Jan. 15, 2013
- Read the January issue of Hawk Talk Monthly
- PURCHASE 2013 SEASON TICKETS
- Download your Iowa Hawkeye iPhone app!
- Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch
THIS WEEK:
The 10th-ranked University of Iowa men’s gymnastics team opens the 2013 season this weekend when it travels to the Windy City Invitational in Chicago. The 43rd annual Windy City Invite is scheduled to begin Saturday at 7:30 p.m. (CT) at UIC’s Physical Education Building. Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio State will join the Hawkeyes at the Invite.
SEASON TICKETS:
Season tickets are currently on sale for $15 for adults. Fans purchasing season tickets will gain admission to four home meets, including two against league foes. The season ticket package includes premium seating options and one Iowa men’s gymnastics t-shirt. All youth, 18 and younger, and UI students are admitted free to all home matches. Iowa opens against 2012 national runner-up Oklahoma at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Feb. 2. Fans interested in attending home meets at Carver-Hawkeye Arena should visit hawkeyesports.com or contact the UI Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800 IA-HAWKS.
LAST TIME OUT:
Iowa concluded its 2012 season at the NCAA Championships in Norman, Okla. The Hawkeyes had three gymnasts competing in the individual event semifinals. Javier Balboa placed 14th in the all-around competition. Broderick Shemansky also competed in the all-around, finishing 19th. Anton Gryshayev competed on rings, earning 17th place. All three seniors return to lead the Hawkeyes in 2013.
IN THE RANKINGS:
The Hawkeyes are currently ranked 10th by GymInfo in the 2013 Preseason Coaches Poll. All seven Big Ten teams are ranked in the top 10. Illinois leads the way at No. 1, followed by preseason league favorite Michigan (No. 2). Penn State sits in fourth, while Minnesota (No. 7), Ohio State (No. 8) and Nebraska (No. 9) join the Hawkeyes in the top 10.
SCOUTING UIC:
UIC lost its season opener to Illinois last Saturday at home, 425.450-385.750. Iowa won the last meeting against the Flames, 332.100-325.200, on Jan. 28, 2012, in Chicago.
2013 ROSTER:
This year’s roster welcomes eight incoming freshmen. The Hawkeyes return a redshirt freshman, four sophomores, two juniors and five seniors.
HEAD COACH JD Reive:
JD Reive is in his third season as head coach of the University of Iowa men’s gymnastics team. In just his first season at the helm of the Iowa program, the Hawkeyes broke four team records and five individual records under Reive’s guidance. Iowa broke the total team score record with a 351.800 on March 24, 2011. Six gymnasts punched their tickets to compete individually at the NCAA Championships in Reive’s first season. Reive coached his first Hawkeye to All-America honors with Matt McGrath in 2011. In 2012, he coached three Hawkeyes (Javier Balboa, Broderick Shemansky, Anton Gryshayev) to the individual event semifinals at the NCAA Championships. Reive, who is the seventh head coach in the program’s 82-year history, came to Iowa City after serving as an assistant coach at men’s gymnastics powerhouse Stanford from 2003-10.
COACHING STAFF:
Iowa welcomes two new faces to the coaching staff for the 2013 season. Michael Heredia and Ben Ketelson will assist head coach JD Reive. Heredia, a native of Reno, Nev., began his collegiate gymnastics career at Nebraska (2009-10) and finished his collegiate career at Oklahoma (2010-12). As a Sooner, Heredia was a two-year letterwinner on a team that finished second at the 2011 and 2012 NCAA Championships. He earned All-America status on the vault as a senior in 2012. Ketelsen, who hails from Lancaster, Ohio, has been a member of the Iowa men’s gymnastics program for the last five years. He competed at Iowa from 2007-11 before serving as a volunteer assistant coach last season. Ketelsen was a four-year letterwinner for the Hawkeyes and served as team captain in 2010 and 2011. He was a Big Ten event finalist and an NCAA qualifier.
UP NEXT:
Iowa will travel to the Metroplex Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, on Jan. 25. The event is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. (CT).