Iowa’s women’s gymnastics coaching staff just got bigger.

Head coach Larissa Libby announced Monday that former Hawkeye gymnast Jessa Hansen Parker would be joining her staff as an assistant coach ahead of the upcoming 2020-21 campaign.

During her time as a student-athlete at Iowa, Hansen Parker found a great deal of success, lettering four times and earning two All-Big Ten and three Academic All-Big Ten honors.  She was also a two-time Big Ten Sportsmanship Award recipient, an NACGC Scholastic All-American, a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, and a member of Iowa’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

“I am thrilled to welcome Jessa back to Iowa City,” Libby said. “This is the first time I have been in a position to hire someone that has experienced our program and has first-hand knowledge of what it is like to attend and compete for the University of Iowa.  I believe Jessa is the total package.”

“She was born and raised in Iowa and grew up loving the Hawkeyes,” Libby said. “She spent four years in our program where she helped establish a philosophy that she truly believes in. Jessa remains highly connected to her Gymhawk teammates, a connection that will be crucial in helping us create additional opportunities for alums to return to campus.”

Post-graduation, Hansen Parker began stacking up achievements as a coach. At the University of California-Berkeley, Hansen Parker was an assistant coach during the Golden Bears’ run to the 2016 NCAA Championships.

From there, Hansen Parker moved to the University of California-Davis. As an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, she was named 2019 Assistant Coach of the Year by the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

Hansen Parker joins Vince Smurro as the only other assistant coach on Libby’s staff.