March 29, 2008
ANN ARBOR, MI – Iowa competed at the Big Ten Championships Saturday, placing fifth with a 194.775. Katie Burke was Iowa’s top all-around competitor, tying for 10th with a 38.9. The Hawkeyes had six top-ten individual performances.
The Hawkeyes first competed on floor, posting a 48.675. Jenifer Simbhudas was Iowa’s best competitor in the event, scoring 9.8 to tie for 10th. Katie Burke tied for 15th with a 9.775 while Kara Pinjuv, Brandi Loffer and Jenny Donar tied for 29th with a 9.7. Houry Gebeshian rounded out Iowa’s floor competitors with a 39th-place tie 9.675.
Moving on to vault Iowa scored a 48.125. Pinjuv had the Hawkeyes’ best performance, posting a 9.775 to tie for 16th. Freshman Rebecca Simbhudas posted a respectable 9.7 to tie for 27th while Loffer earned a 9.675 for a 30th- place tie. Gebeshian finished 39th with a 9.5 while Burke was right behind her with a 40th-place 9.475. J. Simbhudas placed 41st with a 9.45.
Next competing on bars, the Hawkeyes scored a 48.925. Gebeshian performed first on the event for Iowa, earning a 9.85 for Iowa’s best score and an overall sixth place tie. R. Simbhudas came in second to Gebeshian for the Hawkeyes, posting a 9.825 to tie for 12th overall. Burke finished tied for 15th with a 9.8 while J. Simbhudas followed in a tie for 21st with a 9.775. Ally Zipse tied her season best bars score with a 9.75, tying for 25th. Loffer completed Iowa’s bars line-up, posting a 9.675 to finish 35th.
Iowa finished up the Big Ten Championships on beam with a 48.975. The event was Iowa’s best of the day with three top-ten finishes. Burke had Iowa’s best showing, scoring a 9.85 to tie for fifth. R. Simbhudas and Pinjuv followed posting scores of 9.825 and 9.8, respectively. R. Simbhudas tied for eighth while Pinjuv’s score earned her a tie for 10th. Loffer finished in a tie for 15th with a 9.775 while J. Simbhudas tied for 25th with a 9.725. Gebeshian scored a 9.7 for a 27th-place tie.
Iowa had four all-around competitors; Burke, Gebeshian, Loffer and J. Simbhudas. Burke earned Iowa’s top all-around score with a 38.9 to tie for 10th. Loffer finished 12th with a 38.825 while J. Simbhudas placed 14th with a 38.75. Gebeshian scored 38.725 for a 15th-place finish.
“It’s hard to say how to feel right now. How well we performed tonight was not reflected in our team score,” said Iowa Head Coach Larissa Libby. The rotation order hurt us as we are used to performing last on floor and tonight had to do it first. However, it was a great lesson for the team to learn that we always have to do well in every competition on every event. We had some great performances and there were a lot of positives in tonight’s competition. We have a couple weeks to work on vault and maintain our level of competition on the other three events before regionals.”
The Hawkeyes will find out which regional they compete at, Sunday. Regional competition will take place April 12.
Final Team Scores Team Vault Bars Beam Floor Total1. Michigan 49.225 49.425 49.050 49.050 196.7502. Illinois 49.100 48.825 49.050 48.775 195.7503. Penn State 48.900 49.000 48.900 48.825 195.6254. Michigan State 48.625 49.000 48.575 48.850 195.0505. Iowa 48.125 49.000 48.975 48.675 194.7756. Minnesota 48.700 48.825 48.225 48.675 194.4257. Ohio State 48.675 48.400 47.925 49.075 194.075
Individual Results: Vault (winner plus Iowa)1. Brandi Personett (Penn State) 9.95016t. Kara Pinjuv (Iowa) 9.77527t. Rebecca Simbhudas (Iowa) 9.70030t. Brandi Loffer (Iowa) 9.67539. Houry Gebeshian (Iowa) 9.50040. Katie Burke (Iowa) 9.47541. Jenifer Simbhudas (Iowa) 9.450 Uneven Bars (winner plus Iowa)1. Sarah Curtis (Michigan) 9.9506t. Houry Gebeshian (Iowa) 9.85012t. Rebecca Simbhudas (Iowa) 9.82515t. Katie Burke (Iowa) 9.80021t. Jenifer Simbhudas (Iowa) 9.77525t. Ally Zipse (Iowa) 9.75035. Brandi Loffer (Iowa) 9.675 Balance Beam (winner plus Iowa)1. Julie Crall (Illinois) 9.9005t. Katie Burke (Iowa) 9.8508t. Rebecca Simbhudas (Iowa) 9.82510t. Kara Pinjuv (Iowa) 9.80015t. Brandi Loffer (Iowa) 9.77525t. Jenifer Simbhudas (Iowa) 9.72527t. Houry Gebeshian (Iowa) 9.700 Floor Exercise (winner plus Iowa)1. Kylee Botterman (Michigan) 9.90010t. Jenifer Simbhudas (Iowa) 9.80015t. Katie Burke (Iowa) 9.77529t. Kara Pinjuv (Iowa) 9.70029t. Brandi Loffer (Iowa) 9.70029t. Jenny Donar (Iowa) 9.70036t. Houry Gebeshian (Iowa) 9.675 All-Around (winner plus Iowa)1. Brandi Personett (Penn State) 39.52510t. Katie Burke (Iowa) 38.90012. Brandi Loffer (Iowa) 38.82514. Jenifer Simbhudas (Iowa) 38.75015. Houry Gebeshian (Iowa) 38.725="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:>="https://hawkeyesports.com/http:%3E%3C/pre%3E%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cp%3E%3Cbr%3E%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3C/p%3E%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cp%3E%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cp%3E%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cp%3E%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cp%3E%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Ctable%20border='0'%20cellpadding='0'%20cellspacing='0'%20align='left'%3E%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Ctr%3E%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Ctd%20align='center'%20width="150">
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