2008 Woodie Awards
'New' GymHawks face Ohio State
Lars Headington - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 2/8/08 Section: Sports
It will be a hot February night inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena when the GymHawks step back under the bright lights and in front of Big Ten Network cameras to host No. 22 Ohio State on Saturday.
The 28th-ranked Hawkeyes are coming off a solid victory last weekend on the road at Southeast Missouri State, but they want to make amends for their disappointing Carver home loss two weeks ago at the hands of Illinois.
"I really feel like after the Illinois meet we went back in the gym and took a really long hard look at the training that we've been doing and what's been going wrong," head coach Larissa Libby said. "I really think that the team you see on Saturday night is a completely different team from what it was two weekends ago."
Indeed, the team that notched a win on the road at Southeast Missouri on Feb. 2 with a season-high 194.55 was more consistent than the lineup that fell in its home-opener to the Illini Jan. 25 with just a 192.975 team score.
As a result, this weekend's lineup, though flexible, will largely remain intact.
"We are always trying to strengthen," Libby said. "We still have some lineups that don't have 10.0 start values in them, and so each week, we're getting some kids who are stepping up and doing a better job."
Freshman Becky Simbhudas, who lead the team on the balance beam at Southeast Missouri, is one who is vying to add another event.
"Rebecca Simbhudas is starting to get her skills back again, so we may try to début her on vault this weekend, but we've still got a couple more days of practice. She's doing well this week, but consistency is the key, and we can't risk a fall," Libby said. "That [vault] lineup did pretty well last weekend, so we'll see how she does this week."
The Hawkeyes, holding a 193.110 team average, are led by junior Jenifer Simbhudas' 38.9 average in the all-around as well as her top marks in vault, beam, and uneven bars. Junior Kara Pinjuv leads the team on floor with a 9.735 average.
Led by 2007's Big Ten Coach of the Year, Carey Fagan, Ohio State is averaging 193.719 with narrow leads over the GymHawks in each event. Buckeye Rebecca Best is ranked No. 20 in the nation with a 39.175 all-around average.
With another top-25 team in town, Libby anticipates another closely fought Big Ten matchup that will be determined in the last events.
"It's going to be a lot like Illinois - it's going to come down to who has more hits and the execution of those routines," Libby said. "I think that we're definitely going to be a stronger team than we were two weeks ago, and it will certainly come down to who hits beam, again."
E-mail DI reporter Lars Headington at:
william-headington@uiowa.edu
The 28th-ranked Hawkeyes are coming off a solid victory last weekend on the road at Southeast Missouri State, but they want to make amends for their disappointing Carver home loss two weeks ago at the hands of Illinois.
"I really feel like after the Illinois meet we went back in the gym and took a really long hard look at the training that we've been doing and what's been going wrong," head coach Larissa Libby said. "I really think that the team you see on Saturday night is a completely different team from what it was two weekends ago."
Indeed, the team that notched a win on the road at Southeast Missouri on Feb. 2 with a season-high 194.55 was more consistent than the lineup that fell in its home-opener to the Illini Jan. 25 with just a 192.975 team score.
As a result, this weekend's lineup, though flexible, will largely remain intact.
"We are always trying to strengthen," Libby said. "We still have some lineups that don't have 10.0 start values in them, and so each week, we're getting some kids who are stepping up and doing a better job."
Freshman Becky Simbhudas, who lead the team on the balance beam at Southeast Missouri, is one who is vying to add another event.
"Rebecca Simbhudas is starting to get her skills back again, so we may try to début her on vault this weekend, but we've still got a couple more days of practice. She's doing well this week, but consistency is the key, and we can't risk a fall," Libby said. "That [vault] lineup did pretty well last weekend, so we'll see how she does this week."
The Hawkeyes, holding a 193.110 team average, are led by junior Jenifer Simbhudas' 38.9 average in the all-around as well as her top marks in vault, beam, and uneven bars. Junior Kara Pinjuv leads the team on floor with a 9.735 average.
Led by 2007's Big Ten Coach of the Year, Carey Fagan, Ohio State is averaging 193.719 with narrow leads over the GymHawks in each event. Buckeye Rebecca Best is ranked No. 20 in the nation with a 39.175 all-around average.
With another top-25 team in town, Libby anticipates another closely fought Big Ten matchup that will be determined in the last events.
"It's going to be a lot like Illinois - it's going to come down to who has more hits and the execution of those routines," Libby said. "I think that we're definitely going to be a stronger team than we were two weeks ago, and it will certainly come down to who hits beam, again."
E-mail DI reporter Lars Headington at:
william-headington@uiowa.edu
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