forward to a great competition.”
If Iowa can triumph over the Illini on their home turf, it’ll add a fourth Big Ten victory to its record.
The men, on the other hand, are excited to be on home territory when facing a tough opponent after losing to the Gophers in Minneapolis.
“First home meet — honestly, as we’re heading into the rest of our season, we’re just trying to get comfortable and think about what we’re putting on the floor,” said men’s gymnastics assistant coach Ben Ketelsen. “The guys love being at home — it’s a great crowd.”
That home crowd is something Iowa wants to take advantage of.
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“It’s home, so we’re always going to get a good crowd,” junior Jake Brodarzon said. “Our fans come out, so you want to impress them. That’s fun. I just think we’re much more comfortable with the equipment and not having to have traveled and all. It’s nice to wake up in your own house and get to Carver when you want, you know? I think that’s going to play a really big advantage for us.”
The advantage will be welcome for No. 9 Iowa, considering that Illinois is ranked at No. 4 in the NCAA. Not only that, but already this season, the Hawkeyes were defeated by the Illini in the Windy City Invitational on Jan. 13.
Despite the odds, the program looks forward to competing after Minnesota.
“They competed really well up in Minnesota,” Ketelsen said. “Obviously, we wanted to come away with a win up there, but as we go on through the season, we’re getting more consistent with who we’re putting out there. That’s what we’re looking forward to this weekend. Illinois is a really good team, they’re probably one of the better teams in the Big Ten, so if we can go out, and we can hang with them, we’re looking pretty good into the rest of the season.”
Developing the program more is the goal at this point in the season. Taking on tough teams at the outset doesn’t help standings, but it does push the Hawkeyes to a higher level of competition right away.
And senior Austin Hodges said the key is turning the competition inward.