Iowa men’s gymnastics prepares for Senior Night, women hit the road
Iowa men’s gymnastics honors three seniors this weekend on Senior Day, while the women head to Oregon to compete in a quad-meet.
March 15, 2019
The Iowa men’s gymnastics team moved up two spots in the rankings to No. 8 after defeating No. 3 Michigan last week, and the Hawkeyes will try to keep rolling against No. 9 Ohio State on March 16.
Moving up nationally in all events, the team now ranks No. 6 on rings and high bar, No. 7 on pommel horse, and No. 9 on vault. The Hawkeyes also hit a season-high team score on floor (68.700).
“I am very proud of the team,” head coach JD Reive said in a release. “That’s two consecutive weekends with great Big Ten wins, but still room for improvement across the team score with an improved hit percentage.”
A second men’s team athlete was honored as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week. Stewart Brown gained the accolade after taking third in two events, vault (14.050) and parallel bars (13.800) during the Michigan meet March 9. Brown joined Evan Davis, who earned the honor after the Winter Cup on Feb. 15 and 17.
Seniors Jake Brodarzon, Rogelio Vazquez, and Kevin Johnson will compete in the last dual meet in Carver-Hawkeye on Senior Day.
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Brodarzon leads with team-high scores on rings (14.150) and parallel bars (14.300). Johnson also leads with a team-high score on pommel horse (14.000).
Jake Brodarzon competes on the rings during men’s gymnastics Iowa vs. Nebraska at Carver Hawkeye Arena on Feb. 23, 2018.
The men’s team will host No. 9 Ohio State on March 16 at Carver-Hawkeye in their last home meet before the Big Ten Championships.
The GymHawks will hit the road again as they travel to Corvallis, Oregon, to take on No. 15 Oregon State as well as North Carolina and Seattle Pacific. This is the last meet for the women before the Big Ten Championships and NCAA regional.
“We don’t have a home-team advantage,” head coach Larissa Libby said. “I don’t know why. No matter where you go, it’s always up and down. You’ll never see the same type of judging, and that makes it hard because you’re looking for consistency.”
The women’s team has been consistent, hitting its fourth-consecutive meet with a score better than 195.000. It took a second-place medal at a tri-meet last weekend. Freshman Lauren Guerin has been a rock for the team, hitting five-consecutive scores of 9.900 on floor.
The GymHawks moved up in floor rankings to No. 17 in the nation but slipped in other events, 31 on bar, 35 on beam, and 42 on vault according to the Road to Nationals Poll.
“Obviously, that’s a confidence-builder,” Libby said. “We told them at the beginning that we’re going to peak at the right time, and we really have. I think the scores make them feel legitimate and that they can hang with the rest of the country.”
