Iowa women’s gymnastics on the road for quad meet at Rutgers

Iowa will take on Rutgers, Kent State, and Ursinus College in a quad meet in Piscataway, New Jersey, this weekend.

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Hannah Kinson

Iowa’s all-around Carina Tolan sticks her landing after dismounting the bars during a gymnastics meet between Iowa and Michigan at Carver Hawkeye Arena on Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. The GymHawks were defeated by the Wolverines with a score, 195.975-196.800. Tolan earned a score of 9.800.

Grant Hall, Sports Reporter


The Iowa women’s gymnastics team will travel to Piscataway, New Jersey, this weekend for a quad meet.

The Hawkeyes will compete against Rutgers, Kent State, and Ursinus College.

Senior Mackenzie Vance said the GymHawks anticipate a buzzing atmosphere at the quad meet this weekend.

“It’s a quad meet, so it’s going to be extremely loud,” Vance said. “We love the energy in the arena though, so we’re excited to see what this energy can do to help our performance.”

Iowa is currently ranked No. 17 in the Road to Nationals rankings. Iowa defeated Penn State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in a comeback win. The Hawkeyes trailed throughout the first three events but clinched a 196.125-195.325 victory after floor routines.

“We did a great job of staying focused,” senior Carina Tolan said of the Hawkeyes’ victory. “We knew we could bounce back from the adversity we faced earlier in the meet.”

Vance said her teammates’ success on the floor is what clinched the victory for Iowa against Penn State.

Senior Lauren Guerin and junior JerQuavia Henderson each tied the school record against the Nittany Lions with matching 9.975 scores.

“Every time Lauren and Q go out on the floor, you know exactly what you’re going to get,” Vance said. “You’re going to see some great gymnastics, and it’s so much fun to hype them up when they’re competing and succeeding.”

RELATED: Iowa women’s gymnastics honors seniors at final home meet of 2022 season

The GymHawks’ meet against the Nittany Lions was the seniors’ final meet at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Now, Tolan said the seniors are no longer focused on their remaining time in Iowa City.

“It was a bittersweet moment, but we’re not worried about the past,” she said. “There’s still a significant amount of our season left, so it didn’t feel like we were saying goodbye to Hawkeye fans or to gymnastics last weekend.”

Vance said that the Hawkeyes discussed effort and confidence with head coach Larissa Libby this week.

“At the beginning of each week, Larissa talks to us during our lineup,” she said. “This week, we talked about approaching every turn with 110 percent effort. She reminded us to stay confident, to look confident, and to be intentional with every move we make on the mat.”

The Hawkeyes have five meets left prior to the Big Ten Championship on March 19. Last season, the GymHawks won the Big Ten regular season title. Iowa is 3-0 over Big Ten rivals so far this season.

Iowa is tied for first place in the Big Ten standings with Michigan and Ohio State. Michigan is the reigning NCAA Champions.

While the Hawkeyes have an opportunity to repeat as regular season conference champions, they are more concerned with their own improvement from week to week.

“We really try to focus on beating our past selves,” Tolan said. “We’re not really focusing on beating our opponents, we’re more concerned with improving on our mistakes. It’s great to have a 3-0 record in conference, but we’re competing to be the best version of ourselves.”

The meet begins at 6 p.m. and will stream on BTN+.