GymHawks To Compete at Regionals

March 29, 2004

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This Week: The 20th-ranked Iowa women’s gymnastics squad will travel to Denver, CO, Saturday, to compete at the North Central Regional Championships. Competition will take place at Magness Arena beginning at 7 p.m. Teams competing include No. 2 Stanford, No. 11 Washington, No. 14 Denver, Minnesota and Southern Utah.

Iowa at NCAA Regionals: Iowa is a No. 4 seed going into the North Central Regionals. The GymHawks have gone to regionals each of the last three years. Last year was the first time the GymHawks moved on to the NCAA Championships.

Scouting the Competition:

Stanford: Stanford is ranked second in the nation with a 15-3 record. The Cardinals won the PAC-10 Championships, edging out top-ranked UCLA. Stanford has two wins over Washington. Stanford is nationally ranked second on beam, fourth on bars and is in the top 10 on vault.

Washington: Washington has compiled an 11-10-1 record. They are nationally ranked 11th. The Huskies have recorded two wins over Iowa this season. Washington is rated third on bars and is in the top 10 on beam and floor.

Denver: Denver is ranked 14th with a 7-10 record this season. The Pioneers have a victory over Southern Utah. Denver is ranked in the top 10 on floor and is tied for eighth on vault with Iowa.

Minnesota: Minnesota has an 8-13 mark. The Gophers have suffered two losses against Iowa. At the Big Ten Championships, Minnesota finished fourth.

Southern Utah: Southern Utah has compiled a 9-8 record. They finished second at the Western Gymnastics Conference meet.

Big Ten Championships Notes: Iowa finished third with a score of 196.5. Alexis Maday was named vault and floor champion. Stephanie Gran placed second in the all-around and on vault.

Big Ten Honors the GymHawks: Alexis Maday was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Year, only the second GymHawk to receive the honor. Head Coach Mike Lorenzen was honored as co-Big Ten Coach of the Year. Maday and Stephanie Gran received first team all-Big Ten honors, while Kortny Williamson was awarded with second team all-Big Ten accolades.

Maday Makes History: Senior Alexis Maday made Iowa school history when she was named first team all-Big Ten. Maday is the first GymHawk to ever be named all-Big Ten each of her four seasons.

In The Rankings: Iowa is 20th in the latest GymInfo Poll. The GymHawks are ranked in all four individual events. Iowa is tied for eighth on vault, 11th on floor, 16th on bars and 24th on beam.

Maday Second in Nation on Bars: Alexis Maday is tied for second in the nation on bars with a regional qualifying score of 9.955. Maday is also ranked ninth in the all-around (39.635), tied for eighth on floor (9.95) and tied for 16th on vault (9.935).

Individuals Nationally Ranked: The GymHawks also have Stephanie Gran and Kortny Williamson nationally ranked. Gran is 12th on vault (9.935 average), 19th in the all-around and tied for 25th on floor. Williamson is tied for 25th on vault.

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 fired up to have our best competition of the season. We raised our level of performance in a variety of ways at the Big Ten Championships. We’re well-prepared to go to regionals and make a statement again this year.”