This weekend for both gymnastics teams is significant.

For the men, it’s a point of no return.

Last weekend, a critical weekend, the majority of the team got a chance to rest while three gymnasts, sophomore Nick Merryman, freshman Bennet Huang, and senior Dylan Ellsworth, represented Iowa at the Winter Cup Challenge.

“What that weekend did was it allowed the guys who competed to feel good about what they performed at that level, and come back, and use that to lead the team, and ideally propel the rest of the group into five-up-five-count,” said men’s gymnastics head coach JD Reive.

The five-up-five-count aspect of matches from here forward is incredibly important for team scores. Up until this point, competition has operated under six-up-five-count, which means the lowest score for any event was dropped. It was a safety net — a mulligan chance.

Now, the scores of the only five gymnasts to compete on any given event will all count, no matter how low the scores might be.

“It’s anybody’s game, because every single turn counts,” Reive said. “You’re going to see guys going out and fighting for every single tenth, and whoever gets out there and can handle that pressure better is going to prevail.”

Ellsworth, a captain, came away from his Winter Cup Challenge experience with a very specific mindset to tackle the five-up-five-count challenge.

“That was just eye-opening for me to just have fun doing gymnastics,” Ellsworth said. “I think that’s just going to be my biggest thing for the rest of the season, just telling the guys: ‘You know, you need to have fun, don’t get so stressed out about your competition. Just go out there and do the gymnastics we do every day.’ ”

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This approach propelled Ellsworth to the second day of competition, which exceeded his expectations and made his last time attending the event a memorable one.

For Huang, who placed as one of the top gymnasts in the junior division, it’s comes down to specific areas of preparation.

“I’m definitely going to pay attention to the small details,” he said. “I think [the team is] doing the exact same thing. They’re starting to hit sets more; they’re starting to get more confident with that. If we can get a big win out of Nebraska, that would be a really big confidence booster to the postseason.”

Nebraska will certainly pose a challenge; the Huskers are ranked above the Hawkeyes.

The GymHawks will also face a challenge against Southern Utah in Cedar City, Utah. The Thunderbirds are ranked above the Hawkeyes, but a year ago, the GymHawks triumphed. Junior Rose Piorkowski’s injury last time out could throw a little wrench in the opportunity, but the lineup is the only thing that will change.

“We’re not changing a whole lot about training except for the intensity level,” said women’s gymnastics head coach Larissa Libby. “[We are] making sure we are concentrating harder on the details, and then making sure our team holds each other accountable to that not just in practice but on the competition floor — from the smallest of details to the biggest of skills.”