March 5, 2007
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This Week
The University of Iowa women’s gymnastics team will compete against 18th-ranked Missouri, Saturday in Columbia, MO. Competition will take place at the Hearnes Center on the University of Missouri campus and is set to begin at 7 p.m.
The Hawkeyes
Iowa currently claims many top individual event rankings in the Big Ten. Freshman Katie Turcotte is ranked first in the Big Ten and 24th nationally on vault, while Katie Burke is ranked fourth on bars and eighth on beam in the conference. Burke is also ranked fourth in the conference and 29th nationally in the all-around. Jen Simbhudas is ranked second in the Big Ten on floor exercise.
Last Competition
The Hawkeyes hosted Southern Utah, March 2nd, and Iowa State and Minnesota, March 4th. Iowa defeated Southern Utah, 193.875-192.550, and came in third against Iowa State and Minnesota with a score of 194.275. Top competitors for Iowa included Burke, Simbhudas, and Turcotte. Turcotte tied for first on vault and Simbhudas won floor against Southern Utah. Burke won on bars against Iowa State and Minnesota, and placed second in the all-around.
Iowa In Action
Iowa has posted several top scores this season. Freshmen Turcotte and Jenny Donar, and sophomore Simbhudas, have Iowa’s top vault score at 9.9, while Burke holds Iowa’s top uneven bars score of 9.875. Burke also posted Iowa’s top beam performance (9.825). Simbhudas holds Iowa’s top floor score of 9.9, and Burke has Iowa’s top all-around score at 39.25.
Head Coach Larissa Libby
Iowa Head Coach Larissa Libby is in her third season as head coach of the Hawkeyes. In her first two years, Libby recorded a 12-31 overall record. Before becoming head coach, Libby was Iowa’s associate head coach for one year and an assistant coach for three seasons. While associate head coach, Libby led the GymHawks to a school record 49.425 beam performance in 2004. In addition, in 2004 the GymHawks recorded a 49.0 or higher seven times on beam under Libby’s guidance.
Next Competition
The Hawkeyes will compete at Oklahoma, March 17th.