MINNEAPOLIS – The seventh-ranked University of Iowa men’s gymnastics team finished fifth in the Session II qualifier for the 2021 NCAA Championships on Friday night inside Maturi Pavilion. The Hawkeyes had their third-best team total of the season (401.120), but it wasn’t enough as only the top three teams in the session advance to Saturday’s NCAA Finals.
Iowa was led by the all-around duo of junior Evan Davis and senior Bennet Huang. Davis was second in the competition with a score of 81.931, while Huang took third with an 81.898.
The Hawkeyes will still be represented in Saturday’s individual finals with Huang and Davis competing for the all-around title, junior Peyton Hobson on rings, sophomore Amari Sewell on vault, and sophomore Carter Tope on high bar.
Quoting Coach JD Reive
“This team was absolutely incredible this year. So much more than any of us ever expected. There were so many phenomenal individual performances tonight, which is exactly why they are competing one more time in the NCAA Finals. One more night to represent.”
FLOOR
Huang finished in a tie for fourth with his 14.366, and Davis tied for sixth after posting a score of 14.266. Kulani Taylor, the senior from West St. Paul, tied for 14th on floor with a 13.933. The team total was 69.997 for Iowa to open its final NCAA Championships Qualifier.
POMMEL
Davis’s 13.333 was good for a tie in the No. 11 spot. Huang took 13th with a 13.300, junior Drew Helberg was 17th with his 12.833, and the freshman walk-on James Friedman finished 19th, scoring 12.666. The Hawkeyes closed the second rotation with a 62.898.
RINGS
A big third rotation featured a 13.833 for Davis as he placed ninth, a 13.766 for Hobson was good for 10th, and Friedman’s career-best 13.700 gave him a share of 11th. Brown also had a career-best night on the rings with his 13.466, good for a tie in 14th. The team’s 67.865 was Iowa’s season best score on rings.
VAULT
Sewell led the Hawkeyes on vault, tying for sixth with a score of 14.566. Huang shared the 14th spot with a 14.233, and Davis grabbed 19th with a 14.000 as the Hawkeyes finished with a 70.198 team score.
PARALLEL
A career-best 13.833 gave Huang a seventh-place finish in the parallel bars. Tope finished 10th with his 13.733. Hobson posted a career-best 13.466 for 12th, and Davis’s 13.366 was a season-high and good for a share of 13th. The team total in the fifth rotation was 65.731.
HORIZONTAL
The final rotation of the Hawkeyes season was highlighted by Davis, Huang, and junior Noah Scigliano. Davis shared 15th with his 13.133, and Huang and Scigliano’s 13.066 placed them in a tie for 18th. Iowa’s final rotation’s team score was 64.431.
UP NEXT
Saturday’s competition will begin at 7 p.m. (CT) in Minneapolis.
