Feb. 16, 2013
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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The University of Iowa women’s gymnastics team led No. 21 Illinois on the first three events but could not seal the win on beam. The Fighting Illini edged the Hawkeyes, 195.975-195.875, inside Huff Hall on Saturday.
Sophomore Sydney Hoerr led the Hawkeyes with a career-best 39.350 in the all-around, finishing second behind Illinois senior Alina Weinstein’s 39.600. Weinstein, the 2/11 Big Ten Gymnast of the Week, broke the Illinois all-around school record. Sophomore Emma Willis placed fourth (39.100), and freshman Alie Glover placed sixth (38.350).
“It was very exciting to get back into all-around competition,” said Hoerr. “I was determined to get my spot back in the vault lineup and contribute on all four events. This meet showed our team how good we can truly be, and even though we gave it away on the last event, we’re going back into the gym to work on becoming the team I know we can be.”
Iowa started on bars, while Illinois took the vault. The Hawkeyes tallied a season-best 49.200, led by Hoerr’s career-high 9.900. Hoerr tied for the bar title with Illinois sophomore Sunny Kato. Senior Emma Stevenson earned 9.850, while seniors Kaitlynn Urano and Maya Wickus posted 9.825. Freshman Alie Glover also contributed a 9.800. Meanwhile, the Illini earned 48.875 on the vault, led by Weinstein’s 9.875.
The Hawkeyes moved to the vault and earned a season-best 49.225. Freshman Kyra Trowbridge and Willis paced Iowa with 9.875. Wickus earned 9.850, Hoerr posted 9.825, and Glover contributed 9.800. Freshman Adara Griffin made her collegiate debut on vault, earning 9.725. Illinois tallied 49.250 on bars, but Iowa held the overall lead, 98.425-98.125.
Iowa kept the momentum rolling on floor, scoring 49.150, while Illinois posted 48.700 on beam. Trowbridge led the Hawkeyes, tying her career-best 9.900 for second place. Stevenson posted her second 9.850 of the night, while Hoerr scored 9.825. Glover earned 9.8, and Urano added 9.775. Willis stepped out-of-bounds but scored 9.625. Iowa’s floor score was enough to stay ahead, 147.575-146.825.
In the final rotation, Iowa tallied 48.300 on beam. The Hawkeyes started with an uncharacteristic fall (9.150) from Glover. Urano earned 9.775, and Morreale followed with 9.000. Trowbridge scored 9.750, Hoerr added 9.800, and Willis anchored the event (9.825). Illinois totaled 49.150 on floor, with Weinstein scoring an impressive 9.975 for the floor title.
“We haven’t gone backwards yet,” said head coach Larissa Libby. “Every week, we make steady improvement. While it’s disappointing to not come home with a win, the score counting a fall is impressive. We’ve been focusing on turning it up from the very beginning. While we did that tonight, we lost our edge at the end. Heading into the meet against Minnesota, it’s going to take what we did on three events plus a strong closing performance.”
The GymHawks will return home to face the No. 11 Gophers on Friday, Feb. 22. Action is slated to start at 7 p.m. (CT) inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The dual meet will be aired on the Big Ten Network on Saturday, Feb. 23, at 5 p.m. CT.