Jan. 6, 2010
This Week — The University of Iowa women’s gymnastics team opens its season Saturday, traveling to Ann Arbor, MI to take on Michigan and Bowling Green in Crisler Arena. Meet time is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Scouting the Opponents — Michigan enters the 2010 season ranked No. 12 nationally. The Wolverines are coming off an impressive 2009 season which included their 17th Big Ten Conference Title as well as their 18th straight NCAA Regional appearance.
Bowling Green placed fourth at the Mid-American Conference Championships in 2009. The Falcons are led by senior Breanne Guy. Guy has advanced to Regionals in each of the past two years, finishing 16th in the all-around in 2008 and 10th in 2009.
Scouting the Hawkeyes — Iowa is coming off a 10-5 record and the second consecutive NCAA Regional appearance during its 2009 campaign. With 15 returning letterwinners, the Hawkeyes will be led by juniors Rebecca Simbhudas and Houry Gebeshian, as well as Arielle Sucich and sophomore Jessa Hansen.
Head Coach Larissa Libby — Entering her sixth season at Iowa, Larissa Libby has a career record of 45-51-1. She was named North Central Region Coach of the Year in 2009 for her efforts in guiding the GymHawks to a 10-5 record and a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Regionals. She was also named co-Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2008. Libby served as associate head coach in 2004 and assistant coach from 2001-03 at Iowa before being named head coach in 2005.
Quoting Coach Libby — “It’s always a tough time of year when you’re coming back from winter holidays and then you jump right in to gymnastics. There’s no real opportunity to get in ideal shape and start routines again, but what we do, we want done well. That has been our main focus. We’re working on the details so that the things we do, are done extremely well. We want to walk out of the meet feeling like we belong there and that we’re ready to contend for a Big Ten title.”
Next Competition — The Hawkeyes will host Michigan State and the University of Illinois Chicago, Jan. 15. Competition will take place at Carver-Hawkeye Arena and is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.