THIS WEEK
The 19th-ranked University of Iowa women’s gymnastics team will travel to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional on Friday inside Coleman Coliseum. The Hawkeyes will be competing against No. 7 Alabama, No. 10 Arkansas, and No. 20 Iowa State beginning at 1 p.m. (CT). A limited number of fans will be allowed in accordance with local health guidelines and restrictions.
The top two teams in the session will advance to Saturday’s Regional Final, which will begin at 7 p.m. (CT).
FOLLOW LIVE
• The duration of the Regional Championships will be streamed live on ESPN3. Sam Gore (play-by-play) and Ashley Miles (color) 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 tied for third at the Big Ten Championships.
• Iowa (10-1 overall) is ranked 19th in the Road to Nationals rankings with an average score of 196.756. 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 one season-high score, had two gymnasts earn career bests, had five student-athletes tie their career bests, four scores landed in the Iowa record books, and the team set two season high scores on vault and uneven bars en route to a score of 196.625 at the Big Ten Championships. The Hawkeyes tied for third — the highest team finish since 2017.
• Iowa currently leads the Big Ten and is ranked No. 4 on floor with a 49.405 average. Two Hawkeyes are ranked in the top 10 nationally. Lauren Guerin is tied for No. 8 with an average score of 9.895 and JerQuavia Henderson is tied for No. 10 with an average score of 9.903.
• Four Hawkeyes are ranked in the top 10 in the Big Ten on floor. Guerin is ranked No.2, Henderson is third, Clair Kaji is tied for No. 6, and Alex Greenwald is tied for No. 10. Iowa set the program record with a 49.600 against Maryland on Feb. 13.
• The Hawkeyes are tied for third in the Big Ten and tied for 16th nationally on vault and 18th in the country on uneven bars.
• Iowa freshman Adeline Kenlin is tied for No. 10 nationally on beam with a 9.880 average.
BIG TEN 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.
• Lauren Guerin and JerQuavia Henderson earned a share of the Big Ten floor titles during the Big Ten Championships on March 20. They are the third and fourth floor champions in school history and the first since 2004.
KENLIN: FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Freshman Adeline Kenlin earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year. She is the fourth Hawkeye in school history to earn the conference’s top freshman honor and the first in 20 years.
• Kenlin earned the distinction after winning five event titles during the regular season. The Iowa City native tied the school record on beam, posting a 9.975 score on March 14 at Nebraska. Kenlin earned four Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors.
LIBBY: COACH OF THE YEAR
Head coach Larissa Libby earned her third career Big Ten Coach of the Year honor and it is the fifth time an Iowa coach has received the distinction. Libby led the GymHawks to a Big Ten regular season title- the first in school history. Under Libby four student-athletes – Clair Kaji, JerQuavia Henderson, Lauren Guerin and Adeline Kenlin – earned All-Big Ten recognition, including three first-team honorees, which is the most for the program since 2001.
3 EARN AA HONORS
For the first time in school history, three Hawkeyes earned All-America distinction in the same season. Junior Lauren Guerin became the third GymHawk in school history to earn first-team All-America honors with a NQS score of 9.95 on the floor. It is Guerin’s second All-America honor; she was a second-team selection last season.
• Sophomore JerQuavia Henderson earned second-team All-America distinction on floor with a NQS score of 9.944 on floor. It is her first career honor.
• Iowa City native Adeline Kenlin also earned second-team All-America honors on bearn with a NQS of 9.944.
4 HAWKEYES EARN ALL-BIG TEN HONORS
Senior Clair Kaji, junior Lauren Guerin, 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.
Q & A’s SCHOOL RECORDS
• Sophomore JerQuavia Henderson tied a school record on floor, scoring a 9.975 in Iowa’s tri-meet against Minnesota and Maryland on Feb. 13. The Illinois native received a 10.000 from one judge en route to her career-best score. Her performance tied Alexis Maday and Stephanie Gran for the school record, which was set during the 2004 season.
• Freshman Adeline Kenlin tied a school record on beam, scoring a 9.975 against Nebraska on March 14. The Iowa City native received a 10.000 from one judge en route to her career-best score. Kenlin tied Janna Alexandrova for the school record, which she set once in 2001 and tied in 2002.
3 OF TOP 10
The Hawkeyes have posted three of the top 10 team scores in school history during the 2021 season. The are the program’s highest team scores since 2004.
• Iowa posted the fourth-best score in the season-finale at Nebraska, scoring a 196.825. The Hawkeyes also tied the fifth-best score with a 196.800 against Minnesota and tied the seventh-best score of 196.775 in the tri-meet against Minnesota and Maryland.
CONSISTENT HAWKS
• The Hawkeyes have scored 49.150 or higher on floor in every meet this season. Iowa has scored above 49.375 seven times, including a school record and season high 49.600 on Feb. 13.
• Iowa posted a season-high 49.375 on bars at the Big Ten Championships. The team scored 49 or higher in seven meets.
• The GymHawks have gone 49 or higher in seven meets, but Iowa had its season-low score of 48.425 at the Big Ten Championships.
• Iowa has posted its top two vault scores of the season in its last two meets, hitting a 49.225 at Nebraska at a 49.325 at the Big Ten Championships.
• The Hawkeyes have 44 scores of 9.900 or higher — by six different student-athletes — heading into Regionals.
B1G WEEKLY HONOREES
• Freshman Adeline Kenlin earned her fourth Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor on March 15 after posting a 39.500 on her all-around debut. She tied for the school record on beam after scoring a 9.975. She finished in the top five on all four events. She earned her third honor on March 1 after posting a pair of career-highs in helping Iowa to the Big Five Meet title. She earned her second honor on Feb. 8 after placing third on the bars and beam posting a 9.85 and 9.875 in the win over No. 11 Minnesota, and her first honor came on Jan. 25 after sharing the bar title and placing third on vault in the win over Ohio State.
• Senior Clair Kaji was the Big Ten Specialist of the Week on March 8 after scoring a 9.925 and sharing the event title of floor and she scored a 9.900 on beam to place second against No. 19 Illinois. Kaji was also honored Feb. 1 after winning floor (9.900) and finishing as runner up on the beam (9.875) and bars (9.725) against Illinois. She received her first honor Jan. 25 after earning a share of beam title and tying a career-high on floor for a second consecutive week in the win over Ohio State.
• Junior Lauren Guerin was the Big Ten Specialist of the Week on Feb. 8 after scoring a 9.950 and sharing the event title on floor against No. 11 Minnesota. She also earned the distinction on Jan. 18 after sharing the floor title at Minnesota after posting a 9.950 for fourth time in her career.
IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Five Hawkeyes currently are in the Iowa record books. They are as follows:
• JerQuavia Henderson – t1st – 9.975 – Floor
• Adeline Kenlin -t1st- 9.975- Beam
• Clair Kaji – t2nd – 9.950 – Beam
• Lauren Guerin – t4th – 9.950 – Floor
• Allyson Steffensmeier – t6th – 9.925 – Uneven Bars
• Clair Kaji – t6th – 9.925 – Uneven Bars
• Lauren Guerin – t9th – 9.925 – Vault
• JerQuavia Henderson -t9th- 9.925- vault
• Lauren Guerin – t11 – 9.925 – Floor
• Clair Kaji – t11 – 9.925 – Floor
20 STRAIGHT
Head coach Larissa Libby has led GymHawks to 20 straight NCAA Regional appearances (either as a team or individually). The 2021 season is Libby’s 17th as Iowa’s head coach and 21st overall with the program.
11 GYMNASTS NAMED WINTER ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN
Eleven GymHawks earned Academic All-Big Ten honors, including Erin Castle, Allie Gilchrist, Alex Greenwald, Lauren Guerin, Emma Hartzler, Clair Kaji, Ellie Rogers, Bridget Killian, Allyson Steffensmier, Carina Tolan, and Mackenzie Vance. Allie Gilchrist and Allyson Steffensmeier had perfect 4.0 GPAs.
FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES
For a behind the scenes look at the program, follow the GymHawks via social media at Facebook/IowaGymnastics, Twitter/@IowaGymnastics, and Instagram (@IowaGymnastics).
