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THIS WEEK
The seventh-ranked University of Iowa men’s gymnastics team travels to Chicago to compete at the Windy City Invitational on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. (CT). The event will be streamed on ESPN3. Live stats will be posted on hawkeyesports.com.
THE FORMAT
The competition field includes six teams — UIC, Washington, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, and Iowa. The rotation will be in Olympic order with the Hawkeyes starting on pommel horse.
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can follow 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 live updates on Twitter (@mensgymiowa) and Facebook (/iowamensgymnastics).
FRESH FACES
• The Hawkeyes return 11 letterwinners and add seven new faces to their roster for the 2019 season — Tyler Ball, Stewart Brown, Evan Davis, Drew Helberg, Noah Scigliano, Peyton Hobson, and Alex Walther.
• Ball a native of Lindenhurst, Illinois, competed at UIC in 2017 scoring a season best 13.800 on rings, 13.150 on parallel bars, 12.500 on high bar, and a 12.750 on rings. Ball redshirted in 2018.
• Brown is a Taylorsville, North Carolina native and competed at the Junior Olympic (JO) Nationals from 2015-18 won the Parallel Bars in 2015 and recieved Academic All-American honors each year.
• Davis from Houston, Texas competed at the JO Nationals and was named all-around champion in 2018. He took second on pommel horse and rings and third on parallel bars.
• Helberg from Spring, Texas, competed at the 2016 JO Nationals and is a Michael Sims Memorial Scholarship Recipient.
• Sciglinao from Des Moines, Iowa, was the 2018 Iowa All-Around State Champion, 2017 Region 4 All-Around Champion, and earned second on floor, third on high bar, and third All-Around at JO
Nationals.
• Hobson is from Salem, Oregon, and competed in JO Nationals five years in a row, qualifying for the junior elite division at JO Nationals from 2016-2018 and helped his team to a 4th place finish at JO Nationals in 2018.
• Walther, a Chanhassen, Minnesota native, was the 2017 Minnesota State All-Around Champion, placed ninth All-Around, fifth on rings, and sixth on parallel bars at 2018 JO Nationals.
BRODARZON, VAZQUEZ NAMED TO B1G WATCH LIST
• Seniors Jake Brodarzon and Rogelio Vazquez were named to the 2019 Big Ten Men’s Gymnast to Watch List.
• Brodarzon, a native of Paramus, New Jersey, earned the first watch list honor of his career. He competed in every meet for the Hawkeyes last season, registering career-highs on vault (14.366) and rings (14.150). He tied for 15th on vault (14.366) at the NCAA Championship finals on April 21, and earned a fourth-place finish on vault with a career-best 14.460 at the NCAA Championship qualifier on April 20.
• Vazquez earned his second Gymnast to Watch honor. The Orlando, Florida, native competed in nine meets for the Hawkeyes last season, earning a career-best on floor. Vazquez registered 11 top-10 finishes over three events (high bar, parallel bars, and rings), including a first-place finish on parallel bars (13.900) in a tri-meet against UIC and Stanford on Jan. 21.
IN THE RANKINGS
The Hawkeyes are ranked seventh in the preseason Big Ten rankings and ninth in the College Gymnastics Associations Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
FIVE RETUNERS FINISHED STRONG AT 2018 NCAA’S
• Sophomore Bennet Huang finished 12th in the all-around at the 2018 National Tournament. He finished 18th on floor, 19th on high bar, 26th on pommel horse, 30th on rings as well as 33rd on parallel bars and vault.
• Junior Andrew Herrador and senior Jake Brodarzon both notched 15th-place finishes, Herrador on high bar and Brodarzon on rings.
• Senior Kevin Johnson and junior Nick Merryman finished 22nd and 17th, respectively, on pommel horse.
THREE ALL-AMERICAN SCHOLAR ATHLETES RETURN
• Senior Jake Brodarzon, junior Brandon Wong, and sophomore Kulani Taylor were all named to the second team All-American scholars list. This means they each had a GPA between 3.200 and 3.499.
SEASON TICKETS
• Season tickets are available at hawkeyesports.com/tickets, by calling 1-800-IA-HAWKS, or at the UI Athletics Ticket Office at the north entrance of Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
• Season tickets are $40 and all seating is general admission. Youth ages 18 and under and UI students receive free admission to all regular season home meets.
• Season ticket holders gain admission to five home meets at Carver-Hawkeye Arena against Minnesota and UIC, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Ohio State.
• Season ticket holders receive early entrance (1.5 hours prior to the start of competition at the west entrance) to all home meets, ensuring access to the Kids Zone, limited edition posters, and other promotions.
BIG HOME ADVANTAGE HOSTING BIG TEN’S
This post-season the Hawkeyes are set to host the Big Ten tournament. The tournament is at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on April 5-6. Stay tuned for more information regarding tickets and promotions.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes travel to Champaign, Illinois, to compete at Huff Hall against the Fighting Illini on Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. (CT).
