Jan. 11, 2014
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa women’s gymnastics team opened its 2014 season against Utah State Saturday night inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, being ultimately defeated by the Aggies 191.75 to 191.65.
“I’m not overly pleased,” said Larissa Libby. “I think they did a great job in light of tragic events, but we have a long way to go. It’s definitely not where I had hoped we would start. We’ve got a long way to go.”
Six freshmen — Jordyn Doherty, Mollie Drenth, Ashleigh Edlin, Amanda Kowalski, Caroline McCrady, and Angel Metcalf — made their collegiate debuts.
Freshman Lexi Mura did not compete after an injury during vault warm-ups; however, sophomore Sydney Hoerr quickly fell into her spot on vault.
“To be honest, it was one of the greatest moments out there. I turned in desperation, and she came to me and she said, `look at me, I have this. Just trust me.’ When your athlete looks at you and says that, you have to trust them,” Libby said.
It was a strong start for the GymHawks on both vault and bars. Kowalski finished first on vault with a 9.800, contributing to the Hawkeyes team total of 48.275. Metcalf and Hoerr came in first (9.800) and second (9.750) on bars respectively.
Going into the final rotation the GymHawks found themselves trailing 144.200 to 144.475 and seemed to edge out the Aggies for the final win, 191.950 to 191.750. However after a failed video review resulted in a .30 deduction to Iowa’s final team score, what was a win became a .025 loss to Utah State.
Metcalf stood out at the meet, finishing first on beam (9.775), bars (9.800), and in the all-around with a final score of 38.975.
The GymHawks return to action next weekend. Iowa will travel to Muncie, Ind., to take on Ball State on Friday, January 17. The meet is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. (CT) inside John E. Worthen Arena.
