March 17, 2012
Denver, Colo. — The University of Iowa women’s gymnastics team posted a score of 194.500 on its way to a third place finish in Denver, Colo., on Saturday evening. Minnesota (196.225) won the four-team meet while host Denver University (196.200) finished second. Arizona State placed fourth with a mark of 194.225. Action was held inside Denver’s Magness Arena in front of nearly 2,000 fans.
The GymHawks began the meet on beam where they tallied a score of 47.650. Jessa Hansen led Iowa in the event with a score of 9.800. The senior finished tied for sixth. Senior Annie Szatkowski finished in 14th with a 9.700 as sophomore Tesla Cox (9.625) tied for 16th. Additionally, senior Jordan Eszlinger cracked the beam lineup for the first time in her career, recording a mark of 9.475.
Moving to floor in the second rotation, Iowa earned a team score of 48.675. Junior Emma Stevenson led the way with a 9.825. The Winfield, Ill., native tied for fourth place. Freshmen Sydney Hoerr and Emma Willis earned a score of 9.750 apiece. The duo tied for 16th. Freshman Miranda Meyer tied for 18th with a mark of 9.725.
Iowa recorded a score of 49.050 on vault. Stevenson earned the GymHawks’ highest finish of the night, matching a career high of 9.875 to tie for second place. Hansen tied a career best of 9.850 to finish tied for sixth in the event. Senior Rachel Corcoran, junior Maya Wickus, Cox and Willis finished in a four-way tie for 14th, each recording a score of 9.775.
The GymHawks earned their highest mark of the night on bars (49.125) which tied for the highest team mark in the event. Eszlinger and Cox both finished with scores of 9.850 to tie for fourth. Stevenson and Hansen finished tied for ninth with identical scores of 9.825. Wickus posted a career mark of 9.775 to finish tied for 12th.
Hansen, Iowa’s only all-around competitor for the night, finished with a score of 39.100. The two-time all-Big Ten honoree finished in sixth place.
Iowa will jump right into the postseason when it hosts the 2012 Big Ten Championships in Iowa City. Action will be held inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 24.