No. 6 Iowa Hosts No. 5 Penn State Saturday Night

THIS WEEK

The sixth-ranked University of Iowa men’s gymnastics team will host No. 5 Penn State on Saturday at 6 p.m. (CT) inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, there will be no general admittance to the meet.

FOLLOW LIVE

• Saturday’s meet will be televised on BTN+.
• Fans can follow along via live results at hawkeyesports.com.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

• The Hawkeyes are 2-0 and ranked No. 6 in the country in the Road to Nationals rankings. Iowa ranks third nationally on rings and parallel bars, fourth on high bar, sixth on floor and vault, and eighth on pommel horse.
• Iowa’s team high of 402.000 on Feb. 13 is the seventh-best score in the nation this season.
• Junior Evan Davis was named Big Ten Co-Gymnast of the Week on Feb. 15 after his all around winning score of 81.700 against No. 4 Illinois on Feb. 13. This was Davis’ second Gymnast of the Week honor, and third overall Big Ten honor of his career.
• This is the second time a Hawkeye has been named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week in 2021. Senior Bennet Huang earned that distinction on Feb. 1.
• Iowa’s floor performance score of 68.400 on Feb. 13 tied the seventh-best floor score in school history.
• Iowa’s team captains for the 2021 season are Bennet Huang, Evan Davis, and Peyton Hobson.
• The 2021 season will be the final season for the Iowa men’s gymnastics program. It was announced in August that the program would be discontinued because of the financial implications of the global coronavirus pandemic.

AA X 4

Senior Bennet Huang and junior Evan Davis both rank in the top 10 nationally in the all-around. Huang ranks seventh with an 80.600 national qualifying average, while Davis is 10th with a 79.850 NQA. Carter Tope (77.700) is 13th and Stewart Brown is 15th (77.400).

IN THE NCAA RANKINGS

Carter Tope – 5th – Parallel Bars – 13.850

Evan Davis – 8th – Still Rings – 13.625

Stewart Brown – 8th – Parallel Bars – 13.625

Amari Sewell – 11th – Vault – 14.500

Bennet Huang – 12th – Floor – 14.050

Evan Davis – t14th – high bars – 13.250

Zac Tiderman – 15th – Still Rings – 13.400

HAWKEYE NOTABLES

• Iowa gymnastics took the title four of six events and the all-around in victory over No. 4 Illinois on Feb. 13. Senior Bennet Huang won on floor, sophomore Amari Sewell took vault, junior Stewart Brown and sophomore Carter Tope shared the crown on parallel bars, and junior Evan Davis won horizontal bar on his way to the all-around victory.
• Huang bested his season high in all-around with 80.750, taking second place behind Davis. • Junior Peyton Hobson broke his career bests on the rings (13.600) and on bars (12.200)
• Davis, the junior from Houston, claimed the all-around by creating a new season high in every event except the rings on Saturday night.

FRESHMAN FROM SALEM

• James Friedman has carried his impressive high school career on the West Coast all the way to Iowa City. The freshman continued to impress on Feb. 13, competing in three new events as a Hawkeye (pommel, vault, parallel bar)
• He placed fourth on floor and pommel with scores of 13.800 and 13.200, and 13.850 was good for a tie in sixth on vault

FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES

Fans can follow the Iowa men’s gymnastics program on social media on Instagram (@iowamgym) with live updates on Twitter (@mensgymiowa) and via Facebook (iowamensgymnastics).

NEXT UP

The Hawkeyes will have a week off before they head to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for a March 6 matchup against Michigan.