Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | 24 Hawkeyes to Watch 2016-17 | Hawk Talk Monthly — Dec. 2016
IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa juniors Dylan Ellsworth and Austin Hodges were named to the 2017 Big Ten Men’s Gymnasts to Watch list, the conference office announced Thursday.
Ellsworth, a Farmington, Utah, native is included on the list for the first time in his career. He competed in every competition last year, setting career-highs on every event and the all-around. He placed fifth overall during event finals at the Big Ten Championships last season, and went on to tie for 26th on vault and 18th on parallel bars during the second day of the 2016 NCAA championships.
A native of Lincolnshire, Illinois, Hodges earns his first watch list honor. Hodges recorded a career-best score of 14.450 on high bar at Nebraska (3/20/16) last season. Two weeks later, he recorded a career-high 14.725 on pommel horse to finish seventh at the Big Ten Championships. Hodges ended the 2016 season with a 25th-place finish on high bar during day two of the NCAA Championships.
As a team, the Hawkeyes are ranked sixth in the Big Ten Men’s Gymnastics Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
Iowa opens the 2017 season on Jan. 14 at the Windy City Invitational in Chicago, Illinois. The Hawkeyes begin their home slate on Jan. 22 against UIC.
BIG TEN MEN’S GYMNASTICS PRESEASON COACHES’ POLL
- Ohio State
- Minnesota
- Illinois
- Penn State
- Nebraska
- Iowa
- Michigan
BIG TEN MEN’S GYMNASTS TO WATCH LIST
Alex Diab, So., ILL
Brandon Ngai, Jr., ILL
Dylan Ellsworth, Jr., IOWA
Austin Hodges, Jr., IOWA
Dmitri Belanovski, Jr., MICH
Tristian Perez-Rivera, Sr., MICH
Tristan Duran, Jr., MINN
Zach Liebler, Sr., MINN
Austin Epperson, Sr., NEB
Anton Stephenson, So., NEB
Tristan Burke, So., OSU
Jake Martin, Sr., OSU
Leroy Clarke, Sr., PSU
Dominic DiFulvio, Sr., PSU