By Jess Westendorf
On Dec. 3, the Iowa women’s gymnastics team showcased its new routines to a large home crowd in the Field House in the Black and Gold Intrasquad meet.
The Hawkeyes were divided into two teams (Black and Gold) and competed in front of 500 Hawkeye fans, the largest crowd this year.
“We’ve had seven intrasquad meets this year, but none of them have been in an arena and in front of 500 people,” Iowa head coach Larissa Libby said in a release. “This situation adds pressure to the team and makes a big difference in a competitive situation.”
Both teams competed in all four events starting with vault. The gold team shot ahead in the first rotation and held its momentum through the uneven bars to lead the black team 4-3 into the third rotation.
But the black team wasn’t to be counted out — it tied the score on the beam and then won the floor competition to secure a come-from-behind victory, 9-8.
“The young kids stood out for me today,” Libby said in a release. “Sydney Hogan got hurt at the intrasquad last year, and she was out for half the season. I thought she did an outstanding job today. She trains really hard every single day. We’ve got a lot of hard workers, but that kid is incredible.”
Five Hawkeye freshmen made their débuts at the Black and Gold Intrasquad.
“[Freshman] Charlotte Sullivan competed in the all-around for the first time today, and Bre Fitzke had an unbelievable beam routine,” Libby said in the release.
With the regular season approaching rather quickly, the Hawkeyes are optimistic with where they are and the improvements that can be made.
“I think they held back a little today, but that’s why we do this — to see where we are,” said Libby in a release. “We talk to them about how this is their base mound, so you need to act like this was you first competition and move up from here. But to get them in that mindset and frame of thinking as a team is why we do this.”
The Hawkeyes will travel to Northern Illinois on Jan. 8 to open the regular season. Meet time is set for 1 p.m.
