Dec. 3, 2007
This Week
The University of Iowa women’s gymnastics team will compete in its own Black and Gold Intrasquad meet, Saturday, at the Fieldhouse. Competition will begin at 7 p.m. There is no admission charge.
Season Preview
The Hawkeyes will begin their season in January ranked 40th nationally. Top returnees include Katie Burke, Brandi Loffer, Kara Pinjuv, Amanda Rudolph, Jenifer Simbhudas and Ally Zipse. Iowa is coming off a sixth place finish at the 2007 Big Ten Championships. The Hawkeyes produced one first team all-Big Ten competitor, Katie Burke. Kara Pinjuv and Jenifer Simbhudas earned second team all-Big Ten honors.
Scouting the Hawkeyes
Iowa returns nine lettermen from last year when it finished with an 8-11 overall record and a sixth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships. Iowa adds six new members to the team for the 2008 season. Kelly Galau, from Apple Valley, MN, Houry Gebeshian, from Newton, MA, Andrea Hurlburt, from Waterloo, IA, Dani McDaniel, from O’Fallon, IL, Arielle Sucich, from Fort Salonga, NY, and Kristen Ward, from Fort Wayne, IN. All are expected to be contributors for the Hawkeyes this season.
Head Coach Larissa Libby
In her first three years as Iowa Head Coach, Larissa Libby recorded a 20-42 record. Before becoming head coach, Libby was Iowa’s associate head coach for one year and an assistant coach the previous three seasons. While associate head coach, Libby led the GymHawks to a school record 49.425 beam performance in 2004. In addition, the 2004 GymHawks recorded a 49.0 or higher seven times on beam under Libby’s guidance.
Next Competition
The Hawkeyes will travel to Cancun, Mexico for the Cancun Classic, Jan. 1-6. Competition start time is TBA.
Complete Release in PDF Format
Click HERE for the Big Ten Network home page.