March 1, 2004
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This Week: The 16th-ranked Iowa women’s gymnastics squad will travel to Washington Friday. The GymHawks will compete against No. 12 Washington and No. 6 Utah. Competition begins at 7 p.m. (PST) at the Bank of America Arena.
The Huskies: The Huskies are 7-3-1 this season. Washington is coming off an upset over No. 1 UCLA last weekend. The Huskies defeated Iowa (196.45-195.35) at the Cancun Invitational, along with Oklahoma and Texas Woman’s University. Washington also has recorded wins over California and Sac State. They’ve suffered losses against Oregon State, Stanford and Boise State. Top gymnasts for the Huskies include Emily Pritchard and Carly Dockendorf.
The Utes: The Utes are 8-1 this season. They’re coming off a 198.05 victory over Utah State last weekend. Utah also has collected victories over UCLA, Nebraska, Iowa (197.65-195.9), Arizona State, Minnesota, Brigham Young and Air Force. The Utes’ lone loss was against Michigan. Utes to watch are Annabeth Eberle, Nicolle Ford and Melissa Vituj.
Minnesota Notes: Iowa defeated Minnesota, 196.025-195.75. The GymHawks trailed the Gophers until the last rotation. Senior Alexis Maday won the all-around crown with a 39.675. She also won bars, floor, tied for first on beam and tied for second on vault. Stephanie Gran won vault, tied for first on beam, tied for second on floor and finished second in the all-around. Kortny Williamson tied for second on vault and floor.
In The Rankings: Iowa is 16th in the latest GymInfo Poll. The GymHawks are ranked on all four individual events. Iowa is 13th on floor, 14th on vault, 15th on bars and 19th on beam.
Maday Tied for Second on Bars: Senior Alexis Maday is tied for second on bars in the national rankings. Maday has a regional qualifying score of 9.945 with a high score of 9.975. Maday is also ranked fifth in the all-around and 22nd on beam.
Individuals Nationally Ranked: The GymHawks also have Stephanie Gran and Kortny Williamson nationally ranked. Gran is 22nd in the all-around with a regional qualifying score of 39.33. Williamson is tied for 21st on vault with a regional qualifying score of 9.890.
Big Ten Rankings: Iowa is ranked first in the Big Ten Conference. The GymHawks are also ranked first on bars, second on floor and third on beam. Alexis Maday is ranked first in the all-around, vault and bars, and second on beam. Kortny Williamson is tied for second on vault. On floor, Liz Grajewski is ranked fifth, Stephanie Gran is sixth, Williamson is tied for 13th and Danielle Legeai is 21st.
The Mazzoni Contribution: Freshman Romina Mazzoni competed for the GymHawks for the first time last weekend. Mazzoni recorded a 9.7 on the bars to tie for eighth. Her score was the third best for Iowa on the event.
Six Records Broken This Season: The GymHawks have broken six school records this year. All team records except for bars have been bested. Individual records that have been broken include the all-around and bars, while the floor record has been tied twice this season.
Senior Leadership: Seniors Alexis Maday and Stephanie Gran hold all the individual season bests for the GymHawks. On vault and floor, Maday and Gran are tied with scores of 9.975. On bars, Maday leads the team with a 9.975. Maday also has the highest score on beam with a 9.95 and leads in the all-around with a 39.75.
Quoting Coach Lorenzen: “We’re at a point in the season where we can’t afford any more misses. We haven’t competed particuarly well on the road yet and the next two meets will give us a great chance to prepare for the post-season. We couldn’t ask for better competition than Washington and Utah. We’re hopeful that this will be another trip like Maryland where we put it all together.”