2008 Woodie Awards
GymHawks think Senior Night, 'Pink'
Lars Headington - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 3/7/08 Section: Metro
Tonight at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the ambiance will be at once reflective, celebratory, and intense as the Iowa women's gymnastics will be there to "Think Pink" for breast-cancer awareness and celebrate Senior Night - all while hosting Iowa State.
The surging GymHawks have their eyes on the March 29 Big Ten championships, but they won't be overlooking Iowa State.
The last time they met, Feb. 22, Iowa State brought its best performance of the year to hand the GymHawks a 195.125-193.8 defeat in Ames - Iowa's only loss in the past six meets.
The GymHawks' score was also their lowest mark during that span. En route to the win, the Cyclones bested Iowa on both vault and balance beam and matched the GymHawks on floor. Iowa head coach Larissa Libby said the meet came down to execution.
"They had fewer falls than we did last time," she said. "They deserved to win."
Libby said she took the Hawkeyes into that meet with the wrong focus - that they should win - which affected their concentration on execution and overall level of gymnastics.
"This week, we're really trying to focus less on beating Iowa State and more on performance and coming up with a good score," Libby said. "We've really done a fantastic job over the past four weeks, and we've seen a significant improvement in the team's focus and their level of competition - and we'd like to keep it that way."
Ranked 19th in the nation, Iowa holds a 194.880 regional-qualifying score behind three-straight 195-plus scores.
The 32nd-ranked Cyclones' regional qualifying score is at 193.735. Iowa State is led by Nikki Dilbert, who is No. 26 in the nation with a 39.005 all-around.
The GymHawks have been led this season by junior Jenifer Simbhudas, whose all-around regional-qualifying score of 39.140 is best on the team and 20th in the NCAA. Simbhudas also carries the year's best Iowa averages on the vault, floor, and balance beam.
While the GymHawks hold court to Iowa State, they will also hold their annual "Think Pink" meet to raise awareness of breast cancer.
The surging GymHawks have their eyes on the March 29 Big Ten championships, but they won't be overlooking Iowa State.
The last time they met, Feb. 22, Iowa State brought its best performance of the year to hand the GymHawks a 195.125-193.8 defeat in Ames - Iowa's only loss in the past six meets.
The GymHawks' score was also their lowest mark during that span. En route to the win, the Cyclones bested Iowa on both vault and balance beam and matched the GymHawks on floor. Iowa head coach Larissa Libby said the meet came down to execution.
"They had fewer falls than we did last time," she said. "They deserved to win."
Libby said she took the Hawkeyes into that meet with the wrong focus - that they should win - which affected their concentration on execution and overall level of gymnastics.
"This week, we're really trying to focus less on beating Iowa State and more on performance and coming up with a good score," Libby said. "We've really done a fantastic job over the past four weeks, and we've seen a significant improvement in the team's focus and their level of competition - and we'd like to keep it that way."
Ranked 19th in the nation, Iowa holds a 194.880 regional-qualifying score behind three-straight 195-plus scores.
The 32nd-ranked Cyclones' regional qualifying score is at 193.735. Iowa State is led by Nikki Dilbert, who is No. 26 in the nation with a 39.005 all-around.
The GymHawks have been led this season by junior Jenifer Simbhudas, whose all-around regional-qualifying score of 39.140 is best on the team and 20th in the NCAA. Simbhudas also carries the year's best Iowa averages on the vault, floor, and balance beam.
While the GymHawks hold court to Iowa State, they will also hold their annual "Think Pink" meet to raise awareness of breast cancer.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Nikki
posted 3/08/08 @ 2:46 AM CST
I'm pretty sure people were "aware" of breast cancer 10 years ago.
Why not contribute to the cause of curing it instead of wasting time on "awareness"?
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