THIS WEEK
The No. 25 ranked University of Iowa women’s gymnastics team hosts the Big Ten Championships at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa, this Saturday. Iowa will compete in the evening session with No. 2 Michigan, No. 9 Michigan State and No. 15 Ohio State. The first session is set to start at 10 a.m. and the second session is set to start at 4:30 p.m. (CT) and fans can purchase tickets online at hawkeyesports.com.
FOLLOW LIVE
• Fans can follow along via live results at hawkeyesports.com or via Twitter (@IowaGymnastics).
• Fans can watch live on the Big Ten Network.
HEADLINES
• The Hawkeyes are ranked 25th nationally after scoring 196.425 to place second in their tri-meet against No. 22 Southern Utah and San Jose State on March 10. Iowa is one of eight Big Ten teams in the Top 25.
• Iowa is ranked in the Top 25 in three events as a team: Tied for 17th on floor (49.333 Avg.), No. 18 on vault (49.185 Avg.) and tied for 23rd on beam (48.928 Avg.).
• JerQuavia Henderson is tied for 12th nationally on floor with an average score of 9.928, and Adeline Kenlin is tied for 29th on beam with an average score of 9.785.
• Six GymHawks are individually ranked in the top-30 in the Big Ten Conference. JerQuavia Henderson is second on floor, tied for 17th on vault, and tied for 18th on beam. Adeline Kenlin is tied for third on beam and tied for 15th on floor. On vault, Linda Zivat is tied for 11th, and Allison Zuhlke is tied for 15th. Karina Muñoz is tied for for 22nd on vault and 26th on bars, and Aubrey Nick is tied for 18th on beam.
• The Hawkeyes are ranked third overall in the Big Ten Conference with a, 6-2-1, record.
LAST TIME OUT…
• Iowa placed second in it’s tri-meet against No. 22 Southern Utah and San Jose State on March 10, finishing in front of San Jose State who scored a 195.425 and behind No. 22 Southern Utah who scored a 196.900.
• Iowa won all four individual event titles, with Adeline Kenlin capturing the beam title, JerQuavia Henderson capturing the floor title, and Karina Muñoz capturing the vault and bars title.
• The GymHawks had eight 9.900 scores and had eight career highs set or matched.
• Freshman Karina Muñoz scored three 9.900 to set career highs on floor, bars, and vault. The New Jersey placed first on vault and bars as well as placing second on floor.
• The Hawkeyes posted their second-highest team floor score of the season with a 49.900, with senior JerQuavia Henderson capturing her seventh-floor title after scoring her fifth 9.975 of her career.
• Three gymnasts set career or season highs on beam, as Adeline Kenlin tied her season high and placed first overall after scoring her second 9.950 of the season.Henderson scored a career high 9.925, and Marissa Rojas finished with a 9.900 to earn a new season high.
• Gianna Masella and Muñoz scored career-highs 9.900 on vault to tie for first place overall, giving Masella her first vault title and Muñoz her third.
HENDERSON AND KENLIN NAMED TO ALL-BIG TEN TEAMS
• Senior JerQuavia Henderson and junior Adeline Kenlin were named to the 2023 Big Ten Women’s Gymnastics All-Big Ten Teams. Henderson earned first-team honors and Kenlin earned second-team honors.
• Henderson was named first team for a third straight season. The Peoria, Illinois, native earned the distinction after winning 12 event titles and tallying 20 top-three finishes during the regular season. She tied her own school record on floor, posting a 9.975 over Minnesota, and has scored a 9.925 or higher seven times in the event. Henderson, who was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week on Feb. 8 and 21, has a national qualifying standard (NQS) of 9.940 on floor. She is ranked second in the Big Ten and tied 12th nationally on floor, tied for 17th on vault and tied for 18th on balance beam in the league.
• Kenlin was named second team, earning her third straight All-Big Ten honor. The Iowa City, Iowa, native has five event titles and 15 top-three finishes this season. Kenlin has a NQS of 9.910 on beam and is tied for third in the Big Ten and tied for 29th nationally on the event. She has posted a 9.950 twice on beam, which is second-best in school history as well as ties for best in school-history with a 9.975.
MUÑOZ EARNS CO-FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
• Karina Muñoz has been named the Big Ten’s Co-Freshman of the week. The honor is Muñoz’s first of the season and her career.
• The New Jersey Native earned the distinction after scoring three 9.900 to set career highs on floor, bars, and vault to earn her second vault title and first bar title as well as finished second overall on floor against No. 22 Southern Utah and San Jose State on March 10.
• The freshman is one of two Hawkeyes who has competed in the all-around event this season and has finished in the top-three both times. She has captured five event titles and finished in the top-three 12 times.
HENDERSON EARNS EVENT SPECIALIST OF THE WEEK FOR SECOND TIME
• Senior JerQuavia Henderson earned Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week on Feb. 20, after performing the first Yurchenko 1.5 by a Hawkeye gymnast on vault to tie her career-high score of 9.925 and place first against Rutgers on Feb. 18.
• Henderson scored her second 9.925 of the day on floor to capture her fourth floor title and added a 9.825 on beam for sixth place.
• The honor is Henderson’s second of the season and the third of her career.
• This marked her third 9.900 or higher on vault She is ranked sixth overall in the conference with an average score of 9.875.
HENDERSON NAMED BIG CO-EVENT SPECIALIST OF THE WEEK
• Senior JerQuavia Henderson earned Big Ten Co-Event Specialist of the Week on Feb. 8. The Peoria, Illinois native earned the distinction after scoring her second 9.925 of the season on floor to take first place overall against Nebraska on Feb. 6.
• Henderson tied for first place on vault after scoring a 9.850 and tied for fourth place overall on beam after scoring a 9.875.
• The honor is Henderson’s first of the season and the second of her career.
• This marked her third 9.900 or higher on floor. She is ranked fifth overall in the conference and tied for 17th nationally on the event with an average score of 9.913.
ZITAT EARNS BIG TEN TRI-SPECIALIST OF THE WEEK
Senior Linda Zivat was named the Big Ten Tri-specialist of the Week on February 1. The Manhattan, Illinois native earned the distinction after posting a 9.975 on vault to earn a new career-high and take first place against No. 18 Minnesota on Jan. 27. The score is tied for the second-best in program history.
• The honor is Zivat’s first of the season and the first of her career.
• This marked her third 9.900 or higher on vault. She is ranked third overall in the conference and tied for ninth nationally on the event with an average score of 9.913.
KENLIN NAMED TRI-BIG TEN GYMNAST OF THE WEEK
Junior Adeline Kenlin was named the Big Ten Gymnast of the Week on January 24. The Iowa City, Iowa, native earned the distinction after posting at least a 9.850 or higher on each of her three events when competing in Columbus, Ohio, against No. 10 Ohio State on Sunday.
• The honor is Kenlin’s first of the season and the fifth of her career. She is the first Hawkeye to be named Gymnast of the Week since 2017 (Melissa Zurawski).
• The junior earned a career-high 9.925 on floor, earning second place. This marks her third straight week going 9.900 or higher on the event. She ranks sixth in the conference and 17th nationally on the event with an average score of 9.908.
• Kenlin was a four-time Freshman of the Week selection in 2021.
IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Six Hawkeyes are in the Iowa record books. They are as follows:
• JerQuavia Henderson – t1st – 9.975 – Floor
• Adeline Kenlin -t1st- 9.975- Beam
• JerQuavia Henderson – t4th – 9.950 – Floor
• JerQuavia Henderson – t6th – 9.925 – Uneven Bars
• Marissa Rojas – t8 – 9.925 – Beam
• Aubrey Nick – t10 – 9.900 – Beam
• Linda Zivat – t3th – 9.975 – Vault
• Linda Zivat – t9th – 9.925 – Vault
• JerQuavia Henderson -t9th- 9.925- Vault
• Adeline Kenlin – t15th – 9.900 – Uneven Bars
• Kendall LaPlante- t15th – 9.900 – Uneven Bars
• Adeline Kenlin – t17 – 39.500 – All-Around
22 & COUNTING
Head coach Larissa Libby has led the GymHawks to 22 straight NCAA Regional appearances (either as a team or individually). The 2023 season is Libby’s 19th as Iowa’s head coach and 22nd 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).
LOOKING AHEAD
The NCAA selection show takes place on March 20, where 36 teams will be annoucned to compete in Regionals. The NCAA Regional First Round takes place on Wednesday, March 29. Times and locations is TBA