Feb. 9, 2004
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This Week: The ninth-ranked Iowa women’s gymnastics squad will travel to College Park, MD, to take on the Maryland Terrapins Saturday. Competition is set to begin at 7 p.m. at the Comcast Center.
The Terps: The Terps are 5-5 this season. They have wins over North Carolina State, Temple, James Madison and two wins over Towson. Maryland losses have occurred against Denver, Pittsburgh, Ohio State and twice against North Carolina. The Terps’ top all-arounder is sophomore Rachel Martinez, who has taken three titles this season. Maryland has two competitions this week, traveling to George Washington on Wednesday before meeting Iowa.
Iowa Against Maryland: The Hawkeyes are 1-1 against the Terps. In 2001, Iowa lost to Maryland at the NCAA Southeast Regionals, 195.85 – 193.775. In 1996, the Hawkeyes beat the Terps in the NIT, 194.15 – 189.7.
School Vaulting Record Smashed: Iowa broke the school vaulting record last weekend, posting a score of 49.525. The previous record was 49.4, accomplished last season at Illinois. “We knew we had a strong vault lineup, but needed to stick the landings, and we did that at Utah,” said assistant coach Derek May. “Liz Grajewski and Beth Dilick both stepped up with big scores and helped pave the way for Kortny Williamson, Alexis Maday and Stephanie Gran.”
Noteworthy Against Utah: Alexis Maday tied for third on all-around with a 39.55. Maday tied for first on vault with a career-tying 9.95 and finished third on beam. Stephanie Gran tied for first on vault with a 9.975, while Kortny Williamson tied for third. Liz Grajewski tied for fourth on beam and fifth on floor. The Hawkeyes recorded the fifth highest team vault score in the nation this season. Iowa’s score of 49.525 beat Utah, who was ranked first on vault.
In The Rankings: Iowa moves down one to ninth in the latest GymInfo Poll. The GymHawks are also ranked on all four individual events. Iowa is fifth on floor, tied for seventh on vault, 14th on bars and 17th on beam.
Three Individuals Ranked: The GymHawks have three individuals ranked in the GymInfo poll. Alexis Maday is ranked sixth in the all-around, tied for seventh on bars, tied for 14th on vault and 14th on beam. Stephanie Gran is eighth in the all-around, seventh on vault and 16th on floor. Sophomore Kortny Williamson is new to the rankings, tied for 21st on vault.
Quoting Coach Lorenzen: “This is an important meet for us in terms of developing confidence and learning how to compete well in different arenas. A third of our team is from this area of the country and it’s the first time their friends and families will be able to see them compete, which should be a lot of fun.”