Jan. 5, 2004
THIS WEEK — The sixth-ranked University of Iowa men’s gymnastics team will travel to Chicago, IL, Saturday to open its 2004 schedule at the Windy City Invitational. The meet will begin at 7 p.m. in the University of Illinois-Chicago’s Physical Education Building.
THE COMPETITION — The Windy City Invitational will feature six nationally ranked teams, including top-ranked Ohio State, Illinois (3), Michigan (4), Iowa (6), Minnesota (8) and Illinois-Chicago (14).
LAST TIME AT WINDY CITY — The Hawkeyes opened their 2003 season with a second-place finish at the Windy City Invitational. Then-freshman Michael Reavis led the Hawkeyes with a sixth-place finish in the all-around (50.65), placing second on the floor exercise (9.25) and vault (9.4). Then-sophomore Linas Gaveika placed second on the high bar with a score of 9.15.
SCOUTING THE HAWKEYES — Iowa returns 11 lettermen from last year when it finished with a 7-6 overall record and a sixth-place NCAA finish. NCAA Champion and All-America junior Linas Gaveika (Vilnius, Lithuania) will lead the Hawkeyes in 2004, along with sophomore All-American Michael Reavis (Tallahassee, FL). Seniors Michael Kelly (Orangevale, CA), Matt Metzger (Cincinnati, OH), Antonio Cesar (Monterrey, Mexico), Eric Block (Buffalo Grove, IL) and Paul Summers (Broken Arrow, OK) will be a key to Iowa’s success in 2004.
COACH Tom Dunn — Head Coach Tom Dunn is in his 24th year at Iowa, where he has compiled a 179-73-2 record (.705). In 1998, Dunn was named Big Ten Coach of the Year and CGA Central Region Coach of the Year. He has led the Hawkeyes to 17 top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships, and Iowa has competed at the NCAA meet 17 of the past 20 seasons.
HAWKEYES RANKED 6th IN PRE-SEASON POLLS — The Iowa men’s gymnastics team is ranked sixth in the GymInfo pre-season Coaches Poll. The Hawkeyes are ranked fifth in the highly competitive Big Ten conference.
NEXT COMPETITION — Iowa will travel to Colorado Springs, CO to compete in the Rocky Mountain Open January 16-17. The meet will begin at 7 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday.