Jan. 12, 2007
IOWA CITY – Iowa opened its 2007 season tonight, hosting LSU in the Breast Cancer Awareness meet. The “Think Pink” competition was to benefit Breast Cancer research, with fifty percent of ticket proceeds going toward the cause.
On vault, Jenifer Simbhudas had the best showing for Iowa, scoring a 9.775. Simbhudas scored high on her other events as well, posting a 9.85 on the floor, 9.725 on beam, and 9.65 on bars. Simbhudas ended with a respectable 39.0 third place finish in the first all-around competition of her career.
Sophomore Kara Pinjuv also had a strong showing against L.S.U. Scoring 38.400 in the all-around for fifth place, Pinjuv posted a 9.875 on the floor. Pinjuv’s floor score was the highest for Iowa, and earned a tie for second place in the event.
“I feel that for our first meet it was great, and I have an optimistic outlook for the season. Our mistakes were aggressive and with experience, we can fix them and be contenders on a national level,” said Pinjuv.
In other scores, freshman Katie Turcotte earned a 9.725 on vault for an eighth place finish, while junior Ally Zipse placed eighth on bars with a 9.625. Brandi Loffer and Danielle Legeai tied for sixth on beam, scoring 9.65, and Katie Burke placed sixth in the all-around with a 38.175.
“Tonight was a moral victory for us,” said Iowa Head Coach Larissa Libby. “We made a lot of little mistakes but our confidence level was great, and the fact that the girls weren’t satisfied with what they did is huge for them. They finally see their potential and they’ve got something to strive for.”
Iowa will travel to North Carolina State, Sunday, January 21st, to compete with Georgia and Ohio State. Competition is set to begin at 1p.m. (CST).
Final Team ScoresTeam Vault Bars Beam Floor Total1. #9 L.S.U. 49.400 48.675 48.225 48.575 194.8752. Iowa 47.825 47.900 47.900 48.900 192.525
Individual Results: Vault (winner plus Iowa)1. Nicki Butler (LSU) 9.9256. Jenifer Simbhudas (Iowa) 9.7758. Katie Turcotte (Iowa) 9.7259. Katie Burke (Iowa) 9.67510. Nikki Page (Iowa) 9.52511. Kara Pinjuv (Iowa) 9.12512. Rachel LaCasse (Iowa) 9.100
Uneven Bars (winner plus Iowa)1. Summer Hubbard (LSU) 9.8504. Kara Pinjuv (Iowa) 9.6755t. Jenifer Simbhudas (Iowa) 9.6508. Ally Zipse (Iowa) 9.6259. Katie Burke (Iowa) 9.55010. Katie Turcotte (Iowa) 9.40012. Jenny Donar (Iowa) 8.050
Balance Beam (winner plus Iowa)1. Ashleigh Clare-Kearney (LSU) 9.8504t. Kara Pinjuv (Iowa) 9.7254t. Jenifer Simbhudas (Iowa) 9.7256t. Brandi Loffer (Iowa) 9.6506t. Danielle Legeai (Iowa) 9.65010. Katie Burke (Iowa) 9.15012. Nikki Page (Iowa) 8.975
Floor Exercise (winner plus Iowa)1. Kelly Phelan (LSU) 9.9002t. Kara Pinjuv (Iowa) 9.8754t. Jenifer Simbhudas (Iowa) 9.8506. Ally Zipse (Iowa) 9.8257. Katie Burke (Iowa) 9.8009. Brandi Loffer (Iowa) 9.55011. Katie Turcotte (Iowa) 8.850
All-Around (winner plus Iowa)1. Ashleigh Clare-Kearney (LSU) 39.4253. Jenifer Simbhudas (Iowa) 39.0005. Kara Pinjuv (Iowa) 38.4006. Katie Burke (Iowa) 38.175="https://hawkeyesports.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://hawkeyesports.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://hawkeyesports.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://hawkeyesports.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://hawkeyesports.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://hawkeyesports.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://hawkeyesports.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://hawkeyesports.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://hawkeyesports.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://hawkeyesports.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://hawkeyesports.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>