Hawkeyes Secure B1G Victory to No. 17 Michigan State

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa women’s gymnastics team picked up a Big Ten victory over No. 17 Michigan State, 196.400-195.675 for the first time since 2023 (five matchups) on Saturday evening at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.  

The Hawkeyes took event wins in vault (49.200), bars (49.125) and beam (49.025).  Iowa secured four individual event titles. Sophomore Aurélie Tran shined taking two individual event titles, vault (9.875) and bars (9.925). Fifth-year JerQuavia Henderson and sophomore Sydney Turner shared an individual title on beam posting 9.825. Henderson secured first place in the all-around scoring 39.375. 

Freshman Sophie Schriever took second in her all-around debut with a 39.250 score.

VAULT
The GymHawks kicked off the meet with a season-high 49.200 on vault to lead the competition. Tran led the lineup with a 9.875, matching her career best. Henderson and Turner followed closely behind with a 9.850, to tie for second place.  Schriever contributed a career best of 9.825. Seniors Hanna Castillo and Avery Chambers posted a 9.800 and 9.775, respectively, to help the Hawkeyes sweep the top of the podium in the event.  

BARS
Iowa earned a 49.125 on bars, highlighted by Tran’s season best 9.925 in the anchor position, securing the individual event title.  Senior Gianna Masella, freshman Daisy Bowles, Henderson and Schriever followed with matching scores of 9.800. Iowa continued their lead at the halfway mark, 98.325- 97.550.

BEAM
The momentum continued in the third rotation, where the GymHawks scored a season best 49.025 on beam. Henderson and Turner tied for first at 9.825, a career-high for Turner. Junior Eva Volpe and Schriever both contributed 9.800. Freshman Maggie Ball posted a career best, 9.775. Tran added a 9.750, to keep the Hawkeyes in the lead, heading into the final rotation. 

FLOOR
Iowa closed the meet on beam, tallying a team score of 49.050. Henderson led the way with a 9.900, placing second overall. Senior Emily Erb contributed 9.850, to take third place. Schriever scored a career best 9.825, while Castillo posted 9.800. 

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH JEN LLEWELLYN
"It feels amazing to get a win against Michigan State; they are an incredible team with a lot of success, and I think it was good for our team to get that confidence and know they are capable of competing against anyone in the country. Especially through a little bit of adversity throughout the entire meet, they stayed steady and focused on doing their gymnastics to the best of their ability. We finally hit beam like we knew we were capable of, which was a huge relief, and once they settled in and trusted themselves on floor, they came out strong.”

UP NEXT
The nationally ranked Hawkeyes will travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan on Jan. 24 to face the No. 5 Michigan Wolverines.  Action inside of Crisler Center will begin at 3 p.m. (C.T) and will be streamed on B1G+ (subscription required).