Minnesota at Iowa

Recap

The Big Storyline: The meet ended in a tie! Both teams had a solid meet and scored a 196.875. The Gophers are trending up and scored their highest number of the year. Iowa is showing some consistency after only dropping its score by a quarter-tenth from last week. 

Implications: Iowa and Minnesota remain in fourth and fifth place in the Big Ten, respectively. The Hawkeyes are only leading Minnesota by about three tenths, so they’ll have to keep up the consistency to stay ahead of the Gophers.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 18 Minnesota at No. 15 Iowa

Why You Should Cancel Plans for It: Not only is this meet very evenly matched in terms of the national rankings, but it’s also crucial to the Big Ten standings. Iowa sits in fourth and Minnesota is in fifth. Even though it’s early in the season, it’s not too early to start thinking about who will compete in the afternoon and evening sessions of the conference championship. This meet could be a big factor.

What We’re Watching: Watching to see if Iowa can keep improving its team score. The Hawkeyes have been improving each week, and if they keep it up, they could be looking at a 197 this weekend. As for Minnesota, it’ll be looking to jump into the mid-196 range. In order to hold off the Hawkeyes, the Gophers will need to hit their best routines and also count on some mistakes from the home team. 

What Else to Know Before Tuning in: Iowa’s coming off a few losses, most recently to Ohio State, but as long as the Hawkeyes don’t let their confidence fall, they should be able to come out on top here.