Jan. 16, 2007
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THIS WEEK — The seventh-ranked Iowa men’s gymnastics team will compete against eighth-ranked Michigan Saturday in Ann Arbor, MI. Competition will begin at 6 p.m. CT in Cliff Keen Arena.
LAST TIME OUT — At the Windy City Invite, Iowa finished fifth (six teams), scoring a team total 198.4. The Michigan Wolverines won the invitational, scoring 212.75. Junior Curtis Kleffman placed fourth (49.5) and freshman Jonathan Buese tied for seventh (47.7) in the all-around competition. Geoff Reins tied for third on floor exercise, scoring 9.2.
LAST YEAR AGAINST MICHIGAN — Iowa beat Michigan 209.6-196.1 in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes dominated on pommel horse, placing in the top three spots. Michael Reavis came in first (8.6), Kleffman came in second (8.550) and Jake Becker was third (8.250).
SCOUTING THE HAWKEYES — Iowa returns 10 lettermen from 2006 when it finished with an 8-10 overall record and third-place finish as host of the BigTen Championships. All-American Kleffman will lead the Hawkeyes. Jonathan Buese, Dusty Cranmer, Danny Kuklinski, Joel Snyder and Reid Urbain are all newcomers to the 2007 roster. Kleffman and Bryan Bourland are the 2007 team captains. Jacques Bouchard returns as team leader on rings, scoring an Iowa best 9.5 last season.
HEAD COACH Tom Dunn — In his 28th year at Iowa, Head Coach Tom Dunn, has recorded a 211-98-2 record at Iowa. In 1998 and 2006, Dunn was named Big Ten Coach of the Year and College Gymnastics Association Central Region Coach of the Year. He has led the Hawkeyes to 17 top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships. Iowa has competed at the NCAA meet 17 of the past 22 seasons. Dunn has also coached 32 individuals to 64 all-America honors and 20 gymnasts to 32 Big Ten titles.
HAWKEYES RANKED IN PRESEASON POLLS — The Iowa men’s gymnastics team is ranked seventh in the GymInfo pre-season coaches poll.
QUOTING HEAD COACH Tom Dunn — “The coaching staff and the team are looking forward to competing in Ann Arbor this weekend. Our goal is to show marked improvement over our first competition of the season last weekend. I don’t think Michigan is 14 points better than the Hawkeyes, but they appear to be on a different track and much closer to championship form than we are in the second week of a 14-week season. “
NEXT COMPETITION — The Hawkeyes open their home season against Illinois-Chicago January 27th at 2 p.m. in the Fieldhouse.