Feb. 22, 2012
THIS WEEK: The No. 12 University of Iowa men’s gymnastics team will face top-ranked Oklahoma on Saturday. The meet will begin at 7 p.m. (CT) inside the McCasland Field House.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: Oklahoma has been ranked No. 1 in the last five GymInfo rankings. The Sooners are coming off victories against California and Stanford. Oklahoma has 11 nationally ranked gymnasts. Junior Jake Dalton is ranked No. 1 on all-around.
LAST TIME OUT: The Hawkeyes set a season high team score in a tri-meet against Minnesota and Nebraska. Iowa scored a 334.500, but came in third. The Hawkeyes had eight top-four finishes. Junior Broderick Shemasnky placed first on all-around (82.500) to set a career best. Junior Javier Balboa tied for first on parallel bars (14.800) and helped Iowa’s team total on the event surpass both Minnesota and Nebraska. Balboa has the top two scores on the event in program history. Junior Matt McGrath placed second on rings and freshman Mitchell Landau placed third on parallel bars.
HAWKEYES KEEP GETTING BETTER: Iowa has improved its team score from one meet to the next in every meet this season. Iowa’s score against Minnesota and Nebraska was 17.700 points better than Iowa’s first score of the season
IN THE RANKINGS: Iowa is ranked 12th in the nation in the most recent poll, and has been ranked within the top-14 all season. Iowa has two nationally ranked gymnasts. Balboa is ranked fourth on parallel bars. Landau is also ranked on the event, coming in at 20th. Balboa is also ranked eighth
BIG TEN NETWORK: The Hawkeyes will have three televised meets this season on the Big Ten Network. Iowa’s meet at Minnesota on March 3 will be televised on tape delay at 3:30 p.m. (CT) on March 10th. Both days of the Big Ten Championships, hosted by Iowa April 6-7, will be televised live at 7 p.m. (CT). Iowa’s home meet against Minnesota and Nebraska on Feb. 11 was televised live.
HEAD COACH JD Reive: JD Reive is in his second season at the helm of the program after a record-setting season his first year at Iowa. Six gymnasts punched their ticket to the NCAA Championships under Reive’s guidance. Iowa also broke four team records and five individual records. Reive came to Iowa after serving as an assistant coach at Stanford from 2003-10, where he helped coach 44 All-Americans.
UP NEXT: Iowa will compete in a tri-meet against Minnesota and Brockport on March 3 in Minneapolis. The meet will begin at 7 p.m. (CT). The event will be televised on tape delay by BTN on March 10th.
