This Big Ten matchup is one to watch, pitting two teams off to somewhat unexpected starts to the season. Michigan opened with a statement performance above 197.000, only to post a 196.375 in Week 2 and fall to Minnesota in an upset. Beam has been the Wolverines’ calling card, where they sit ranked No. 1 nationally; junior Kayli Boozer has been especially sharp, earning a 9.950 in both of her routines so far and aiming to repeat that mark tonight. The leg events are where Michigan still has ground to make up, and sophomore Sophia Diaz could be a key contributor in that push.
Iowa, meanwhile, delivered one of last week’s biggest surprises, taking down Michigan State at home with a 196.400 behind a stellar all-around performance from sixth-year senior JerQuavia Henderson. Perhaps the most intriguing development for the Hawkeyes has been their bars lineup, which currently ranks No. 15 nationally after historically being a weak spot. Iowa has improved its team total in every meet this season, and continuing that upward trend in Week 4 will hinge on boosting scores on beam and floor, where numbers have lagged behind the other events.
Michigan will be eager to reassert itself after last week’s stumble, while Iowa enters with confidence—and momentum—after another conference upset. Expect a competitive showdown.
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Rotation 1: Michigan VT, Iowa UB
Davis (Michigan): Starts things off with a clean Yurchenko full with a hop back. 9.775
Henderson (Iowa): Toe on, Maloney, bail – some foot form and leg separation throughout. Lets go too early on the full in dismount and lands short, having to put her hands down. 9.075
Jordan (Michigan): Yurchenko full with a hop, bent arms on the table and pikes down a bit. 9.750
Masella (Iowa): She’ll be trying to get the Hawkeyes back on track here. Blind change to Jaeger to bail is nice, some flexed feet but good height. Dismounts with a double layout with a small step forward. Solidi routine! 9.750
Guggino (Michigan): She didn’t vault last week but it back with her signature Yurchenko 1.5 – and sticks it! Soft knees in the air. 9.875
Bowles (Iowa): Super high Ray to clean shootover. Gets stuck on a handstand and almost goes over, has to recast. Late pirouette on the blind full to double tuck. 9.250
Boozer (Michigan): Very clean Yurchenko full with a small hop in place. 9.800
Schriever (Iowa): Toe on, Maloney, Pak with lovely toe point throughout. van Leeuwen with a small leg separation. Toe on to front pike half dismount with a stick. Really nice bar work from this freshman, she’s been great for the Hawkeyes this season. 9.850
Ranger (Michigan): Gets great height off the table for her Yurchenko 1.5, overcooks it a bit and takes a big lunge forward. 9.725
Turner (Iowa): Toe on, Maloney, Pak – legs stay GLUED together. Double layout with a hop in place. 9.800
Diaz (Michigan): Yurchenko 1.5, soft knees and closed hips in the air but gets good distance and absolutely drills the landing. 9.900
Tran (Iowa): Maloney to Pak, excellent form. Really nice van Leeuwen. Double layout dismount with a stick. The back half of this bars lineup is such high quality. 9.950
Ex – Lew (Michigan): Yurchenko full, pikes down for the landing. 9.700
Ex – Rojas (Iowa): Toe on to Geinger, catches close and bends her arms. Bail to clean handstand. Full in dismount with flexed feet, small hop. 9.625
AFTER ONE: Michigan 49.100, Iowa 48.575
It’s a shame Iowa had to count a miss, because the second half of that lineup was excellent. They’ll be looking to stick some landings on vault to close the gap behind Michigan, which had a solid opening rotation and posted its highest vault total of the season.
Rotation 2: Iowa VT, Michigan UB
Chambers (Iowa): Yurchenko full with a small hop, short on distance and height. 9.750
Jordan (Michigan): Blind change to high, clean Jaeger. Arched handstand on her bail. Blind full is a touch late, double tuck dismount is clean with a tiny hop in place. 9.800
Castillo (Iowa): Better height and distance on this Yurchenko full, but a bigger pike down and takes a lunge back on the landing. 9.775
Clapper (Michigan): Blind change to piked Jaeger, catches close with bent arms. Legs go a bit crazy on the bail, looks like she over rotated the twist? Finishes strong with a stuck double layout. 9.850 – that feels very high.
Tran (Iowa): Really nice flare out of her Yurchenko full, lands with a small hop in place. 9.850
Diaz (Michigan): Maloney with leg separation to a clean bail, good handstand. Great distance on her double layout and sticks it. 9.900
Turner (Iowa): Yurchenko 1.5, arm swing and a lean on the landing but holds on to the stick! 9.850
Lew (Michigan): Toe on blind change to piked Jaeger, no problems with distance there! Clean Pak. Her handstands are so precise. Double layout with leg separation and a step back. 9.750 – a tenth lower than Clapper makes me feel like I missed something.
Schriever (Iowa): Yurchenko full on pike off, lands well but walks out of it “college stick” style. 9.800
Parenti (Michigan): Toe on to Ray, bent arms on the catch. Pak salto with good toe point, small leg separation. Really nice handstand on the high bar. Double layout dismount with another stick! 9.825
Henderson (Iowa): Super dynamic Yurchenko 1.5 but can’t quite rein in the landing and takes a big lunge forward. 9.725
Baumann (Michigan): Blind change to Jaeger to overshoot, so clean the whole way through. Blind change to double front dismount with a small hop forward. 9.850
Ex – DePaola (Iowa): Yurchenko full with some loose form, small hop.
Ex – Sanger (Michigan): Arched handstand on the blind change but saves it, good height on the Jaeger. Double layout dismount with a step back.
AFTER TWO: Michigan 98.325, Iowa 97.600
The Wolverines are pulling ahead ahead after a solid set of bar routines, highlighted by a 9.900 from Diaz – she’s having an excellent meet so far. They have plenty to feel confident about as they head to beam, where they’re the top ranked team in the country Iowa was solid but not perfect on vault, and will be looking for some big floor scores in the next rotation from the likes of Henderson and Tran.
The ranking of Michigan’s bars scores made little sense to me – 49.225 feels like a fair score for the rotation, but the way they got there was confusing.
Rotation 3: Michigan BB, Iowa FX
Parenti (Michigan): Small balance check on her full turn. BHS LOSO with some soft knees, solid landing. Switch leap to split jump, great split positions. Front aerial to split jump, good. Round off to 1.5 dismount, underrotates and lands with a deep squat and a step back. 9.775
Tran (Iowa): Rudi to LOSO, some loose leg form but good height. Switch ring half, ring position looked good from this angle. Front layout to front full, large lunge. Switch ring to split full, really nice extension. 9.775
Walters (Michigan): Front toss to BHS, really nice series. Split leap to switch half, has to bend over to hold onto it. Front full dismount with a stick. 9.725
Turner (Iowa): Double wolf turn is cleanly done. Double pike, stumbles back and nearly goes OOB but stays in. Switch half, straddle full, straddle full – good straddle positions. 1.5 to front layout, clean and high. 9.675
Jordan (Michigan): Side aerial to BHS, solid. Beat jump to straddle jump 1/2 with a leg lift. Front toss with a balance check. Gainer pike dismount, stuck. 9.750
Schriever (Iowa): Opens with a solid double pike. Whip half to Rudi, some leg form. Switch half to wolf full to wolf full, underrotated on the jumps. I’m a big fan of her choreography. 9.875
Ranger (Michigan): This has been a very 9.7y rotation for Michigan, let’s see if Ranger can get things moving. BHS LOSO LOSO is rock solid, some flexed fleet. Switch leap to pike jump, good. Nails the front toss. She looks confident up there. Round off double back dismount, great height and a step back on the landing. 9.800, and they’re out of the 9.7 trenches.
Castillo (Iowa): Double wolf turn, loses her balance a little bit covers it up. Front tuck through to double pike, great control on the landing. Double tuck, another really solid landing, the lunge feels very intentional. Switch side half to straddle jump to Shushunova, nicely done. 9.875
Boozer (Michigan): Can she keep her 9.950 streak going? Switch leap, switch split jump, straddle jump – excellent form. BHS LOSO is solid. BHS gainer full dismount is clean and stuck. Her body position is so precise in every skill. 9.900
Erb (Iowa): Double pike with great height. Switch side half to straddle jump, good straddle positions. 1.5 to front full, stumbles back a little on the landing.
Bauman (Michigan): A little lean on her full turn. BHS LOSO, solid with great straight legs. Split jump, straddle jump half, sissone – excellent split positions. Side somi with a balance check. Gainer pike with a stick, that was a great set to close out the rotation. 9.875
Henderson (Iowa): Her signature huge full in with a solid landing. Switch side to Popa to straddle jump, rotations looked accurate to me. Front tuck through to double tuck, a little short and has to lunge forward. 9.850
Ex – Davis (Michigan): BHS LOSO, solid. Cat leap to side aerial to beat jump, clean. Switch leap to split jump. BHS to gainer full dismount, stuck. This is a tough lineup to crack but I could see her making it. 9.700
Ex – DePaola (Iowa): Front double full to stag jump, some leg form. Clean through the dance series. Rudi to back tuck is a cool pass. I think she’s done an all-around exhibition at every meet this season so I’m sure we’ll see her in some lineups soon. 9.600
Ex – Sanger (Michigan): BHS LOSO, very clean. Cat leap to side aerial with a wobble. Switch half to beat jump, good. BHS gainer full with a hop. Michigan has a lot of solid beam routines to choose from. 9.775
Ex – Tyson (Iowa): Rudi LOSO, some bent knees. Front double full, a little overcooked. Switch half to wolf full, good. I like her music. 9.725
AFTER THREE: Michigan 147.425, Iowa 146.700
Michigan was stuck in the 9.700 range in the first half of the rotation but finished things out with nice scores from Boozer and Bauman, though it was far from the massive 49.650 we saw this team open the season with. Iowa is having some consistency issues tonight, but a pair of 9.875s from Schriever and Castillo helped in setting a new season high floor total of 49.100. As we head into the final rotation, the Hawkeyes will be looking to finish strong on beam, and the Wolverines are five hit floor routines away from a home win.
Rotation 4: Iowa BB, Michigan FX
Volpe (Iowa): BHS LOSO, some flexed feet but solid. Switch leap to straddle 1/4, splits maybe a little shy of 180. Cat leap to front aerial, very nice. Round off to tucked 1.5 dismount with a stick. Great way to set the tone for the final rotation! 9.775 – that feels low in comparison to Michigan’s beam rotation.
Parenti (Michigan): Really nice double pike with great chest position on the landing. Switch half to tuck jump 1.5, stumbles out of it. 1.5 to front full, very tight form. Another excellent leadoff! 9.825
Henderson (Iowa): BHS LOSO, lands off-center and fights to stay on but falls. Switch leap to straddle quarter is solid. Round off double twist with good form, leans on the landing but holds the stick. 9.175
Sanger (Michigan): High double pike, small loss of control on the landing. Switch half to wolf full to wolf full, good body position. 1.5 to front layout, clean. Finishes with a solid double wolf turn. 9.825
Ball (Iowa): This is a big test for the freshman, going up after a fall from a veteran. Balance check on her full turn. BHS LOSO is better. Split jump to split jump half, little bobble. BHS gainer full dismount with a stick. We saw some nerves there, but she kept it together and delivered a hit in a tough position.
Walters (Michigan): Front double full, crossed legs but great control on the landing. Switch half, straddle full, straddle – good extension. 1.5 to front tuck, looks like the landing surprised her a little and has a small stumble on the landing but covers it up nicely. 9.850
Tran (Iowa): Front aerial to BHS, clean and solid. Switch leap to switch half with a lean to beat jump with a lean. Switch leap to split jump – I think she was worried about losing her dance series, good quick thinking! Gainer pike dismount with a hop. 9.725
Diaz (Michigan): After two 9.900 performances tonight, let’s see what she can do here. Front double full, lacking some control on the landing. Her choreography is so fun. Rudi to LOSO with some leg form. Switch half to wolf full is clean and high. 9.900 – that’s a hat trick for her tonight!
Turner (Iowa): Gainer BHS, BHS, LOSO – very solid. Switch leap to split jump, good. BHS to 1.5 dismount with a stick. Really solid, confident set from her. 9.875
Bauman (Michigan): Nails a front double full with excellent form. Switch half, wolf full, wolf full – very nice. She’s so precise in her floor work. 1.5 to front layout stuck cold! 9.950
Schriever (Iowa): BHS LOSO with a step back. Front toss to beat jump, very clean. Switch leap to straddle 1/4, a little tentative but clean. BHS gainer full with a stick. 9.750
Ranger (Michigan): Michigan is guaranteed the win at this point, but let’s see how Ranger can close things out. She flies on her double layout and has to step OOB. Switch half to Popa, great height. Front layout through to double tuck, well-controlled on the landing. A great, high-energy routine from her to wrap up this meet for the Wolverines. 9.725
Ex – Lee (Iowa): Side aerial, leg goes up and she falls. Side aerial to LOSO with a bobble – an ambitious series, which I always appreciate. Finished with a gainer pike dismount. 9.125
Ex – Clapper (Michigan): Double pike, lands a little short with chest down. Front full to front layout, short again. I like the Lana del Rey music.
Ex – Rojas (Iowa): BHS LOSO LOSO, really nice. Landed a gainer full dismount with a hop.
FINAL: Michigan 196.775, Iowa 195.600
The Wolverines take the win in their hope opener and build on last week’s score, but they’re still chasing the magic of their Week 2 performance. We’ve seen what this team is capable of, and they need to clean up the details to get back in 197 range as we approach the midway point of the season. Diaz and Bauman were the standouts tonight, each delivering big scores on three events. Iowa had good and not-so-good moments tonight, but Schriever delivered a solid all-around performance, proving herself as a major contributor to this team in only her fourth meet. The Hawkeyes will have to dial in on landings and consistency if they want to assert their position as a sneaky threat in the Big Ten.
VT: Diaz (Michigan) – 9.900
UB: Tran (Iowa) – 9.925
BB: Boozer (Michigan) – 9.900
FX: Bauman (Michigan) – 9.950
AA: Tran and Schriever (Iowa) – 39.275
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Live blog by Sophie Poirier
