Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | 24 Hawkeyes to Watch 2016-17 | Hawk Talk Monthly — March 2017 | NOTES — MINNESOTA/ARIZONA STATE
| MEET #7: IOWA at MINNESOTA, ARIZONA STATE |
| Date | Saturday, Mar. 11, 2017 | 7:00 p.m. (CT) |
| Location | Minneapolis | Sports Pavilion (5,840) |
| Tickets | http://bit.ly/2lHZsm8 |
| Television | None |
| Live Stream | BTN Plus |
| Live Stats | http://www.gophersports.com/livestats/m-gym/index.htm |
| Live Update | @mengymiowa |
THIS WEEK
The No. 8 University of Iowa men’s gymnastics team travels to Minneapolis to compete against No. 5 Minnesota and No. 15 Arizona State in a tri-meet on Saturday. Competition is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. (CT) at the Sports Pavilion.
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 finished second in a tri-meet against No. 7 Nebraska and No. 6 Penn State.
• The Hawkeyes beat Penn State, 413.550-409.650, and lost to Nebraska, 418.350-413.550.
• Junior Dylan Ellsworth won the event title on vault with a season-best score of 14.800.
• Freshman Andrew Herrador won the event title on high bar with a season-best score of 14.150.
• Senior Andrew Botto finished runner-up in the all-around with a season-best 81.850.
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. 8 in the Road to Nationals Poll.
• The Hawkeyes are ranked No. 8 in the March 6 Coaches Poll.
AROUND THE NATION
As a team, Iowa is ranked fourth on vault, sixth on high bar and eighth on parallel bars and rings.
SCOUTING THE FIELD
• No. 5 Minnesota finished second at the Arnold Challenge against No. 3 Ohio State and Ukraine with a score of 413.300 on Mar. 4.
• The Golden Gophers are ranked No. 2 on vault, No. 5 on floor and parallel bars, tied for fifth on rings, No. 7 on high bar and No. 8 on pommel horse.
• Iowa lost to Minnesota, 417.200-414.650, in a tri-meet with Oklahoma on Feb. 10.
• No. 15 Arizona State finished fourth at the Puerto Rico Invitational with a score of 381.60.
• The Sun Devils are tied for ninth on vault and No. 10 on floor in the natinal rankings.
• This is the first time the Hawkeyes have faced off against the Sun Devils since 2009. Iowa defeated Arizona State, 336.70-307.30, at the Pacific Coast Classic on Feb. 23, 2009.
IN THE RANKINGS
• Senior Andrew Botto is tied for seventh on vault (14.817), 14th on rings (14.333) and ranks No. 15 in the all-around (81.267) based on his three score average on roadtonationals.com.
• Senior Cory Paterson is tied for 27th on high bar with a three-score average of 13.933.
• Senior Mark Springett is tied for 26th on rings (14.133) and 28th on floor (14.183).
• Junior Dylan Ellsworth is tied for 12th on vault with a three-score average of 14.717.
• Junior Austin Hodges is No. 15 on pommel horse (14.233) and tied for 24th on high bar (14.017).
• Junior Elijah Parsells is No. 27 on pommel horse with a three-score average of 13.900.
• Sophomore Rogelio Vazquez is tied for 29th on rings with a three-score average of 14.067.
• Freshman Andrew Herrador is tied for 27th on high bar with a three-score average of 13.933
A POWERHOUSE CONFERENCE
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. 8 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) and vault (14.250) against Minnesota and Oklahoma on Feb. 10. He recorded a season-high 14.150 and won the event title on high bar at Nebraska on Mar. 4.
• 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 host the University of Nebraska at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Senior Night. Competition is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m (CT) on March 20.
