Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | 24 Hawkeyes to Watch – 2017-18 | Hawk Talk Monthly – March 2018 | Nebraska, Minnesota Notes
THIS WEEK
The ninth-ranked University of Iowa men’s gymnastics travels to Lincoln, Nebraska, to face No. 4 Nebraska and No. 3 Minnesota on Saturday at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Competition is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. (CT).
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can follow along with live stats and live stream. Links are available on the Iowa men’s gymnastics schedule page at hawkeyesports.com. Fans can also follow along with live updates on Twitter (@mensgymiowa) and Facebook (/iowamensgymnastics).
LAST TIME OUT
- The No. 9 Hawkeyes upset No. 6 Minnesota at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 11. They defeated the Golden Gophers, 405.950-400.750, in a tri-meet with Air Force (388.600).
- Senior Austin Hodges won his fifth pommel horse event title (14.100) and third parallel bars title (14.300) this season.
- Senior Dylan Ellsworth won his fourth vault title this season, earning a 14.750 on the event.
- Freshman Bennet Huang won his fourth all-around title this season with a career-high 79.950.
- Junior Jake Brodarzon won his third rings title this season, notching a 14.000.
SCOUTING THE CORNHUSKERS
- The Cornhuskers won their fourth consecutive meet on Saturday, defeating No. 5 Penn State 404.500-401.550.
- Nebraska is ranked first nationally on vault (72.333 four score average) and floor (69.900), third on pommel horse (67.583), sixth on parallel bars (67.600), and 10th on high bar (65.233).
- The Cornhuskers have three gymnasts ranked in the top-five on events. Junior Anton Stephenson (14.938 National Qualifying Average) and King (14.650 NQA) are ranked first and fifth, respectively, on vault. Senior Antonio Castro is ranked fifth on pommel horse with a 14.383 NQA.
- Iowa will face Nebraska for the second time this season. The Cornhuskers defeated the Hawkeyes, 398.500-402.800, on Feb. 23 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GOPHERS
- The Golden Gophers defeated No. 12 California, 411.150-388.550, on Sunday in Minneapolis.
- Minnesota is ranked second nationally on vault (72.117), third on floor (69.567), fourth on parallel bars (68.217), seventh on pommel horse (66.983) and high bar (65.833), and ninth on rings (67.083).
- The Golden Gophers have two gymnasts ranked in the top-five on events. Freshman Shane Wiskus is ranked first on floor (14.467 NQA), third in the all-around (81.833), and fifth on parallel bars (14.183 NQA). Senior Yaroslav Pochinka is ranked second on vault with a 14.700 NQA.
- Iowa will face Minnesota for the fourth time this season. The Hawkeyes fell to the Golden Gophers twice (1/13, 1/27) and upset Minnesota, 405.950-400.750 on March 11.
IN THE RANKINGS
The Hawkeyes are ranked ninth on RoadToNationals.com with a 401.000 four-score average. The Cornhuskers are ranked fourth (407.183) and the Golden Gophers are ranked third (407.833).
AROUND THE NATION
The Hawkeyes are ranked fourth nationally on pommel horse (67.283), eighth on high bar (65.717), ninth on parallel bars (65.950), and 10th on vault (69.767).
POMMEL HORSE DOMINANCE
- Hodges is ranked sixth with a 14.250 NQA and a season-high 14.700 (Windy City Invite, 1/13), which marks the nation’s seventh-highest pommel horse score this season.
- Sophomore Nick Merryman is ranked 18th with a 13.600 NQA and a season-high 14.200 (Windy City Invite, 1/13).
- Senior Elijah Parsells is ranked 22nd with a 13.550 NQA and a season-high 13.900 (UIC/Stanford, 1/21).
- Junior Kevin Johnson is ranked 23rd with a 13.500 NQA and a season-high 13.750 (Minnesota, 1/27)
- Huang is ranked 24th with a 13.450 NQA and a season-high 14.000 (Oklahoma, 2/10).
PARALLEL BARS RANKINGS
- Hodges is ranked 12th with a 13.900 NQA and a season-high 14.300 (Minnesota/Air Force, 3/11).
- Ellsworth is ranked 24th with a 13.650 NQA and a season-high 14.200 (Penn State/Arizona State, 3/3).
ADDITIONAL HAWKEYES IN THE RANKING
- Ellsworth is ranked seventh on vault with a 14.550 NQA and a season-high 14.850 (Nebraska, 2/23), which marks the nation’s seventh-highest vault score this season.
- Brodarzon is ranked 15th on rings with a 13.850 NQA and a season-best 14.150 (Penn State/Arizona State, 3/3).
- Huang is ranked 23rd on floor with a 13.917 NQA and a season-best 14.250 (UIC/Stanford, 1/21).
- Sophomore Andrew Herrador is ranked 26th on high bar with a 13.350 NQA and a season-high 13.750 (Minnesota/Air Force, 3/11).
TITLE TRACKER
Iowa has won 27 event titles this season – six on pommel horse and parallel bars, five in the all-around, four on vault, three on rings, two on high bar, and one on floor.
Seven Hawkeyes have won event titles for Iowa this season – Hodges (8), Ellsworth (7), Huang (5), Brodarzon (3), Herrador (2), Parsells (1), and Vazquez (1).
GYMNAST OF THE WEEK
Freshman Bennet Huang was named the NCAA and Big Ten Freshman of the Week on March 13. Huang helped the Hawkeyes to a 405.950-400.750 upset victory over the No. 6 Golden Gophers on March 11 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, winning the all-around title with a career-high 79.950. The freshman registered six top-10 finishes, including a second-place finish on pommel horse. This was Huang’s second straight Big Ten Freshman of the Week nomination.
HODGES NAMED NISSEN-EMERY AWARD FINALIST
Senior Austin Hodges was named a finalist for the 2018 Nissen-Emery Award. The award is given annually to the year’s most outstanding senior collegiate gymnast, both in the gym and in the classroom. Hodges, a Lincolnshire, Illinois, native is a human physiology major and a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree. He leads the team in the three events he competes in, notching a team-high 14.700 on pommel horse and 14.250 on parallel bars at the Windy City Invitational. His team-high 13.900 on high bar came against Oklahoma on Feb. 10.
BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATION
The 2018 Big Ten Championship will be hosted by the University of Michigan on April 6-7 at the Crisler Center. A link is posted on the men’s gymnastics schedule page on hawkeyesports.com with information on tickets, seating, parking, and the schedule.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP TICKETS
The 2018 NCAA Championship will be hosted by University of Illinois-Chicago on April 20-21. Tickets are on sale now. To purchase tickets, visit NCAA.com/tickets.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to compete at the Big Ten Championships on April 6-7. Competition is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. (CT) at the Crisler Center.
