Notes: GymHawks Open 2026 Season at Utah

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa women’s gymnastics team will head to Salt Lake City, Utah to open the 2026 season at the Utah Tri-Meet with Minnesota. Action inside of the Jon M. Huntsman Center will begin at 8:00 p.m. CT.

FOLLOW LIVE

• The meet with be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required).
• Fans can follow along via live results at hawkeyesports.com or via X (@IowaGymnastics). 

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

• The Hawkeyes are ranked No. 22 in the WCGA Preseason Poll. Iowa is one of 12 Big Ten teams in the rankings.
• Fifth-year JerQuavia Henderson and sophomore Sydney Turner were tabbed as Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch.
• Sophomore Aurélie Tran hopes to capitalize after a strong freshman season where she earned first team all-Big Ten and all-freshman honors after competing in every meet last season.
• Tran and senior Haley Tyson were named to the 2025 Big Ten all-championships team for bars and floor, respectively.
• The Hawkeyes have three Canadians on the roster for 2026, including three 2024 Olympians in sophomore Cassie Lee, Tran and Turner.
• The GymHawks return eight athletes who accounted for 37 event titles in 2025. 

PREVIEWING UTAH AND MINNESOTA

• Head Coach Carly Dockendorf is in her third season leading the Utes.
• The Utes were ranked fifth in the WCGA Preseason Poll, marking their ninth consecutive season in the top five nationally.
• Utah is the only prorgram to qualify for every National Championship and every Final Four.
• The Utes return WCGA NCAA All-Americans sophomore Avery Neff, senior Makenna Smith and junior Ella Zirbes.
• Head Coach Jenny Hansen is in her 12th season at Minnesota. 
• Coach Hansen was named North Central Region Coach of the Year. 
• The Gophers were ranked No. 15 in WCGA Preseason Poll.
• Senior Gianna Gerdes and junior Jordyn Lyden were named Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch. 
• Minnesota finished second in Big Ten regular season standings with an 8-1 conference record.

THE LLEWELLYN ERA

• Jen Llewellyn is heading into her second season as head coach for the GymHawks after bringing success immediately to the program.
• After being picked to finish 10th in the Preseason Poll, the GymHawks took fifth in the regular season and at Big Ten Championships. 
• The GymHawks broke 197.00 for the first time since 2021 against Iowa State, posting a 197.025, the fourth-highest score in program history. In the same meet, Iowa scored a 49.425 on beam, tying the program’s second- highest score in history for the event.
• Following their first season assistant coaches Craig Ballard, Brenna Brooks and Kyle Grable were named Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association WCGA Assistant Coaches of the Year for the North Central Region.
• Ballard spent the last 13 seasons on staff at Kent State University. Brooks was a student-athlete under Llewellyn at Washington and was an assistant coach in 2024. Grable was on staff at UCLA the past three seasons and was a successful club coach for 15 years prior to that. 

IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Seven Hawkeyes are in the Iowa record books. They are as follows:

• JerQuavia Henderson - T-9th - 9.925 - Vault 
• Karina Muñoz - T-9th - 9.925 - Vault 
• Karina Muñoz – T-2nd – 9.950 – Uneven Bars
• Aurélie Tran – T-2nd – 9.950 – Uneven Bars 
• JerQuavia Henderson - T-8th - 9.925 - Uneven Bars
• Sydney Turner- T-8th - 9.925 - Uneven Bars
• Marissa Rojas – T-9th – 9.925 – Beam
• Karina Muñoz – T-9th – 9.925 – Beam 
• JerQuavia Henderson – T-9th – 9.925 – Beam
• JerQuavia Henderson – T-1st– 9.975 – Floor
• Emily Erb– T-1st– 9.975 – Floor
• JerQuavia Henderson – T-6th– 9.950 – Floor 
• Emily Erb - T-6th - 9.950 - Floor 
• Hanna Castillo - T-6th - 9.950 - Floor 
• Karina Muñoz – T-8th – 39.575 – All-Around
• Karina Muñoz – T-11th – 39.550 – All-Around

NEW FACES ON THE MAT

• The Hawkeyes have welcomed four newcomers to the team, all freshmen.
• The freshman class includes Oklahoma native Maggie Ball, Nevada native Daisy Bowles, Arizona native Stella DePaola and Utah native Sophie Schriever.
• Ball is the daughter of Oklahoma head coach K.J. Kindler and associate head coach Lou Ball.

FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES
For a behind the scenes look at the program, follow the GymHawks via social media at Facebook/IowaGymnastics, X/@IowaGymnastics, and Instagram (@IowaGymnastics).

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes will host Illinois, Illinois State and Iowa State in the Border Battle meet on Jan. 10.  Action inside of the Carver-Hawkeye Arena will begin at 4 p.m. CT.