March 24, 2004
Iowa City, IA – The sixth-ranked Iowa men’s gymnastics team (8-6 overall, 3-4 Big Ten) has qualified for the 2004 NCAA men’s gymnastics championships with a qualifying score of 216.970. The Hawkeyes enter the competition sixth overall, behind Illinois (221.215), Oklahoma (220.045), Penn State (218.830), California (218.510) and Ohio State (218.160). The NCAA championships consists of 12 teams divided into two pre-qualifying sessions. The two pre-qualifying sessions will be conducted April 2 at Assembly Hall in Champaign, IL. All six Big Ten schools qualified for the championships.
Three teams from each pre-qualifying session and the top three all-around competitors not on one of the qualifying teams, plus the top three individuals on each event not already qualified on a team or as an all-around competitor, will advance to the finals session. Final competitions will take place April 3-4, also at Illinois.
The Hawkeyes are coming off a fourth place finish at the 2004 Big Ten championships. In 2003, the Hawkeyes placed sixth at the NCAA championships, crowning one national champion. Junior Linas Gaveika enters the championship shooting for his second consecutive national title on horizontal bar. He is currently the nation’s top competitor on bar with a three-score average of 9.735. Sophomore Michael Reavis will also look to repeat as an all-American.
For more information regarding the National Collegiate Men’s Gymnastics Championships, log on to http://www.ncaasports.com.