Iowa gymnastics set for separate battles
As three members of the Iowa men’s gymnastics team head West, the women will attempt to pick up a conference win in Carver.
Judges watch Iowa gymnast Bennet Huang perform on the floor during a gymnastics meet against Minnesota and Illinois-Chicago on Saturday, Feb 2, 2019. The Golden Gophers won the meet with a total score of 406.400 with the Hawkeyes scoring 401.600 and the Flames scoring 355.750.
February 14, 2019
The 10th-ranked Iowa men’s gymnastics program will get a week off to prepare for its next meet, with three Hawkeyes traveling to Las Vegas this weekend to compete in the Winter Cup.
Iowa will send senior Jake Brodarzon, sophomore Bennet Huang, and freshman Evan Davis to the Winter Cup, which will run from Feb. 15 through Feb. 17.
The competition will bring out the best of the best in college men’s gymnastics.
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The top 42 gymnasts in the all-around for placement and points will advance to the competition on Feb. 17, with the top three gymnasts on each rotation also getting the chance to move on to the final round.
The competition is particularly important because it helps to determine the 2019 U.S Men’s Senior National Team, which will consist of 15 members.
Iowa gymnast Bennet Huang celebrates after dismounting the pommel horse during a gymnastics meet against Minnesota and Illinois-Chicago on Feb 2. The Gophers won the meet with a total score of 406.400; the Hawkeyes scored 401.600 and the Flames 355.750.
The top four ranked all-around gymnasts will get an automatic bid to join the National Team, while the remaining 11 members will be selected by the Men’s Program Committee.
Brodarzon was chosen to participate in the competition based on his results in the senior division of the 2018 U.S. Championships.
On top of all of his success, he is ranked No. 13 nationally in the all-around competition this season.
For Huang, this will be his second year in a row attending and competing at the Winter Cup. At last year’s Winter Cup, he won the all-around title in the junior session prelims (77.600) and finished the tournament in second place in all-around with a 154.000.
Huang is ranked No. 6 nationally in the all-around competition.
For Davis, this will be his first time competing at the Winter Cup.
This season for the Hawkeyes, he has shown an ability to succeed and make his way to the podium.
He placed eighth overall in the all-around competition at the Windy City Invitational. He also heads to Las Vegas ranked No. 10 nationally in the all-around competition.
As the men’s team wishes its fellow Hawkeyes luck in Las Vegas, the GymHawks preparing for their meet against Illinois on Saturday in Carver-Hawkeye.
The GymHawks are coming off of a road slate against Ohio State and Michigan.
Illinois comes into the meet ranked 38th in the latest Road to Nationals Poll and is currently in fifth place in the Big Ten standings with a 2-2 record.
The GymHawks hope to end a two-meet losing streak against the Illini. The GymHawks come into the meet ranked 31st in the country on beam and 36th on floor.
As of right now, the GymHawks are 1-3 in the conference, and they are hungry to secure another win in the Big Ten.
Iowa fell short against both Ohio State and Michigan, but the results did not stop the squad from recording records. Against Michigan, Iowa tallied a new season-high team score of 195.375.
The GymHawks heads into the meet with the mentality to get the little things right and continue working toward getting a win.
