Jan. 28, 2010
- Iowa and the Big Ten Network
- Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch (2009-10 season)
THIS WEEK The No. 9 University of Iowa men’s gymnastics team will host No. 2 Michigan Saturday, Jan. 30th. Competition will begin at 7 p.m. at Carver Hawkeye Arena in the first co-ed meet since 2006. The women’s team will take on Illinois.
IN THE RANKINGS: The Hawkeyes are currently ranked No. 9 in the country. Big Ten opponents Illinois (No. 1), Michigan (No. 2), Penn State (No. 6) and Minnesota (No. 8) are all ranked in the top 10.
LAST TIME OUT: Iowa fell to the No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners Jan. 23 at a packed UI Fieldhouse, with a final score of 349.500 – 340.950 .
There were several improvements for the Hawkeyes, but the biggest story of the meet was freshman Matt McGrath. McGrath finished as the team-leader in floor exercise (15.00), rings (14.70), vault (15.55) and was second-best on parallel bars (13.9).
LAST TIME AGAINST MICHIGAN: The Hawkeyes were defeated by Michigan Feb. 2, 2008 at the UI Fieldhouse. The Hawkeyes scored a team total of 338.600, while the Wolverines posted 341.950.
Ben Ketelsen placed first in the all-around with a total score of 82.40, and was the winner of floor exercise, scoring 14.95. Jonathon Buese also placed first in parallel bars with a score of 14.60, giving him a season high in the event.
SCOUTING THE HAWKEYES: The Black and Gold return 11 letterwinners, including Iowa’s “one-two punch” of senior Jon Buese and junior Ben Ketelson. The Iowa roster is made up of 11 underclassmen on the 18-man roster with newcomers: Todd Becker, Anton Gryshayev, Timm Krueger, Jack McClay, Matt McGrath and Broderick Shemansky.
HEAD COACH Tom Dunn In his 29-year career as Iowa’s head gymnastics coach, Dunn has elevated the program’s status to one of a perennial national contender. With an Iowa record of 217-133-2, Dunn has led the Hawkeyes to 23 top-10 finishes in the NCAA Championships, and has competed in the national meet 24 of the past 29 seasons. Dunn has helped 33 individuals to earn 67 all-America honors and 22 gymnasts win 35 Big Ten titles. There have been 122 academic all-Big Ten selections and 78 all-America scholar athletes in his 29 seasons as Iowa’s head coach.
QUOTING HEAD COACH Tom Dunn: “Michigan will be a great team to watch this weekend. The pre-season conference favorite is now ranked No. 2 nationally. Hopefully we will catch them a little tired after they defeated Penn State Sunday. It has been about four years since we had a co-ed meet in Carver-Hawkeye Arena and the team is looking forward to it. If we can continue to improve like we have in the first two weeks of the season we will surprise some good teams along the way.”