THIS WEEK
The 23rd-ranked University of Iowa women’s gymnastics team begins postseason competition, traveling to Columbus, Ohio, for the Big Ten Championships on Saturday inside the Covelli Center. Iowa is set to compete in Session I with No. 19 Illinois, No. 20 Maryland, No. 37 Penn State, No. 41 Nebraska, and No. 44 Rutgers. The meet is set to start at 11 a.m. (CT) and will be broadcast live on BTN.
FOLLOW LIVE
• Saturday’s meet will be televised on BTN with Dean Linke and Olivia Karas on the call.
• Fans can follow along via live results at hawkeyesports.com or via Twitter (@IowaGymnastics).
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
• The Hawkeyes are ranked 23rd in the Road to Nationals rankings with a national qualifying score (NQS) of 196.465. Iowa was ninth following Week 1 — the second-highest ranking in program history.
• Iowa is 11th nationally on floor, 22nd on vault, 26th on beam and 44 on bars heading into the postseason.
• The Hawkeyes matched a school record with five gymnasts earning All-Big Ten recognition.
JerQuavia Henderson was a first-team honoree, becoming the first GymHawk since 2017 to earn first-team recognition in consecutive seasons.
• Clair Kaji, Adeline Kenlin, Lauren Guerin and Bridget Killian all earned second-team honors. Kaji and Guerin are the second and third Hawkeyes all-time to earn four career All-Big Ten honors.
• The Hawkeyes capped a 196.825 in their victory at No. 26 Iowa State on March 4, posting the fifth-best score in program history. Iowa took first place in four events, scoring the highest vault score since 2004 with 49.500.
• Senior Lauren Guerin scored a 9.950 for the second time this season to share the floor title at No. 10 California. Guerin earned her six floor title of the season to lead the team and is tied for 10th nationally with a NQS of 9.945. Iowa is 11th nationally on floor with a 49.380 NQS.
• The Hawkeyes have earned three Big Ten weekly honors this season — junior JerQuavia Henderson was the Specialist of the Week on Jan. 10, Marissa Rojas garnered Freshman of the Week honors on Jan. 25 and Lauren Guerin was the Specialist of the Week on March 8.
• Iowa returns 15 letter winners in 2022, including three All-Americans and four All-Big Ten selections. Iowa boasts a roster with seven seniors and 11 upperclassmen.
B1G REWIND
The Hawkeyes tied for third at the 2021 Big Ten Championships with a 196.625 — the team’s highest finish since 2017. JerQuavia Henderson and Lauren Guerin shared the Big Ten title on floor after posting 9.950s. They were Iowa’s first Big Ten champion since 2017.
NOTABLES
• The Hawkeyes closed out regular season, scoring a 196.175 against No. 10 California on March 13.
• Four gymnasts scored a 9.875 or higher on floor against No. 10 California with senior Lauren Guerin tying for first place after scoring a 9.950 for the second time this season. Senior Clair Kaji posted a 9.900, and sophomore Adeline Kenlin set a new season-high after scoring a 9.875, and senior Alex Greenwald tied with her teammate.
• Three gymnasts scored above a 9.800 on bar in Berkeley on March 13. Sophomore Adeline
Kenlin set a season-high after scoring a 9.900 for the second time in her career. Senior Alex
Greenwald scored a 9.850, and sophomore Allison Zuhlke set a new season-high 9.800 after
making her season bar debut.
• Senior Lauren Guerin and junior Linda Zivat both tied for second on vault against No. 10 California after posting a 9.850. In her second meet back after missing the previous three meets, Zivat has placed in the top two. Guerin earned her fifth top-three finish on vault this season.
• Sophomore Adeline Kenlin scored a 9.900 for the second week straight on beam against No. 10 Califorina to tie for third place. Kenlin has placed in the top-three on beam six times this season.
• Junior JerQuavia Henderson did not compete at No. 10 California (due to sickness).
• The GymHawks scored 49 or higher in two events (floor and vault) at Berkeley.
• Iowa has had nine gymnasts win event titles this season — Alex Greenwald (1), JerQuavia Henderson (12), Clair Kaji (1), Adeline Kenlin (4), Allyson Steffensmeier (2), Lauren Guerin (6), Linda Zivat (3), Marissa Rojas (1), and Bridget Killian (2).
FIVE HAWKEYES EARN ALL-BIG TEN HONORS
Five University of Iowa women’s gymnasts — seniors Lauren Guerin, Clair Kaji and Bridget Killian, junior JerQuavia Henderson and sophomore Adeline Kenlin — have earned All-Big Ten recognition for the 2022 season. The five honorees are the most for the program since 2017 and are tied for the most in a single season in program history.
• Henderson was named to the first team for a second straight season. The gymnast earned the first-team distinction after winning 12 event titles and tallying 27 top three finishes during the regular season. The Peoria, Illinois, native has posted a 9.900 or higher in every meet in the event. Henderson has a NQS of 9.945 on floor, 9.890 on vault and 39.330 in all-around. She is tied for third in the Big Ten and seventh nationally on floor, 10th in league and 28th nationally in all-around and ninth in Big Ten and 31st in the country on vault.
• Senior Lauren Guerin earned All-Big Ten honors for a fourth time (first team, 2020; second team, 2019, 2021, 2022) after winning six floor titles and posting 15 top-three finishes during the regular season. The Austin, Texas, native has scored 9.900 or higher in 10 of the team’s 11 meets on floor, which includes a pair of 9.975s, tying the school record. Guerin – the Big Ten Specialist of the Week on March 8 — is tied for third in the Big Ten and seventh nationally on floor with a 9.945 NQS.
• Kaji garnered her fourth career All-Big Ten recognition – two first team (2019, 2021) and two second team (2017, 2022) – after winning one event title and tallying nine top three finishes during the regular season. The Vancouver, British Columbia, native tied a career high on floor, scoring a 9.925 in Iowa’s road win at Iowa State on March 4. Kaji has a 9.895 NQS on beam this season, ranking seventh in the Big Ten and 37th nationally.
• Kenlin was named to second team, and earned her second straight All-Big Ten honor despite missing four weeks during the regular season because of injury. The Iowa City, Iowa, native has four event titles and 11 top three finishes and has posted three career highs – 9.850 on vault, 9.900 on bars and 9.875 on floor. Kenlin has a 9.895 NQS on beam to tie for seventh in the Big Ten and 37th nationally.
• Killian was named to second team and earned her first career All-Big Ten recognition after winning one event title and tallying eight top three individual finishes during the regular season. The Wheaton, Illinois, native tied two career highs, posting a pair of 9.900s on vault and beam in the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series road win at Iowa State. Killian has NQS scores of 9.855 on vault, 9.845 on beam and 9.835 on floor. She is tied for 16th in the Big Ten on vault and 20th on beam.
STANDOUT HENDERSON
Junior JerQuavia Henderson is ranked in two events in the Road to Nationals rankings, coming in tied for seventh on floor with a national average of 9.945. She ranked No. 2 on floor during Week 7 – the highest ranking of her career. The Peoria, Illinois, native has captured five floor event titles this season and has scored a 9.900 or higher in 10 meets.
• Henderson has 12 event titles this season and in 10 meets, she has tallied 27 top-three finishes to lead the team.
• Henderson is tied at 28th nationally with an average score of 39.354 in allaround. She has placed in the top-three in the all-around in all six competitions. She had a career-high 39.475 in her all-around debut against Nebraska on Jan. 29.
FLOOR RECORDS GALORE
No. 17 Iowa broke the school floor record and had two gymnasts tie the top floor score in its 196.125-195.325 victory over No. 29 Penn State on Feb. 4.
• The previous floor record was 49.600, which was set against Minnesota/Maryland in 2021.
• Senior Lauren Guerin posted a career-high 9.975 as the anchor to seal the comeback victory. The Texas native received one perfect 10.0 to tie for the highest score in program history.
• Junior JerQuavia Henderson posted a 9.975 for the second time in her career, tying her own school record. The Illinois native, who had a 10.0 from one judge, also posted a 9.975 last season against Maryland/Minnesota.
FLOOR QUEENS
Senior Lauren Guerin and junior JerQuavia Henderson have been consistently consistent on floor this season. The two gymnasts both are tied for seventh with a national qualifying score of 9.945. Guerin has earned six first place titles and has placed in the top three 10 times this season. Henderson follows with five first place titles and nine top-three finishes this season.
• The pair both received one perfect 10.0 en route to 9.975 scores on floor at Iowa State on March 4 and against Penn State on Feb. 4 to tie the school record and tie for the event title.
• Guerin has scored 9.900 or higher in nine of 10 meets this season, including a career-best 9.975 against Iowa State and Penn State. She has finished first or second on floor 10 times this season.
• Henderson has scored 9.900 or higher in 10 competitions, including her season-best 9.975 against the Cyclones and Nittany Lions.
• As a team, Iowa has scored 49.225 or higher in all 11 meets this season. Iowa has won or placed in the top three in every meet this season.
B1G HONORS
• Senior Lauren Guerin was named Big Ten Specialist of the Week on March 8 after tying for the floor title and finishing runner-up on vault in the Hawkeyes’ Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series victory at No. 26 Iowa State on March 4. The honor is the first of the season and her fourth career.
• Junior JerQuavia Henderson was named Big Ten Specialist of the Week on Jan. 10 after scoring a 9.925 on vault and floor in the Hawkeyes’ win over Eastern Michigan. It was her first career honor.
• Freshman Marissa Rojas earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors on Jan. 25 after winning her first career event title in the road win at Michigan State. The Michigan native posted an anchor score of 9.925 to take the title and she also made her floor debut, scoring a 9.800.
IN THE RANKINGS
Iowa is one of seven Big Ten teams in the top 25 of the Road to Nationals rankings along with No. 3 Michigan, No. 8 Minnesota, No. 12 Michigan State, No. 16 Ohio State, No. 19 Illinois, and No. 20 Maryland. The Hawkeyes, who are ranked 23rd, was ninth following Week 1, which was the second-highest ranking in program history.
IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Eight Hawkeyes are in the Iowa record books for the 2022 season. They are as follows:
• JerQuavia Henderson – t1st – 9.975 – Floor
• Lauren Guerin – t1st -9.975 – Floor
• Adeline Kenlin -t1st- 9.975- Beam
• Clair Kaji – t3rd – 9.950 – Beam
• Lauren Guerin – t4th – 9.950 – Floor
• JerQuavia Henderson – t4th – 9.950 – Floor
• Allyson Steffensmeier – t6th – 9.925 – Uneven Bars
• Clair Kaji – t6th – 9.925 – Uneven Bars
• JerQuavia Henderson – t6th – 9.925 – Uneven Bars
• Marissa Rojas – t8 – 9.925 – Beam
• Linda Zivat – t9th – 9.925 – Vault
• Lauren Guerin – t9th – 9.925 – Vault
• JerQuavia Henderson -t9th- 9.925- Vault
• Lauren Guerin – t12- 9.925 – Floor
• Clair Kaji – t12 – 9.925 – Floor
• Alex Greenwald – t12 – 9.925 – Floor
• Alex Greenwald – t15 – 9.900 – Uneven Bars
• Adeline Kenlin – t15th – 9.900 – Uneven Bars
• Adeline Kenlin – t17 – 39.500 – All-Around
20 & COUNTING
Head coach Larissa Libby has led the GymHawks to 20 straight NCAA Regional appearances (either as a team or individually). The 2022 season is Libby’s 18th as Iowa’s head coach and 21st overall with the program. She is a three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year.
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).
UP NEXT
The top 36 teams based on NQS scores will compete in NCAA Regionals. Regional pairings will be announced Tuesday and competition will begin March 31. The Hawkeyes currently sit 23rd with a NQS of 196.465.