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IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa men’s gymnastics team placed seventh at the 2019 Big Ten Championships on Friday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena with an overall team score of 398.750.
Senior Jake Brodarzon, and juniors Nick Merryman and Andrew Herrador advanced to day two where they will compete for an individual Big Ten championship. Brodarzon was the runner-up on rings with a 14.550, Merryman placed 10th on parallel bars with a 13.950, and Herrador placed first on high bar with a 13.900.
MEET HIGHLIGHTS
Herrador secured the top spot on high bar with a 13.900 to advance to day two. Four Hawkeyes posted five career or season-highs,including Brodarzon, freshman Stewart Brown, and juniors Addison Chung and Nick Merryman.
HEAR FROM COACH REIVE
“We didn’t focus the energy on us and our process, we got way to carried away with the results and things that are not in our control. We did have a couple of good things, such as parallel bars, but we tried to be something that we haven’t been this season and it’s not the right time to do that.”
“We had a good talk in the locker room about the mental approach that we took tonight. It was not correct, and it was not us or who we have been. They can not get back into that state again. We are going to get right back into it, and they are going to have to address those things so that they do not happen again.”
QUOTING THE HAWKEYES
Andrew Herrador:
“I have been working all season to have a chance to get a medal at Big Ten’s, so it felt really good. If I hit the same set tomorrow, I am golden.”
“I think we lost a lot of momentum at the start. We wanted to leave that behind because parallel bars, high bar, and floor have been our best events. By not thinking about it we were able to do better towards the end.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
Pommel Horse
Junior Nick Merryman led the Hawkeyes on the first rotation with a 13.450 (17th). Sophomore Bennet Huang and Chung contributed 13.350 (19th) and 13.200 (22nd) respectively. Iowa began the meet in sixth place with a team score of 63.500.
Rings
Brodarzon led Iowa with a career-best 14.550 to place second and advance to day two. Chung posted a season-best 13.750 (12th), and junior Brandon Wong placed 15th with a 13.700 to add to Iowa’s 68.300 rings score. The Hawkeyes concluded the second rotation in fifth place.
Vault
Brown posted a career-high 14.350 (11th) to lead Iowa to a 69.750 team score. Chung scored a strong 14.250 to place 15th and junior Mitch Mandozzi followed with a 13.750 place 32nd. Iowa’s performance on vault put them at fourth place in the team standings with an overall team score of 201.650.
Parallel Bars
Merryman garnered a career-best 13.950 for a 10th place finish to lead the Hawkeyes and will compete for an individual title on day two. Senior Rogelio Vazquez posted a solid 13.600 to place 19th and Mandozzi followed with a 13.550 to tie for 21st. A great rotation for Iowa shot them into second place in the team race with a 269.700 overall team score.
High Bar
Junior Andrew Herrador placed first (13.900) to advance to the second day of competition. Vazquez and Huang contributed 13.450 (11th) and 13.300 (16th), respectively. Iowa took the top spot in the team race with a 333.600 overall score after the fifth rotation.
Floor
Herrador led the Hawkeyes on floor with a 13.850 to place 11th. Sophomore Kulani Taylor posted a season-high 13.600 to place 17th. Davis and Brodarzon posted a 12.750 and a 12.600 to place 29th and 32nd respectively. Iowa contributed 65.15 points on floor to their first-place overall team score of 398.750. The Hawkeyes ended the meet with a bye during the seventh rotation.
All-Around
Brodarzon scored a 78.600 to place 10th in the all-around competition. He posted a career-best on pommel horse (11.350) and rings (14.550). Huang garnered a 78.000 to tie for 11th and Davis earned a 75.750 to place 14th.
UP NEXT
The individual portion of the Big Ten Championships continue Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena at 7 p.m. (CT).
TEAM SCORES
- Penn State 410.350
- Illinois 410.100
- Michigan 409.550
- Nebraska 406.000
- Minnesota 404.800
- Ohio State 401.900
- IOWA 398.750
