GymHawks Compete at Hearts Invite

Feb. 7, 2005

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This Week

The University of Iowa women’s gymnastics team travels to Raleigh, NC Friday for the Hearts Invitational. The GymHawks will compete against North Carolina State, George Washington and William & Mary. Competition will take place at Reynolds Coliseum at 6 p.m. CST.

NC State Notes

The Wolfpack are 7-2, with wins over Rutgers, Boise State, UC-Davis, William & Mary, James Madison, Maryland and Towson. NC State has only lost to No. 11 Denver and North Carolina.

NC State’s top all-arounder is Kylah Bachman. The Wolfpack have also had strong performances from Cori Goldstein and Rachel Katz.

George Washington Notes

The Colonels are 6-6. They have wins over Gustavus Adolphus, Penn, Temple, Cornell, William & Mary and Ball State. Losses have come against Oklahoma, Brigham Young, North Carolina, Towson, Kentucky and Ohio State.

George Washington’s top all-arounders are Erin Aiken and Heather Kaufman. Amy Stack and Jess Guilbert are top vaulters, and Tiffany Jones is strong on bars and beam.

William & Mary Notes

William & Mary is 2-8, with two wins over James Madison. Last week, the school had its best team performance of the season, finishing with a 189.8. Top individuals for William & Mary are Stevie Waldman and Christina Padilla.

Top Performances At Illinois Quadrangular

The GymHawks scored a season-high 194.025 to finish first, defeating Illinois, Illinois-Chicago and Illinois State. On beam, the Hawkeyes dominated competition with the top four routines. Danielle Legeai won the event, with Annie Rue and Kortny Williamson tying for second and Ally Zipse tying for fourth. On vault, Natalie Padilla and Williamson shared first place.

Head Coach Larissa Libby

Larissa Libby is in her first season as head coach of the GymHawks. Last season, Libby served as associate head coach after three years as an assistant. Libby has already made a lasting impact on the GymHawks as the team’s choreographer and beam coach. The top 10 school beam performances have all been under her guidance, including the school record of 49.425. Libby coached four gymnasts to score a 9.9 or higher on beam in 2004. She also guided sophomore Danielle Legeai to tie for second on beam at NCAA regionals last season.