Feb. 7, 2010
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CHICAGO, IL – The University of Iowa men’s gymnastics team picked up a win against Illinois-Chicago Saturday at the UIC physical education building. The Hawkeyes scored a team total of 340.200, while the Flames posted a score 331.050.
With team leaders senior Jon Buese and junior Ben Ketelsen in Las Vegas, NV, competing in the Winter Cup, the young Hawkeyes had a different look. Freshman Matt McGrath stepped up for Iowa, winning two events and contributing a score on all five events he competed in.
McGrath took home first in rings (14.650) and vault (15.550) while placing second on floor exercise with a score of 14.600. Senior Reid Urbain won the floor exercise with a score of 15.050. Junior Mike Jiang brought home the title for the Hawkeyes on pommel horse, winning the event with a score of 14.150.
The Hawkeyes also held the title on parallel bars with a victory for Zach Cazabon. The sophomore won the event in convincing fashion with a score of 14.600, the best score in that event for any Hawkeye in the past two years. Additionally, senior Joel Snyder led the Black and Gold on horizontal bar with a third place finish and a score of 13.750.
“This was a big win and the guys competed great,” said Head Coach Tom Dunn. “With a couple of our leaders in Las Vegas, we had other guys step in and they did a fantastic job. This was probably our best meet of the year, to date, so I was very pleased.”
Iowa will travel to Oakland, CA to compete in the Pacific Coast Classic Feb. 20. Competition is set to start at 7:30 p.m.