March 17, 2011
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THIS WEEK: The University of Iowa men’s gymnastics team will face No. 8 Nebraska and No. 9 Minnesota at Lincoln, Nebraska, this Saturday. Start time is 7 p.m. inside the Devaney Center. This will be Iowa’s second triangular of the season, as the Hawkeyes placed third against Minnesota and Penn State earlier. Iowa has met both of these squads once already this year. This meet will be concluding the regular season for Iowa as well.
SCOUTING REPORT: Iowa’s best meet of the season came against Nebraska at home, where Iowa broke three school record and finished with a team score of 348.100. Since then, the Huskers have fallen to No. 1 Stanford and placed third against Ohio State and Illinois. Nebraska has four gymnasts ranked. Iowa has met Minnesota twice this season, falling both times. The Golden Gophers are coming off of a first place finish in a triangular. Minnesota has three gymnasts ranked.
LAST TIME OUT: The Hawkeyes made a westward trip for the last event, but came up short against another top ranked squad. Third-ranked California topped Iowa 353.350-337.950. Sophomore Matt McGrath led the way with two second place finishes. McGrath placed second on floor exercise (14.650) and on vault (16.100). McGrath’s score on vault was also a team season high. Seniors Ben Ketelsen and Mike Jiang also notched 14.900 on pommel horse to tie for second, as the mark also provided a team season best. Javier Balboa earned a fourth place finish on rings (13.750), freshman Lance Alberhasky placed fourth on parallel bars (14.150), and sophomore Broderick Shemansky added a fifth place finish on horizontal bar (14.150). All three of Iowa’s dual losses this season have come to opponents ranked within the top eight.
IN THE RANKINGS: Iowa is currently ranked 11th in the most recent polls, dropping one spot after last week. McGrath is ranked No. 8 on floor exercise and Gryshayev is ranked 14th on rings.
ONE-UPPER: Gryshayev topped himself yet again, setting the school record on rings for the third time. His score of 15.200 against Minnesota beat his previous score of 15.100. Gryshayev owns the top three scores on the event in program history.
McGRATH OWNS FLOOR RECORD: McGrath’s 15.500 score on floor exercise etched his name in the record books. The mark set a school record, which was previously owned by Geoff Reins (15.450 in 2009). The score is also the seventh best score recorded in the nation this season.
A NEW ERA: The Hawkeyes will have a new man at the helm this season, as JD Reive was announced to fill the head coaching vacancy left by the retirement of Tom Dunn after his 30th season. Reive is the seventh men’s gymnastics coach in program history. Reive comes from Stanford, where he served as an assistant coach for seven seasons and helped the Cardinal reach four top-three finishes at the NCAA Championships. He was also honored as the Collegiate Gymnastics Association Assistant Coach of the Year on three occasions. Assisting Reive will be Dmitri Trouch and Brad Virkler.
UP NEXT: Iowa will enter the postseason following this meet. Next on the slate for the Hawkeyes will be the Big Ten Championships on April 1-2. The meet is being held in Champaign, Illinois. The team competition will be Friday at 7 p.m. while the individual event finals will be Saturday at 7 p.m. as well.