Notes: Black Out vs. Michigan State

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa women’s gymnastics team will host No. 15 Michigan State in its Big Ten opener on a “Black Out” Saturday at 4 p.m. inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tickets are available for $15 (adults) and free (youth).

FOLLOW LIVE

• The meet with be streamed on B1G+ (subscription required).
• Fans can follow along via live results at hawkeyesports.com or via X (@IowaGymnastics). 

LAST TIME OUT

• Iowa won the Border Battle quad-meet posting a 196.000, defeating Illinois, Iowa State and Illinois State.
• The Hawkeyes led from start to finish, taking team titles on vault, bars and floor.
• Iowa posted a season-high 49.275 on bars, led by 9.900s from sophomore Aurélie Tran and freshman Daisy Bowles.
• Two Hawkeyes earned individual event titles: Tran on vault (9.850) and sophomore Sydney Turner on floor with a career-best 9.925.
• Tran placed second on floor (9.875), beam (9.825) and in the all-around (39.450).

SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE

• Following last season, Head coach Mike Rowe was named the WCGA Region One Coach of the Year.
• The Spartans finished 3rd in Sprouts Collegiate Quad scoring a 196.225, behind No. 5 Michigan and No. 19 California, defeating Kentucky.
• Michigan State highest score this season was on beam, posting 49.275.
• Senior Nikki Smith, the reigning Big Ten Gymnast of the Year, holds the Michigan State all-around record (39.775). Smith has recorded two 10.0s on vault and the only perfect 10.0 on floor in program history.
• Smith and senior Olivia Zsarmani were named Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch.
• The Spartans ended the 2025 season at No. 6 in the final RoadtoNationals rankings after finishing their season in the NCAA Semifinals.

STRONG RETURNING CORE

•  Fifth-year JerQuavia Henderson made a standout return to the lineup after two years at the Utah tri-meet. Henderson tied for second on floor with a 9.875 and shared third in the all-around with Tran (39.125).
• Henderson and sophomore Sydney Turner were tabbed as Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch.
•  Tran earned first team all-Big Ten and all-freshman honors after competing in every meet last season.
• The Hawkeyes have three Canadians on the roster for 2026, including three 2024 Olympians in sophomore Cassie Lee, Tran and Turner.
• Junior Eva Volpe was was named Big Ten Freshmen of the Week three times during the 2024 season. 

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 travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan on Jan. 24 to face the Michigan Wolverines.  Action inside of Crisler Center will begin at 3 p.m. (C.T) and will be streamed on B1G+ (subscription required).