THIS WEEK
The 18th-ranked University of Iowa women’s gymnastics team will travel to Minneapolis for the 2021 Big Ten Championships inside Maturi Pavilion. Iowa will be competing in the evening session against No. 16 Illinois, No. 3 Michigan and No. 7 Minnesota. Action is set to begin at 5:30 p.m. (CT). A limited number of fans will be allowed in accordance with local health guidelines and restrictions.
FOLLOW LIVE
• Saturday’s meet will be streamed live on the Big Ten Network and through the FOX Sports app. Dean Linke and Olivia Karas will be on the call.
• Fans can follow along via live results at hawkeyesports.com.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
• The GymHawks won their first Big Ten Conference title, winning the regular season crown after going 8-0 in the league during the 2021 season.
• Iowa (10-1 overall) is ranked 18th in the Road to Nationals rankings with an average score of 196.713. The Hawkeyes started the season ranked 25th before climbing to No. 9 for three straight weeks. Iowa’s No. 7 ranking during the week of Feb. 15 was the highest in school history.
• The Hawkeyes posted six season-high scores and put two gymnasts in the record books in the victory at the Big Five Meet in Ann Arbor, Michigan, en route to a score of 196.100. Iowa downed No. 5 Michigan, No. 30 Penn State, and No. 43 Rutgers. The Hawkeye win in Ann Arbor was a first for the program.
• Iowa currently leads the Big Ten and is ranked No. 3 on floor with a 49.394 average. Lauren Guerin and JerQuavia Henderson are both ranked No.11 nationally and are third in the Big Ten on floor with an average of 9.889. Iowa set the program record with a 49.600 against Maryland on Feb. 13.
• The Hawkeyes are fourth in the Big Ten and 18th nationally on vault and 22nd in the country on uneven bars.
• Iowa freshman Adeline Kenlin is ranked No. 8 nationally on beam with a 9.894 average.
• Iowa has earned nine Big Ten weekly honors this season, the most for the program in school history. Adeline Kenlin earned her fourth honor on March 15, while Clair Kaji (3 honors) and Lauren Guerin (2) have also been multiple award winners.
B1G CHAMPIONS
The Hawkeyes clinched their first Big Ten Conference championship, claiming the regular season title, when they won the Big Five Meet in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Feb. 27. Iowa finished the Big Ten regular season with an 8-0 record.
FOUR HAWKEYES EARN ALL-BIG TEN HONORS
Senior Clair Kaji, junior Lauren Guerein, sophomore JerQuavia Henderson and freshman Adeline Kenlin earned All-Big Ten recognition for the 2021 season. Kaji, Henderson, and Kenlin were named first-team selections, while Guerin was a second-team honoree. It is the first time since 2001 the Hawkeyes have had three first team honorees.
• Kaji is the first Hawkeye since Houry Gebeshian (2009-11) to earn three All-Big Ten recognitions. She previously earned first-team selection in 2018 and second-team honoree in 2017. She is the ninth Iowa gymnast to earn multiple first-team honorees.
• Guerin earned her second straight All-Big Ten recognition. She was first-team All-Big Ten selection as a sophomore. Henderson and Kenlin both received their first All-Big Ten honor.
KENLIN EARNS 4TH B1G HONOR
Freshman Adeline Kenlin was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week — her fourth weekly honor of the season — on March 15. The Iowa City native earned the award after winning her first career all-around title in Iowa’s road victory at Nebraska on March 14, which posted a season-high team score of 196.825. She posted an overall a score of 39.500 on all-around, which is a high by a GymHawk this season. Kenlin also finished in the top five in all four events. She tied a school record on beam, posting a career-best of 9.975 to take the beam title. Kenlin also tied a career-high on vault with a 9.850 to tie for fourth and tied for fifth on both bars (9.800) and floor (9.875).