Feb. 2, 2005
THIS WEEK — Four members of the sixth-ranked University of Iowa men’s gymnastics team will travel to Las Vegas, NV, Friday and Saturday to compete in the Winter Cup Challenge. Kenny Lin will compete on rings and vault while Curtis Kleffman, Michael McNamara and Michael Reavis will compete as all-arounders. The all-around sessions will begin at 3 p.m. (CST) Friday, while individual event finals will start at 8:30 p.m. (CST) Saturday.
THE WINTER CUP CHALLENGE — Six positions on the 2005 Men’s U.S. National Team will be up for grabs at the Winter Cup Challenge, as the nation’s best gymnasts are evaluated at the Las Vegas Sports Center Arena. The four Hawkeyes will be competing against Olympic silver medalists Jason Gatson and Brett McClure, former World Champion Sean Townsend, and Pan American silver medalist David Durante, along with members of the Senior and Junior National Team.
LAST TIME OUT — The Hawkeyes were runners-up at the prestigious West Point Open last weekend, winning two event titles, setting two University of Iowa records and recording seven season-best performances. Reavis took second in the all-around (53.175), was crowned champion on floor exercise (9.625) and placed second on horizontal bar (9.6). McNamara was runner-up on floor exercise (9.375) while senior Linas Gaveika took third on pommel horse with an Iowa season-best score of 9.5.
REAVIS SETS IOWA RECORD — During Friday night’s competition at the West Point Open, Reavis recorded a 9.675 on floor exercise, breaking the previous University of Iowa record of 9.575 held by McNamara. He won the event on Friday evening and was crowned champion on floor exercise at Saturday’s individual event finals.
NATIONAL RANKINGS — The Iowa men’s gymnastics team is ranked sixth in the GymInfo national rankings. As a team, the Hawkeyes are ranked in the top ten in all six individual events. Iowa is the fourth-ranked team on horizontal bar, fifth on floor exercise and vault, and eighth on pommel horse, rings and parallel bars.
NATIONALLY-RANKED INDIVIDUALS — Reavis leads the Hawkeyes in the rankings. He is second on floor exercise, third on horizontal bar, ninth in the all-around and 14th on vault. Gaveika is sixth on horizontal bar and 10th in the all-around, while Kleffman is tied for sixth on pommel horse and 19th in the all-around. Other ranked Hawkeyes are McNamara on floor (18th), freshman Jacob Becker on pommel horse (third), sophomore Mark Beiler on horizontal bar (20th) and Lin on rings (eighth).
HEAD COACH Tom Dunn — Head Coach Tom Dunn is in his 25th year at Iowa. He has compiled a 187-79-2 record. 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 18 top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships. Iowa has competed at the NCAA meet 18 of the past 21 seasons. Dunn has also coached29 individuals to 58 all-America honors and 19 gymnasts to 31 Big Ten titles.
NEXT COMPETITION — The Hawkeyes open their 2005 home schedule against Illinois-Chicago, February 12. Competition is slated to begin at 2 p.m. at the UI Fieldhouse.