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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa gymnastics team celebrated Senior Night with a 195.500-192.750 win over Southeast Missouri State in front of 2,219 Hawkeye faithful on Friday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. This is the second highest attendance mark for the GymHawks.
HEAR FROM COACH LIBBY
“The hardest part about senior night is that it’s an emotional roller coaster. We tried not to even acknowledge it. We took the pictures, we talked for about 30 seconds, but I told them that we have a lot of season left. We’ve got a lot to do. We will celebrate senior night in St. Louis at Nationals. We don’t want to think about it tonight. The hardest thing is staying focused.
“I don’t like when the awesome sticks out too much. We need to figure out how to settle. It’s strictly emotional. We have a young team. We have to teach them how to not be so hyped that they can’t bring it back down. You can tell who the experts are. Look at the seniors. They did not have a problem bringing it back down. Everybody else was jacked and excited. We did really well in a couple of places and then not so great in others. We’re a better team than that. I know that they’re disappointed in the scores, which I like because that means they think their potential is more than that.”
MEET HIGHLIGHTS
- The GymHawks scored a 49.075 on bars, marking a season high in that event.
- Iowa’s 49.200 on floor is a season best in that event.
- Charlotte Sullivan recorded a season-best 9.900 on bars, winning the title.
- Gina Leal posted a career-high 9.825 for her floor performance.
- Melissa Zurawski and Lanie Snyder tied for the floor title, both posting a 9.925, a mark that ties for tenth-best in program history. This is a career high for Zurawski.
ALL-AROUND
Sullivan won the all-around with a 38.600.
VAULT
Iowa took the lead after the first rotation and never trailed. The Hawkeyes opened the night on vault, posting a 48.675 to lead SEMO, who recorded a 48.050 on bars in the opening rotation. Ortiz won the event with a 9.800, while Nikki Youd placed second with a 9.750.
BARS
Iowa extended its advantage after a 49.075 performance on bars, leading 97.750-95.900. Three GymHawks — Sullivan (9.900), Zurawski (9.825), and Ortiz (9.800) — registered a 9.800 or higher. Sullivan’s season high won the event, while Zurawski was second. Ortiz posted a career high and finished third.
BEAM
The GymHawks continued their dominance in the third rotation when a 48.550 increased their lead to 146.300-144.150. Youd won the beam title with a 9.875, while Sullivan was second with a 9.825.
FLOOR
Iowa finished the night with a 49.200 on floor to secure the victory. Zurawski and Snyder tied for the win, both tallying a 9.925, while Leal and Breanna Fitzke tied for fourth, each with a 9.825.
UP NEXT
Iowa travels to Denton, Texas, to face Texas Woman’s University on Sunday. The meet is slated to begin at 2 p.m. (CT).