Feb. 10, 2009
IOWA CITY-
THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa men’s gymnastics team will host the University of Nebraska and the University of Minnesota in Iowa City. Competition is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in the UI Fieldhouse.
TEAM RANKINGS
The Hawkeyes head into the weekend ranked 14th, according to the GymInfo weekly poll, released Feb. 9. Minnesota is currently ranked sixth, while Nebraska is ranked ninth.
LAST TIME OUT
The Hawkeyes fell to Big Ten opponent Michigan in Ann Arbor Jan. 30 by a score of 321.55 to 347.90. Senior Geoff Reins once again captured first place on vault (15.65) and also snagged a third place finish on floor exercise (14.35). Iowa continued to dominate the vault, with Ben Ketelsen coming in second with a 15.45 and Jonathan Buese scoring a 15.05 for fourth place. Freshman Zach Cazabon broke the individual event season record on pommel horse (13.60), while Buese broke the record on horizontal bar (13.70).
LAST YEAR AGAINST THESE OPPONENTS
Iowa was defeated by Nebraska 349.40-353.60 in a close meet in Lincoln. The Hawkeyes tied their 2008 team high score and posted two first place finishes by Reins on floor exercise (15.10) and vault (16.30). Iowa later fell to Minnesota as well, 343.75 to 351.50. Reid Urbain scored 14.55 on rings, posting a third place finish for the Hawkeyes.
HEAD COACH Tom Dunn
In his 28th year at Iowa, Head Coach Tom Dunn, has recorded a 213-112-2 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.
QUOTING COACH DUNN
“We look forward to competing at home and having an outstanding Senior Night performance. Both Minnesota and Nebraska will come to Iowa City ranked ahead of us, but traditionally these are our biggest rivals and the competition should be close.”