University of Iowa Athletics
Hawk Item
- Two-time All-American
- One of four multi-time All-Americans in program history
- NCAA runner-up on beam in 2022
- Tied the school record on beam with a 9.975 in 2021… also has the second-best score on beam in school history at 9.950.
2023
- Competed in all 12 meets.
- Big Ten All-Championship Team
- Big Ten Balance Beam Runner-up
- Second Team All-Big Ten
- Scored a career-best 9.925 three times on floor.
- Captured five individual event titles and 16 top-three finishes.
- Finished second on the team with most 9.900 or higher with 14.
- Tied for first on Bars (9.875) and balance beam (9.900) and finished third on floor (9.925) against Minnesota (1/27).
- Scored a season-best 9.950 on balance beam and a 9.900 on bars at the Big Ten Championships (3/18), tying for 11th overall and second overall.
- Scored six 9.800 or higher out of 10 meets on bars, scored seven 9.900 or higher and four 9.800 or higher on balance beam and scored six 9.900 or higher and four 9.800 or higher on floor.
- Big Ten Gymnast of the Week on Jan. 24
- Tied for 23rd on balance beam in Road to Nationals final rankings.
- Ranked fourth on balance beam and tied for 16th on floor in Big Ten final rankings.
- 2023 Big Ten Gymnast to Watch
- Academic All-Big Ten
- January Student Athlete of the Month
- Letterwinner
2022
- Finished as the NCAA runner-up on beam at NCAA Championships (4/14) with a 9.950… it was the highest beam score by a Hawkeye at the NCAA Championships in program history… runner-up finish is the highest by a Hawkeye all-time
- Is the sixth All-American in school history at NCAA Championships and second on beam… finished second to Olympic Gold medalist Suni Lee (9.965)
- Advanced to NCAA Championships after scoring a 9.950 at NCAA Regionals, becoming the first Hawkeye to qualify for NCAAs since 2017
- Missed four meets because of injury
- Won four event titles and posted eight top-three finishes during regular season
- Scored 9.900 or higher on beam in nine of 10 competitions
- Won beam (9.925) against Eastern Michigan (1/8), vault (9.850) and all-around (38.800) against Texas Woman’s University (1/14) and beam (9.900) at Iowa State (3/4)
- Placed fourth on beam (9.900) at Big Ten Championships (3/19)
- Tied for second on beam (9.950) and tied for fifth on vault (9.900) at NCAA Regionals (3/31)
- Posted three 9.900s at NCAA Regional Final (4/2), tying for third on beam (9.900), tying for fourth on bars (9.900) and tying for eighth on floor (9.900)
- Posted career bests on vault (9.850 at Minnesota/UCLA, 1/17), bars (9.900 at NCAA Regionals) and floor (9.900 at NCAA Regionals).
2022 Honors
- First-team All-American at NCAA Championships
- Second-Team All-Big Ten selection
- Recipient of the “Best Play” Golden Herky Award
- I-SAAS April Student-Athlete of the Month
- Academic All-Big Ten.
2021
- Competed in all 11 meets, twice performing in the all-around
- Competed on bars in every meet
- Tied a school record on beam, last set in 2002, scoring a 9.975 at Nebraska on March 14
- Received a 10.000 from one judge en route to her career-best score
- Won her first career event title on rings with a 9.875 against Ohio State (1/23)
- Won the beam title in the road win at Illinois (1/31)
- Won the beam (9.950) title in the road win at Nebraska (2/20)
- Won on beam (9.925) and tied for second on vault (9.825) and bars (9.875) in the home finale against Illinois (3/6)
- Won the all-around (her first all-around of her career) with a career-best 39.500 and finished first on beam (9.975) in the road win at Nebraska (3/14)
- Placed fifth in all-around (39.325) at the Big Ten Championships (3/26)
- Tied a career-high on vault (9.850), bars (9.900) and floor (9.875) at NCAA Regionals (4/2)
- Bar performance helped the team to the third-best team score in school history.
2021 Honors
- WCGA second-team All-American, becoming first freshman to earn All-America distinction
- Big Ten Freshman of the Year – the fourth Hawkeye to earn the distinction and first since 2001
- First-team All-Big Ten selection
- Four-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week honoree (Jan. 25, Feb. 8, March 1, March 15).
High School
- Named to the Junior U.S. National Team in 2017, leading the team to a gold medal
- Finished fourth in the all-around
- Won the all-around at the KPAC National Elite qualifier in 2016 with a 54.600
- Placed in the top 10 in the all-around at the P&G Championships and was second on balance beam
- Was also fourth out of 33 gymnasts on the bars
- Qualified for P&G Championships in 2014, placing 27th overall and 18th on balance beam in junior division
- Finished ninth in all-around and fifth on balance beam at the 2013 Region 4 Championships
- Qualified to Level 9 Western Nationals, finishing seventh on beam and fifth on floor
- Qualified to HOPES pre-elite and won gold medals on uneven bars, beam, floor, and all-around at the 2013 U.S. Challenge
- Placed seventh in all-around, third on uneven bars, and second on balance beam at the 2012 state championships
- Qualified for regional championships where she was first on balance beam, floor, and all-around
- Placed first on the balance beam and second in all-around at 2011 state championships
- Made the Diamond TOPs National team in 2009 and the “A” TOPs National Team in 2010 and 2011
- Received the Social Studies Medal of Honor in 2020
- Trained at the Iowa Gym-Nest under Paige Roth and Mary Wise.
Personal
- Born Aug. 3, 2002, in Guanxi, China
- Daughter of Sara Sanders and JR Kenlin
- Has three younger siblings, Kjirstin, Josephine, and Soren
- Mother is the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at University of Iowa
- Aunt was a collegiate gymnast at Auburn
- Majoring in sport and recreation management.
Career Bests
| Event | Score | Opponent | Date |
| Vault | 9.850 | 6X, last at Minnesota/vs. UCLA | 1/17/22 |
| Bars | 9.900 | 5X, last at NCAA Regional Final | 4/2/22 |
| Beam | 9.975 | at Nebraska | 3/14/21 |
| Floor | 9.900 | 2X, last at NCAA Regional Final | 4/2/22 |
| All-Around | 39.500 | at Nebraska | 3/14/21 |
