IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The University of Iowa women’s gymnastics team has been selected for the Minneapolis NCAA Regional, announced the selection committee on Monday. The GymHawks will compete as the No. 6 seed on April 7 at 4 p.m. (CT).
The GymHawks are one of 36 teams to qualify for NCAA competition at one of six different sites. Iowa will compete against No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 12 Kentucky, No. 13 Denver, No. 24 Minnesota, and Iowa State.
“We are very excited,” said UI head coach Larissa Libby. “It’s always exciting to see your team’s name up there. It’s a very prestigious group of people. Being ranked anywhere in the top 36 is great. It’s been a long year for us, and there was a point when we weren’t really sure if we would make it. For me, I’m just excited to have our name up there.”
Iowa earned a season-high 196.400 to finish third in session II -- and fourth overall -- at the 2018 Big Ten Championships at the State Farm Center on Saturday evening. This score secured its spot in the 2018 NCAA Regionals.
Iowa has competed at every NCAA Regionals since 2005, with three seasons of individual representation and 11 team appearances. Libby has led Iowa to 11 postseason appearances in 14 seasons, including this season.
“Going to Minneapolis gives us the opportunity to bring all of our fans,” said Libby. “If we go anywhere else, the likelihood of us bringing as many people is a lot lower. That’s the most important thing to us, when we look up in the stands and our fans are able to make it feel like our home venue. “
The top two teams from each regional and the top two all-around competitors not on a qualifying team receive automatic berths to the NCAA National Championships in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 20-21.
In addition to the automatic qualifiers, event winners at each regional will advance to the NCAA National Championships (in the event only) if they are not part of a qualifying team or an all-around qualifier.
Minneapolis Regional (University of Minnesota)
- No. 1 Oklahoma 198.120
- No. 12 Kentucky 196.800
- No. 13 Denver 196.785
- No. 24 Minnesota 196.250
- Iowa State 196.045
- Iowa 195.775