No. 20 Hawkeyes Defeat No. 39 Cyclones in Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Meet

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The 20th-ranked Iowa women’s gymnastics team extended its dual-meet winning streak to four, topping in-state rival No. 39 Iowa State, 195.275-194.200, during the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series meet on Saturday night in front of a program record 3,715 fans inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Senior JerQuavia Henderson captured the floor, bar, and all-around titles to give her 12 individual event titles this season. The Peoria, Illinois, native recorded her first overall title of the night on bars with a score of 9.850. She captured her second title scoring a 9.925 on floor to capture her sixth-floor title. Her third title came after scoring a 39.400 in the all-around.

Vault
Iowa scored a 49.025 in its first event, taking five of the top six spots. Karina Muñoz scored a team-high 9.825 to tie for first place overall. Henderson, Allison Zuhlke, Linda Zivit, and Gianna Masella all tied for third after posting 9.800s. Kendall Laplante finished with a 9.750.

Bars
The Hawkeyes tied their second highest score of the season after finishing with a 49.100. Muñoz grabbed her second first place finish of the night tying with Henderson for the title after posting 9.850s. Adeline Kenlin and Masella tied for third, both scoring 9.825s. Kaia Vaney finished with a 9.775, and Zuhlke and Marissa Rojas tied with 9.750s to round out the team score.

Beam
The GymHawks posted a 47.850, as Zuhlke tied her season best and tied for a first-place overall finish with a score of 9.875. Henderson and Aubrey Nick tied for second place after posting 9.825s. Rojas finished with 9.325, and Muñoz tallied a 9.250. Alexa Ebeling scored a 9.000 to head into the final event.

Floor
Iowa, who is tied for 13th nationally on floor, tallied 49.300 on floor to close out the meet. Henderson tied for first place overall scoring a 9.925, recording her fourth top three finish against the Cyclones. Hanna Castillo scored 9.875 to claim third, and Muñoz came in fourth with a score of 9.850. Zivat and Bailey Libby tied for fifth after posting 9.825. Kenlin closed out the meet scoring a 9.050.

Quoting Head Coach Larissa Libby
“I felt like all of these things that happened have never happened to this team, and so I pulled them in and said you have to learn to let those things go. I told them these are things that happen to teams all the time. What will decide whether you are a good team, or an okay team is how you respond to it. I’m frustrated for them because I know they are a lot better than this.”

“The record-breaking attendance says a lot about the personality of this team, it says a lot about gymnastics in general, and also a lot about women’s sports. I think it says tons about all the women’s teams we have here that are going out and kicking butt and taking names. When I look in the stands and I see all those little girls with signs that are so fired up about gymnastics, it really is such a great feeling for me.”

Up Next
The Hawkeyes will close out the regular season on March 10, traveling to Cedar City, Utah to face Southern Utah. The competition is set to start at 7 p.m. (CT).