March 1, 2014
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COLUMBUS, Ohio — The No. 8 University of Iowa men’s gymnastics team finished runner-up with a score of 431.600 Saturday afternoon at the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio. No. 2 Michigan won the meet with a score of 437.500 and No. 3 Ohio State placed third with a score of 429.500. The victory over Ohio State marked Iowa’s first win over a team ranked in the top five this season.
No. 11 Nebraska finished fourth with a score of 424.750, followed by the Canadian National Team in fifth with a score of 401.300 and Arizona State with a score of 401.050. The meet was also the start of the new 5-up, 5-count system for the NCAA.
“For our first 5-up,5-count meet, it went fantastic,” head coach JD Reive said. “Beating Ohio State was huge. I am incredibly proud of how we performed today. It was a great showing for us heading into the final part of the season.”
The Hawkeyes dominated on rings, as they set a new team record with an event score of 75.350 and had five athletes place in the top 10. McGrath proved his All-American status, winning the event with a 15.450. Loochtan finished runner-up as he recorded a 15.300, and freshman Andrew Botto tied for sixth with a 15.000. Redshirt junior Lance Alberhasky placed eighth with a 14.900 and Boyle finished ninth with a 14.700.
On floor, the Hawkeyes were led by redshirt senior Matt McGrath who finished fifth in the event with a score of 15.000. Sophomore Matt Loochtan tied for sixth with a score of 14.900, and sophomore Jack Boyle placed 15th with a 14.450 effort.
Sophomore Del Vecchio Orozco tied for sixth on pommel horse with a score of 14.650. Junior Mitchell Landau tied for 13th, posting a 14.000, and sophomore Doug Sullivan tied for 16th with a score of 13.900.
McGrath, once again, led the Hawkeyes on vault by tying for third with a 14.900. Redshirt sophomore Cyrus Dobre-Mofid tied for fifth, as he recorded a 14.750, and Botto finished 15th with a 14.150.
Iowa had another impressive showing on parallel bars, as three athletes placed in the top 10. Dobre-Mofid and Landau both tied for fifth with a matching score of 14.650. Boyle finished ninth with a 14.400 to improve his mark on all-around.
On the final event of the afternoon, the Hawkeyes saw another set of athletes place in the top ten on horizontal bar. Landau led Iowa with a fifth place finish, as he scored a 15.150. Boyle took eighth with a 14.900, and Alberhasky tied for ninth with a 14.650.
Boyle won his third all-around title this season with a score of 85.100.
As the Hawkeyes prepare for another meeting with No. 5 Minnesota, Reive believes that consistency will be a key factor.
“We had great amount of energy today. Going up to Minnesota, consistency is very crucial and we need to improve upon that this week in practice,” Reive said.
The Hawkeyes travel to Minneapolis to compete against the Gophers on Saturday, March 8 at 7 p.m. (CT).