Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | Hawk Talk Monthly — April | NCAA Championships Notes
THIS WEEK
The eighth-ranked University of Iowa men’s gymnastics team qualified for the National Championships on April 19-20 at the State Farm Center. Action begins at 7 p.m. (CT) on Friday at 6 p.m. on Saturday. The event will be streamed on BTNtoGo on Friday and air live on the Big Ten Network on Saturday. Live stats will be posted on hawkeyesports.com.
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 on Instagram (@iowamgym) and with live updates on Twitter (@mensgymiowa) and Facebook (iowamensgymnastics).
MEET FORMAT
• Day one of the competition consists of two sessions. Iowa will compete in Session II.
• Each session will consist of six teams and six rotations. Two individual competitors who qualified will be assigned to rotate with each team. The individuals will compete in the first position, followed by the by the all-around competitor and then the team.
• The Hawkeyes will rotation is as follows: high bar, floor, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars.
• The top three teams from each session advance to the second day of competition.
• The top three gymnasts from the all-around competition and the top three individuals on each event that have not already qualified on a team will advance to day two.
HERRADOR, BROWN EARN MEDALS AT BIG TENS
• Freshman Stewart Brown (vault), juniors Nick Merryman (parallel bars) and Andrew Herrador (high bar), and seniors Jake Brodarzon (rings) and Rogelio Vazquez (high bar) advanced to the individual Big Ten Championships.
• Herrador tied a season-best 14.000 to place second on high bar. The junior placed first on day one with a 13.900 to advance to day two.
• Brown posted back-to-back season bests to earn the bronze medal. On day one the freshman garnered a 14.350 and advanced to the second day where he crushed the previous days score with a 14.625.
• Both gymnasts earned second-team All-Big Ten.
• Brodarzon finished in fourth place on rings with a 14.325, Merryman garnered a 13.600 to place sixth on parallel bars,and Vazquez scored a 13.050 to place 10th.
REGULAR SEASON WRAP UP
• The Hawkeyes ended the regular season 4-2 in the Big Ten and 7-6 overall. This resulted in the team earning a share of the Big Ten regular season title.
• Iowa posted a pair of upsets toward the end of the season, defeating No. 3 Michigan in Ann Arbor and No. 7 Nebraska at the UI Fieldhouse.
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
• On day one the Hawkeyes face five of the 12 teams that qualified for the event. The other five teams in their session include Oklahoma, Illinois, Penn State, Ohio State, and Army West Point.
• The Sooners are the top-ranked team in the nation with a first place ranking on rings, vault and high bar, a second place ranking on floor and parallel bars, and a third place ranking on pommel horse. Oklahoma is fresh off their MSPF Conference title. Gage Dyer holds the first place ranking on floor, Yul Moldauer leads the nation on rings and parallel bars, while Levi Anderson is in the number one spot on high bar.
• Illinois ranks fourth nationally with a fourth-place ranking on floor and high bar, fifth place ranking on pommel horse, rings, and vault, and a ninth place ranking on parallel bars. Two Fighting Illini earned event titles at their conference championships including: Alex Diab on rings, and Hamish Carter on high bar.
• Penn State ranks fifth nationally after winning the Big Ten Tournament title in Iowa City. The Nittany Lions are ranked second on pommel horse, third on rings and high bar, seventh on floor and parallel bars, and eighth on vault. Sam Zakuteny led Penn State on day two of the Big Ten Championships earning the parallel bars title.
• Ohio State holds the ninth-place national ranking with a first-place ranking on pommel horse, seventh-place ranking on rings and vault, eighth-place ranking on parallel bars, and a 12th and 13th place ranking on floor and high bar,respectively. Alec Yoder is ranked third nationally on pommel horse and is fresh off winning the event title at the Big Ten Championships.
• Army West Point holds the 12th-place ranking after a second place finish at the ECAC Conference Championships. Elliot Herman and Mathew Davis won titles on rings and floor, respectively. Davis earned conference Rookie of the Year honors while Cole Casanova picked up the Co-senior Athlete of the Year award and Rex Scott earned Most Improved Gymnast.
PAST CHAMPIONSHIPS
• This years championships marks the 50th anniversary of the Hawkeyes winning the national title in 1969 with a team score of 161.175.
• The Hawkeyes have crowned 11 individual national champions, the last was Michael Reavis on vault in 2005.
• Last year, Iowa had five gymnasts for a total of 11 routines advance to the second day of the championships. The Hawkeyes garnered three top-15 finishes including: Brodarzon on rings (15th), Herrador on high bar (15th), and sophomore Bennet Huang in the all-around competition (12th).
B1G-TIME PERFORMANCES
• Huang leads the Hawkeyes, registering a 14.900 against Michigan for a season-high score on floor.
• Iowa’s team-high score on pommel horse came against Nebraska when senior Kevin Johnson posted a 14.000 to win the event title.
• Brodarzon has garnered season-high scores for Iowa on rings (14.500) and parallel bars (14.300). His team-high score on rings came in Iowa’s last meet against Minnesota and Penn State where they clinched the regular season championship title. The senior’s score on parallel bars was registered against Nebraska where he placed first on the event.
• Freshman Stewart Brown is Iowa’s top scorer on vault. He posted a 14.600 in the final tri-meet of the season against Minnesota and Penn State. Brown has contributed 110.800 points to Iowa’s team score on the event throughout the season.
• Junior Andrew Herrador’s 14.000 on high bar is Iowa’s highest score this season and came in the Minnesota and Penn State meet where the junior took the crown.
• Huang (706.150) has contributed the most points for the Hawkeyes this season, followed by freshman Evan Davis with 657.950, which is the most number of points contributed by a freshman in the Big Ten.
