Feb. 23, 2014
- Read the February issue of Hawk Talk Monthly
- 2014 Media Guide
- Download your Iowa Hawkeye iPhone app!
- Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch
- Download your Hawk Talk Monthly iOS app
- Download your Hawk Talk Monthly android app
CHICAGO, Ill. — The No. 8 University of Iowa men’s gymnastics team got its first win of the season as they defeated the University of Illinois-Chicago Flames 431.400-409.900 Sunday afternoon in Chicago.
“It was another good performance and quantified team success at UIC tonight marked the last 6 up/5 count meet of the 2014 season,” head coach JD Reive stated. “Having several major contributing routines competing at Winter Cup created opportunity for a few different Hawkeyes to represent in Chicago. The win and the score show the competitive depth and improvement across the entire lineup and our backup routines in the gym.”
The Hawkeyes dominated the entire meet as they had leading team scores in every event and first place finishes in four out of six events.
On floor, four Hawkeyes took the top-four finishes as redshirt sophomore Cyrus Dobre-Mofid won the event with a score of 14.850. Finishing out the top spots were junior Brandon Field (14.600), freshman Mark Springett (14.550), who made his Hawkeye debut, and sophomore Jack Boyle (14.400).
Iowa was led by sophomore Del Vecchio Orozco on the pommel horse as he tallied a 14.100 and took the runner-up spot. Sophomore Emmanuel Monroy did not trail behind far, as he scored a 14.050 and finished third, followed by sophomore Doug Sullivan with a 13.850.
The rings were conquered by Iowa, as Boyle recorded a season-high 15.600 and took the top spot in the event. Finishing in second was redshirt senior Matt McGrath with a 15.400 and sophomore Matt Loochtan took third with a 15.050.
Dobre-Mofid, once again, boosted the Hawkeyes with a runner-up finish on vault as he recorded a 14.500. Field took third with a score of 14.150 and junior William Albert tied for fourth with a 14.100.
On parallel bars, Dobre-Mofid helped record another season-high with a 15.000 and win his second event of the afternoon. The Hawkeyes finished out the top-four spots with redshirt junior Lance Alberhasky and Boyle both tying for second with scores of 14.900 and junior Mitchell Landau taking fourth with a 14.350.
The Hawkeyes finished in dominating fashion by taking the top-five spots on horizontal bar. Boyle won the event with a score of 14.700 and freshman Cory Paterson took the runner-up spot with a 14.550. Rounding out the top-five were Dobre-Mofid (14.500), Landau (14.150), and Alberhasky (13.950).
As the lone Hawkeye in the all-around competition, Boyle took first out of four competitors with a season-high 86.600. The score also tied former Iowa standout Javier Balboa’s all-around record, set in 2013.
After the weekend, Reive is anxious for his team’s progress to continue.
“It was an exciting meet after a long week in Las Vegas and an excellent showing heading into the final stretch of the 2014 season. Next weekend begins 5 up/5 count and putting the most consistent team on the floor is paramount. Tonight’s win over UIC makes that process all the more competitive, but still with significant room for improvement.”
Up next, the Hawkeyes travel to Columbus, Ohio, to compete at the 14th annual Arnold Classic on Saturday, March 1.