The Iowa women’s gymnastics team scored an impressive triumph over No. 26 Illinois, but lost in the victory was a strong performance from third-year Karina Muñoz. Muñoz led by example throughout the meet, recording an all-around score of 39.350 in the 196.2-194.975 triumph at Xtream Arena.
“Usually, I take it day by day,” Muñoz said after the meet. “Whenever I come into a meet, I just reset. I take it step by step. And I think with being an all-around, you [have to] really have a good mindset and use the energy for my teammates. They really push me to be the best ever, so I have to put it all on that, and they help me do all-around.
Iowa came into the meet against Illinois with heavy odds to overcome. The Hawkeyes had previously competed against the Illini, along with No. 9 Missouri and No. 14 Alabama, at a meet in Missouri on Feb. 14, finishing in last place with a score of 195.000.
Head coach Jen Llewellyn, in her first year in the role, also noted the absence of several athletes due to recent illness or injury.
“We had a lot of adversity over the last 48 hours with our athletes, with a couple of them being out,” Llewellyn said. “I think it was just incredible to see our athletes step up and be resilient. I couldn’t be more proud, just seeing what they accomplished.”
Muñoz echoed her coach’s sentiment, noting Iowa’s underdog appearance against a ranked Illinois team.
“We only put up five girls on two events, and that’s a big deal, because usually you’re supposed to put up six, but we had a couple sicknesses and injuries,” Muñoz said. “I think fighting through that and really focusing on our mindset, realizing that it doesn’t matter, we’ve done all this before… we really pushed each other to do our best, and we came out with one of our top scores this season.”
Muñoz has been competing in gymnastics since she was just over a year old, and years of hard work paid off against the Illini. The third-year put up a 9.850 on vault, a 9.775 on the uneven bars, a 9.800 on beam, and a 9.925 on floor. Muñoz and first-year teammate Aurélie Tran tied as all-around performers for the Hawkeyes.
Llewellyn noted the performance of Muñoz as one of many that helped overcome the adversity facing Iowa prior to the meet.
“Specifically today, they came together and believed in each other,” Llewellyn said. “Everyone did their job and everyone stepped up in the ways that they needed to. And it showed in the whole team’s score.”
Muñoz, who nabbed four titles against Rutgers in the Hawkeyes’ Feb. 9 triumph, also expressed excitement to put Iowa’s program on the map.
“One goal for Iowa this season is just showing the country who we are,” Muñoz said. “I feel like we’re the underdog. A lot of the time, they don’t think we can do it, but we wow them a lot. I hope that this country understands what the University of Iowa is all about.”