Iowa men’s gymnastics completes return home with win over No. 7 Nebraska

The Hawkeye men’s gymnastics team picked up a big win over Nebraska, but the Iowa women couldn’t get it done against Iowa State.

Addison+Chung+competes+on+the+pommel+horse+during+the+meet+against+Nebraska+at+the+UI+Field+House+on+Saturday%2C+March+2%2C+2019.+Chung+took+home+a+career+best+on+this+event+with+a+13.300.+Iowa+took+the+victory+with+a+score+of+406.500+over+Nebraska+with+a+score+of+403.550.

Megan Conroy

Addison Chung competes on the pommel horse during the meet against Nebraska at the UI Field House on Saturday, March 2, 2019. Chung took home a career best on this event with a 13.300. Iowa took the victory with a score of 406.500 over Nebraska with a score of 403.550.

Pete Ruden, Sports Editor

Both Iowa gymnastics teams were back to competing at home, but only one could pull out a win.

The Hawkeye men picked up a 406.700-403.550 victory over No. 7 Nebraska, but the Iowa women fell to Iowa State in a heartbreaker, 196.275-196.250.

On the men’s side, Iowa racked up team-high scores in five events: floor, pommel horse, rings, vault, and parallel bar.

Andrew Herrador won the all-around title with a career-best score of 79.850, and Jake Brodarzon earned gold on rings and parallel bars.

“We have just been plugging away,” Iowa head coach JD Reive said in a release. “It was nice to hit a stride right away on the first event and carry that through to get some energy and rhythm. I think they performed incredibly well today, and they have been training well. It is really nice to be rewarded like this, where it shows that their attention to detail is showing up, and I expect this to continue along.”

The win marked Iowa’s first in an actual dual meet all season. The Hawkeyes finished second in a triangular with Minnesota and Illinois-Chicago on Feb. 2 and had solid performances from three athletes in the Winter Cup in Las Vegas Feb. 15-17.

The victory will be a good steppingstone for Iowa.

“We all put our trust in each other, and we have all been trying to push the lineups to try to get in there, and that helps us to improve,” sophomore Addison Chung said in a release. “That all leads to the final score, and it worked out well [against Nebraska].”

Things didn’t work out as well for the Iowa women against the Cyclones.

After winning the Big Five Meet on Feb. 22 with a score of 196.450, Iowa impressed people again with a 196.250, but it wasn’t enough.

“To back up our 196.450 from the Big Five Meet with a 196.250 tonight is huge,” Iowa head coach Larissa Libby said in a release. “It shows that we are legit. They are now just feeling that surge of confidence.”

The GymHawks started the meet off just about as well as they could have with a season-high 48.950 on vault. Alex Greenwald and Lauren Guerin both scored career-bests in the event with 9.700 and 9.825, respectively. Misty-Jade Carlson also tied a career-high with a 9.800.

Mackenzie Vance followed suit, earning a career-high in bars with a score of 9.725.

Clair Kaji and Guerin shared first place on floor, each posting a score of 9.900. That mark tied a season-best for Kaji and matched a career-high for Guerin.

Charlotte Sullivan also matched career-highs on floor (9.850) and all-around (39.200) to help the Hawkeyes come close to picking up the victory.

However, Iowa State closed the meet a performance that just got the better of the GymHawks.

“Hats off to Iowa State,” Libby said in a release. “That’s the way you want to finish a meet, locked in, neck and neck, nobody making mistakes. That’s how it should be. I love that battle.”