Jan. 18, 2016
Final Results 
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — Seven season bests were not enough to lift the University of Iowa women’s gymnastics team over Denver on Monday afternoon, as the Hawkeyes fell to the Pioneers, 195.900-194.725, inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
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“We just competed on Friday night, drove home that evening, trained yesterday, and that is not something that we have done with this team,” said UI head coach Larissa Libby. “If I am being completely honest, this is exactly what I expected them to do. I think they are a little tired, and they are not yet sure how to pace themselves. Some things were so much better and some things fell by the wayside. I think they looked tired compared to how they looked Friday.”
Six GymHawks earned a total of seven season bests, while the team earned season-high scores on floor, beam, and vault to highlight the competition. Leading the pack was sophomore Lanie Syder with a pair of bests on bars (9.775) and a career-best on floor (9.825). Rounding out the season best list were senior Johanny Sotillo and juniors Mollie Drenth, Angel Metcalf, Lexi Mura and Savannah Borman.
Iowa started the night on vault, which resulted in a season-high team score of 48.650. Drenth led the GymHawks posting a 9.800 for third place overall. Metcalf also made her mark on vault, tallying a season-high score of 9.750 for fifth place overall.
After posting a 48.800 on bars, the Hawkeyes moved to beam where they earned a season-high team score of 48.300. Sotillo led the charge on beam, recording a season-high 9.825 to secure third place overall. Borman earned a season-high of her own, posting a 9.750.
The GymHawks closed the night on floor where Drenth posted a score of 9.850 to tie for first place overall in the event. Snyder followed, tallying a career-high score of 9.825 to place third overall.
“I was a little shocked that they went down on beam, because they were very prepared,” said Libby. “There were bright spots. Melissa Zurawski has been up and coming and was strong for us on three events. Lanie entered the floor lineup today and scored a 9.825. I was really pleased with that.
“We have things that are coming along very nicely. It is still early, but we are running out of time. We need to start making sure we don’t make mistakes in key places. For the most part we did. We could easily make up two points just eliminating those falls and that is the direction we need to go.”
The GymHawks return to action on Saturday, Jan. 23, when they host Big Ten foe Ohio State. The meet is slated to begin at 7 p.m. (CT) inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
