IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The University of Iowa women’s gymnastics team made its debut in the annual Black and Gold Intrasquad at the UI Field House on Saturday morning. Fans turned out in droves to watch as the GymHawks split into two teams -- Black and Gold -- for the event.
THE EVENT
The two teams competed in all four events, beginning with vault before facing off on bars, beam, and floor. Two celebrity judges determined the winner of each event, with the crowd serving as a tiebreaker when necessary.
The Gold team took an early 4-3 lead after the first rotation. Gold stayed consistent throughout bars and beam, holding a 10-5 lead prior to the final rotation on floor. The Gold team then closed out the competition strong to take home a 13-7 victory.
HEAR FROM COACH LIBBY
“I was impressed with a lot of little things today. We did not warm up well, and that can stress a team out. The hardest part about today is that we were separated. We don’t do well when we are separated. We are like a puzzle. We don’t function very well when we are apart, but put us together and we are fantastic, so it was difficult seeing how they were away from each other. Once they got in that one group, it was a completely different dynamic. The leaders really stepped up, which they will have to do all season. They have to remind the younger girls that we don’t get judged in warm up, and we are capable of turning this around. It was not great at the beginning, so I’m very pleased that that’s what came out.”
“Overall, the team impressed me today. The upperclassmen are doing a great job mentoring the younger ones. They are keeping them in the game and showing them our culture and what we are about. We have a high expectation on us, and it’s hard to keep that pressure down when you want so badly to make everybody happy. They are doing a really good job with keeping our mission in line. The amount of people that were in here loving what our team did, that’s the mission. At the end of the day, we want to be remembered for the right thing.”
UP NEXT
The GymHawks open the regular season in Tempe, Arizona, in a tri-meet with Arizona State and Iowa State on Jan. 6 at 5 p.m. (CT).