Iowa gymnastics prepares for packed Saturday afternoon
Iowa men’s and women’s gymnastics teams will be competing Saturday afternoon.
Iowa’s Clair Kaji performs her floor routine during a women’s gymnastics meet between Iowa, Minnesota, and Maryland on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021 at Carver Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes came in second with a score of 196.775 after the Gophers won with 196.975 and Maryland lost with 195.350. Kaji received a score of 9.900.
March 4, 2021
Both Iowa’s men’s and women’s gymnastics teams are back in action this weekend as the No. 17 women host No. 19 Illinois at Carver-Hawkeye Arena while the seventh-ranked men travel to Ann Arbor for a matchup with No. 2 Michigan.
The Iowa women will be honoring their seniors Saturday afternoon with a 1970s themed meet. Seniors Erin Castle, Emma Hartzler, and Clair Kaji will all be recognized before the competition. The meet is 2020-21 the home finale for the GymHawks.
In their last matchup with Illinois Jan. 31, the GymHawks defeated the Fighting Illini on the road 196.325-195.600.
Since then, the GymHawks have clinched the 2021 Big Ten Conference regular season title with an 8-1 overall record.
“It’s something to be very proud of, but at the same time, in terms of national rankings, it really doesn’t do anything for us,” senior Clair Kaji said. We don’t want to get caught up in that and not focus on where we want to end, which is nationals.”
The Hawkeyes have been prominent nationally this year, especially on floor. The GymHawks are currently ranked second in the country on floor and first in the Big Ten with a 49.463 average.
On both beam and uneven bars, Iowa also finds itself inside the country’s top 20. The GymHawks are third in the Big Ten and 17th nationally on beam. On uneven bars, Iowa ranks 20th in the country.
According to Hawkeye head coach Larissa Libby, the contributions she’s received from her seniors have been vital to Iowa’s success.
“For us, this [Illinois matchup] is about getting back our mojo or swagger,” Libby said. “The thing that made us feel great about competing. It’s also our senior night. We will be losing three amazing young women from this team after this season. Their contributions gymnastically have been phenomenal, but more so on the character side of who we are. You can’t ever replace that. You just can’t.”
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As opposed to their female counterparts that already have eight competitions under their belts, the Hawkeye men have only competed in three meets on the season.
On Saturday, they will battle an unfamiliar opponent in Michigan. The Hawkeyes and Wolverines haven’t met in nearly two years because of COVID-19.
The Iowa men come into the meet with victories in each of their first three competitions against No. 8 Minnesota, No. 4 Illinois, and No. 5 Penn State. Iowa currently is tied with Michigan at the top of the Big Ten standings.
“Coming into this week, everyone is focused on their job,” junior Evan Davis said. “We’re at the point to where every guy goes in trying to get a specific score. For instance, if your job is to get a 13.500 on high bar, then that’s what we need to do. I believe that if everyone does their job, then we can come out with a win.”
The Hawkeyes have performed well in every event this year. Iowa currently ranks third nationally on parallel bars, fifth on both high bar and rings, sixth on floor and vault, and seventh on pommel horse.
In all around, the Hawkeyes have two gymnasts that rank in the top 10 nationally. Davis ranks ninth with a national qualifying average of 80.183. Senior Bennet Huang is rated 10th with an 80.083 average. Sophomore Carter Tope ranks 13th, junior Stewart Brown is 15th, and freshman James Friedman comes in at 18th.
Iowa men’s gymnastics head coach JD Reive believes his Hawkeyes will now have to adapt their mental approach given all the success they’ve had this season.
“We’re working on the mental approach of being successful,” Reive said. “The first couple of meets were good. We were winning, but now having the expectation of winning meets is a little bit of a different burden.”
