Men's Gymnastics Travels to Nebraska for Saturday Tri-Meet

Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | 24 Hawkeyes to Watch 2016-17 | Hawk Talk Monthly — Feb. 2017 | NOTES — NEBRASKA, PENN STATE

THIS WEEK
The No. 9 University of Iowa men’s gymnastics team travels to Lincoln, Nebraska, to compete against No. 7 Nebraska and No. 6 Penn State in a tri-meet on Saturday. Competition is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. (CT) at the Bob Devaney Sport Center.

FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can follow the meet online through live streaming and live stats. A link to both will be available on the Iowa men’s gymnastics schedule page at hawkeyesports.com. Fans can also follow along with updates on Twitter (@mensgymiowa) and Facebook (iowagymnastics).

LAST TIME OUT

• Iowa lost to undefeated Illinois, 397.100-409.950 on Feb. 25.
• Senior Andrew Botto won the all-around title with a season-best 81.550.
• Botto won his second event title of the meet on vault with a season-best 14.950.

BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP TICKETS
The 2017 Big Ten Championships will be hosted by the University of Illinois on April 7-8. Tickets are on sale now. To purchase tickets, visit fightingillini.com or contact the Illinois Ticket Office at 1-866-ILLINI-1. 

IN THE RANKINGS

• Iowa is ranked No. 9 in the Road to Nationals Poll. 
• The Hawkeyes are ranked No. 9 in the Feb. 27 Coaches Poll.

AROUND THE NATION
As a team, Iowa is ranked third on vault, sixth on high bar, eighth on parallel bars and ninth on rings.

SCOUTING THE FIELD

• No. 7 Nebraska defeated UIC, 406.300-367.950, on Feb. 26.
• The Cornhuskers are ranked No. 3 on floor, No. 5 on vault and parallel bars and No. 8 on pommel horse and rings. 
• Iowa and Nebraska tied for second place with a score of 432.450 in a tri-meet against Minnesota on March 20, 2016.
• No. 6 Penn State defeated Navy, 409.440-399.250, on Feb. 25. 
• The Nittany Lions are ranked No. 3 on pommel horse, No. 4 on rings and parallel bars, No. 9 on floor and high bar and No. 10 on vault.
• Iowa defeated Penn State, 431.150-424.000, in a tri-meet against Nebraska on Feb. 27, 2016.

IN THE RANKINGS

• Senior Andrew Botto is No. 9 on vault (14.767), No. 18 on the all-around (80.450) and No. 27 on rings (14.050) based on his three score average on roadtonationals.com
• Senior Cory Paterson is tied for 23rd on high bar with a three score average of 13.933. 
• Senior Mark Springett is tied for 24th on floor (14.167), No. 28 on vault (14.367) and tied for 30th on rings (14.017) as reported by his three score average on roadtonationals.com
• Junior Dylan Ellsworth is No. 14 on vault (14.65), tied for 27th on parallel bars (13.967) and tied for 28th on rings (14.033) according to his three score average on Road to Nationals.
• Junior Austin Hodges is tied for 20th on pommel horse (13.950) and high bar (14.017). He is tied for 30th on parallel bars with a three score average of 13.933.

BIG TEN POWER
The Big Ten Conference has been dominant this season. Of the top 10 teams listed on roadtonationals.com, six are from the Big Ten, including No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Illinois, No. 5 Penn State, No. 6 Minnesota, No. 7 Nebraska and No. 9 Iowa.

TWO HAWKEYES NAMED TO WATCH LIST
Juniors Dylan Ellsworth and Austin Hodges were named to the 2017 Big Ten Men’s Gymnasts to Watch list, the conference office announced Dec. 15. 

• Ellsworth placed fifth overall during event finals at the Big Ten Championships last season. He went on to tie for 26th on vault and 18th on parallel bars during the second day of of the 2016 NCAA championships.
• Hodges recorded a career-best score of 14.725 on pommel horse to finish seventh at the Big Ten Championships and ended the 2016 season with a 25th place finish on high bar during day two of the NCAA Championships. 

ROSTER BREAKDOWN
The 2017 men’s gymnastics team breaks down into six freshmen, four sophomores, three juniors and four seniors.

FRESHMEN CONTRIBUTORS

• Five freshmen have found their way into the Iowa lineup this season. 
• Andrew Herrador has competed in every meet for the Hawkeyes this season, making the lineup on floor, pommel horse, vault and high bar. He posted season-high scores on floor (13.750), vault (14.250) and high bar (13.900) against Minnesota and Oklahoma on Feb. 10. 
• Mitch Mandozzi has competed in every meet for the Hawkeyes this season, making the lineup on vault and parallel bars. He posted a season-high 13.500 on parallel bars against Minnesota and Oklahoma on Feb. 10. 
• Nick Merryman has competed in every meet for the Hawkeyes this season, making the lineup on pommel horse, rings, parallel bars and high bar. He made to the final session at the Winter Cup Challenge on Feb. 18 where he posted a season-high 13.900 on pommel horse. 
• Brandon Wong has competed twice for Iowa on rings. He recorded a season-best 12.300 at California on Feb 6. 
• Josh Zeal has competed in four events this season on floor and vault. He notched a season-high 14.250 on vault against Minnesota and Oklahoma.

SCORING CHANGES
A new scoring system has been implemented this year.  The new system eliminates an element category in five of the six events, which means that each gymnast will do one less skill in their routine.  The old scoring system was based off of five element groups.  The result of the change is that each gymnast’s score will be .500 points lower than before and team scores will be 15 points lower.

NEW FACE
Former University of Iowa gymnast Thomas Buese was named the University of Iowa men’s gymnastics assistant coach in August. Buese competed for the Hawkeyes from 2005-08. He was a four-time letter winner and was team captain in 2008. 

FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES
For an inside look at the Iowa men’s gymnastics program and access to exclusive coverage, “like” Iowa Men’s Gymnastics on Facebook and follow @MensGymIowa on Twitter and @IowaMGym on Instagram.

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes head to Minneapolis, Minn. to face off against the University of Minnesota and Arizona State University at the Sports Pavilion. Competition is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m (CT) on March 11.