Gymhawks Upset at Big10 Championships-

March 27, 2010
So the University of Iowa gymnastics team got last at the Big10 Championships last year, 2009. However, this past weekend was one of the biggest upset in the competition. The Gymhawks received third place out of all the gymnastics teams of the Big10. They were not even looked at as competition to their opposing teams but proved them all wrong as the competition went on. Though they were the underdogs going into the meet, they soon met the glances of many scared teams. They made two of the best teams in the nation, University of Michigan and Penn State, sweat as they hit each event.
The girls started on the uneven bars where every single person nailed their bar routine, including 4 stuck landings. After this event the coaches could see that the girls were in the game tonight. They moved to the balance beam where they shocked the crown with their confidence. Junior, Houry Gebeshian hit the best routine of her career and got an outstanding score of 9.95. All the athletes hit their routines including every stuck dismount.
They then moved to the floor exercise where it was less than perfect, but still enough to keep the momentum going. Sophomore Jess Hansen, usually a big score for the Hawkeyes, got a bloody nose right before her floor routine. The entire meet was held up in order to stop the bleeding! Her nose continued to bleed so she had to do her floor routine with two cotton rods stuck up her nose… now that was a sight to see. The sophomore performed to the best of her abilities with only being able to breathe through one side of her nose. Though she had a few mishaps, she did a wonderful job working with the bad luck thrown at her. The funniest part of the entire routine was after the very last flip of her floor routine, the used cotton rods were sent flying out of her nostril and left her laughing in the last part of her dance. This was like anything that anyone has seen before and it sure made the meet even better to watch.
On the vault the Hawkeyes did not manage to do what they are capable of, but still ended strong. Junior Arielle Sucich was the start to the group but went down during the competition. Though nothing is certain, she may have suffered a high ankle injury. The rest of the group finished well considering the distraction of one of their teammates hurt.
The Hawkeyes beat Minnesota, Ohio State, Michigan State, and the University of Illinois. All of these teams, with the exception of Ohio State, were ranked higher than them. They were the upset of the night and got their season high score of a 195.575. The Hawkeyes will have their regional competition in two weeks where they hope to perform even better.