April 22, 2010
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GAINESVILLE, FL – University of Iowa women’s gymnast Rebecca Simbhudas became the fourth GymHawk in program history to compete as an individual in the NCAA Championships when she took the floor of the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, FL, Thursday afternoon. Simbhudas, a native of Markham, Ontario, placed eleventh in the all-around competition after scoring a 39.150. Simbhudas rotated with No. 3 UCLA, who finished first of six teams in session one with a score of 196.875.
Simbhudas began the meet on bars where she scored a 9.800, earning herself a share of 18th place. Moving on to beam, Simbhudas posted an impressive 9.850 and tied for seventh, besting all competitors from UCLA. Simbhudas’ beam performance earned her second-team all-American honors, making her the first Iowa gymnast to do so in the event.
“Rebecca did an amazing job all day, especially on beam,” said Head Coach Larissa Libby. “She made people stand up and notice who Iowa was, and it was nice to be back in the national scene with a student-athlete who means business.”
Simbhudas then moved to floor where her score of 9.650 was good for a share of 39th. Finishing up on vault, Simbhudas tied for 14th after recording a 9.850.
“Rebecca adjusted to what she needed to be in this arena, and did an impeccable job at that,” said Libby. “I’m hopeful that she’ll be able to come back and embody what she saw here.”
With that invaluable national experience under her belt, Simbhudas will have a wealth of knowledge to share with a young squad returning for next year. With its best Big Ten finish in six years (3rd) and only one senior graduating, Iowa will have a lot to work off of in next year’s campaign.
“I think today Rebecca saw the level that you need to compete at in order to keep up with this competition,” added Libby. “UCLA is a phenomenal team, but we also have kids capable of going to that level. It’s all about getting out of your shell and being confident enough to go 150 percent every time. That’s what makes the difference and I think she’s seen that throughout all the teams here today.”
With just the top four individual event scores advancing to the final round, Simbhudas will put an end to her junior year as a Hawkeye. A year that was packed with individual records being broken, multiple event titles begin won and even a Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honor along the way, Simbhudas has a lot to look forward to for her senior campaign.