If you were to ask any of the gymnasts on the Men's Gymnastics Team what pumps them up the most for competitions, you may get many different answers. Some will say competing with 16 of your best friends. Some might even reason that finishing a hard routine in a competition setting gives them a feeling of sastification. However, on Saturday January 22nd, the Hawks recieved an extra boost of energy that was surely un-expected.
As the Men's and Women's teams competed, over 800 fans came out to root on the gymnasts while they both battled it out in thier seperate competitions! The stands? They were completely full. The track above the competiton floor? Tightly lined with eager fans awaiting the chance to see Iowa Gymnastics in action. It was a sight to see and your Hawks definitely fed off of that enthusiastic energy.
Just minutes before the competition, the Men's and Women's Teams rallied in the hallway; chanting the Iowa fight song and ringing the rafters with the resonance of their voices. With the announcer calling the teams to march out onto the floor, thier game faces were immediately put on and all rowdiness was put aside; it was now all business.
The first rotation began with the Floor. Solid performances were given by So. Matt McGrath and Fr. Lance Alberhasky who posted high numbers, had clean landings and aggresive tumbling. It was onto the Pommel Horse.
On the hardest event in Men's Gymnastics, Sr. Ben Ketelsen lead the way with a crowd-pleasing routine. With open-swinging and pointed-toes, the senior posted the highest score for the night on the apparatus and made the cut for Pommel Horse in the Super Six Video.
With the transition to the Still Rings, So. Anton Grashayev made school history. The strong rings-man broke the previous school record of 14.85 on the event with a 14.9! In addition, the entire Rings line-up that evening posted solid numbers and represented the strength of Iowa Gymnastics well.
For the fourth rotation, the Hawks moved to the Vault where Fr. Javier Balboa and Sr. Ben Ketelsen performed impressive routines with minimal deductions. Both were awarded with notable scores that would count towards the teams Vault percentage.
The Parallel Bars were nothing to difficult for Sr. Michael Jiang to handle as he competed a routine good enough to secure him a spot in this competiton's Super Six video. So. Jack McClay, in his only event for the night, came through for the Hawks as well to supply a hit set.
High Bar may have been the last event for the Hawks but the stellar performances were nowhere close to being done. Fr. Lance Alberhasky came through to seal his evening with a fluid and clean performance on the tall event. The kaboose for the High Bar line up, Fr. Javier Balboa, also wowed the crowd with his flying skills and well-deserved score.
The Hawkeyes did well enough to out do the Flames in an almost 10 point lead, giving them thier first season victory while at home. Go Hawks!
Some reminders!
1)Continue voting for February's Profiled Hawkeye!
2)Check out the new "Super Six" video featuring full routines!
3)New Skill of the Week posted.
4)Big Surprise coming soon to the Iowa Men's Gymnastics Blog! Stay tuned in over the next few weeks to see what it is!!
5)Want to see something different or just have a question? Feel free to comment below! Everyone can!
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