Hawkeyes Travel to NCAA Championships

Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | Hawk Talk Monthly — April 2017 | 24 Hawkeyes to Watch 2016-17 – /sports/2016/7/20/24-hawkeyes-to-watch-2016-17.aspx | Notes NCAA Championships

THIS WEEK
The No. 8 University of Iowa men’s gymnastics team travels to West Point, New York, to compete at the NCAA Championships on Friday and Saturday. The action begins at 6 p.m. (CT) on Friday and continues at 6 p.m. on Saturday. 

THE FORMAT
The Hawkeyes will compete in the second session, beginning at 6 p.m. Iowa will compete against No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 4 Illinois, No. 5 Minnesota, No. 9 California, and No. 12 Navy. The top three teams from each session, the top three all-arounders not on a qualified team, and the top three on each event who are not qualified on a team or in the all-around will compete in the finals on Saturday. 

FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can follow the meet 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 sixth at the Big Ten Championships on April 7 with a team score of 402.150.
• Five Hawkeyes advanced to day two including, Andrew Botto, Cory Paterson, Mark Springett, Elijah Parsells, and Dylan Ellsworth.
• Botto scored a 14.300 on rings and tied for runner-up on day one. He scored a 13.775 and finished seventh in the finals . 
• Paterson notched a 14.300 and finished fifth on high bar to advance to day two. He earned the silver medal in the event with a score of 14.350 in the finals.   
• Springett advanced to day two on rings with a score of 13.800 to finish tenth. He took the podium finishing fifth with a score of 14.050 in the finals. 
• Parsells tallied a 14.050 on pommel horse to advance to day two. He notched a 13.950 to finish sixth in the finals. 
• Ellsworth advanced to day two  on vault with a score of 14.600 to finish seventh. He took the podium in fifth place with a score of 14.300 in the finals.  

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP TICKETS
Tickets for the 2017 NCAA Championships are on sale now. To purchase tickets, visit goarmywestpoint.com or contact the West Point Ticket Office at (845)TIX-ARMY. 

IN THE RANKINGS

• Iowa is ranked No. 8 in the Road to Nationals Poll and in the April 10 Coaches Poll.
• As a team, Iowa is ranked fifth on pommel horse, sixth on vault, seventh on rings and high bar, ninth on parallel bars, 13th on floor.

NATIONAL RANKINGS

• Senior Andrew Botto is ranked 12th in the all-around ( 79.938) and 11th on rings (14.288).
• Senior Cory Paterson is ranked 10th on high bar with a National Qualifying Average of 14.250.
• Red shirt junior Mark Springett is tied for 22nd on rings with a NQA of 13.705. 
• Junior Austin Hodges is tied for 15th on pommel horse (14.200) and ranked 23rd on parallel bars (14.000).
• Junior Elijah Parsells is tied for 20th on pommel horse with a NQA of 13.925.
• Junior Dylan Ellsworth is ranked 12th on vault with a NQA of 14.638.
• Freshman Nick Merryman is ranked 24th on pommel horse with a NQA of 13.788.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA

• No. 1 Oklahoma won its sixth straight Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship with a score of 432.200. 
• They ended the regular season with a perfect record.
• Allan Bower and Colin Van Wicklen are Nissen Emery Award Finalists. The Nissen Emery Award is college gymnastics’ highest honor. It is presented annually to the year’s outstanding senior collegiate gymnast. The winner must be an example of good sportsmanship and fair play…a champion in defeat as well as in victory. He must also maintain a high standard of scholarship throughout his college career. 
• Oklahoma is ranked first on pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars, and high bar, and second on floor.
• Oklahoma defeated Iowa, 427.000-414.650, in a tri-meet against Minnesota on Feb. 10.

SCOUTING ILLINOIS

• No. 4 Illinois placed second at the Big Ten Championship with a score of 416.400.
• The Fighting Illini won three event titles. Brandon Ngai won the pommel horse title with a score of 14.825, Johnny Jacobson won the parallel bars title with a score of 14.550, and Alex Diab won his second straight ring title with a score of 14.875. 
• Illinois is ranked third on floor and high bar, fourth on vault, sixth on pommel horse and rings, and seventh on parallel bars. 
• Iowa lost to Illinois, 409.950-397.100, on Feb. 25.  

SCOUTING MINNESOTA

• No. 5 Minnesota finished third at the Big Ten Championship with a score of 413.300.
• Alex Wittenberg won the floor title with a score of 14.550. 
• The Golden Gophers are ranked second on vault, fourth on floor and rings, fifth on parallel bars, sixth on high bar, and seventh on pommel horse.
• Iowa lost to Minnesota, 411.200-406.850, in a tri-meet with Arizona State.  

SCOUTING CALIFORNIA

• No. 9 California finished third at the MPSF Championship with a score of 410.100.
• The Bears are ranked fifth on high bar, ninth on floor and rings, 10th on vault, 11th on parallel bars, and 15th on pommel horse. 
• Iowa defeated Cal, 399.900-396.550, on Feb. 6. 

SCOUTING NAVY

• No. 12 Navy finished second at the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship with a score of 402.550.
• Navy is ranked eighth on parallel bars, ninth on high bar, 11th on rings,12th on floor, 13th on pommel horse, and 14th on vault.  

A POWERHOUSE CONFERENCE
The Big Ten Conference has been dominant this season. Seven Big Ten team qualified for the NCAA Championship. 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 Minnesota, No. 6 Penn State, No. 7 Nebraska, 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 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 recorded a 14.050 and tied for 16th on floor at the Big Ten Championships. Herrador won the event title and tallied a season-high 14.400 on floor against Penn State on March 25. He notched a season-high on 14.400 on vault against Nebraska March 20, and recorded a season-high 14.150 and to win the event title on high bar at Nebraska March 4. 
• Mitch Mandozzi has competed in six meets 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 recorded a 13.850 and tied for 12th on pommel horse and scored a 13.350 to finish 19th on rings at the Big Ten Championships. Merryman posted a season-high 14.100 on pommel horse against Penn State on March 25. 
• 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 eight events this season on floor and vault. He notched a season-high 14.600 on vault at Minnesota on March 11.

ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN
Seven University of Iowa men’s gymnasts were named to the 2017 Big Ten Winter Academic All-Conference team. To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten, student-athletes must be letterwinners and be in at least their second academic year at the institution. They must also carry a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better. Seniors Andrew Botto, Cory Paterson, David Spanier and Mark Springett, junior Austin Hodges, and sophomores Todd Beyer and Jake Brodarzon were named to the Academic All-Conference Team. 

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.