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109 A regular season that had its ups and its downs ended with a tie March 20 in Nebraska, but the University of Iowa men's gymnastics team heads into championship season with optimism. e Hawkeyes finished the regular season ranked eighth in the nation according to roadtonationals. com. e team broke numerous school records and saw contributions from unlikely people. "It was a successful regular season," UI head coach JD Reive said. "We still failed to accomplish the increasing consistency and scoring that we set out to do, but it doesn't change the fact that the team is as healthy mentally and physically as it has ever been heading into a postseason." Reive's team is led by his first recruiting class as head coach. Now seniors, Matt Loochtan, Jack Boyle and Doug Sullivan have ascended the national leaderboards. "When I think of about the regular season, it's the seniors," Reive said. "e specialists all the way to the all-arounders have done so much to put us in the competitive position in ways we have been unable to do since I have been here." Loochtan ranks seventh in the nation on floor (15.417) and ninth in the all-around (86.467). Boyle is fourth on high bar (15.100) and 13th in all-around (86.000) while Sullivan broke his own school record on pommel horse, with a 15.400 at UIC on Jan. 24. "A lot of our success has come from their leadership, maturity, and willingness to improve," Reive said. "We have seen that consistently during the season on the weekends and the fun part is that we see it every day in the gym." One of the pleasant surprises has been the emergence of two freshmen making weekly contributions in the lineup. Rogelio Vazquez and Jake Brodarzon have taken full advantage of the resources available to succeed in the gym. "Jake Brodarzon came, put his head down and worked," Reive said. "He worked every day to get better and that is a hard thing to do your freshman year. He is competing on floor and parallel bars, but at the same time he has worked himself into a first alternate on several other events. "Rogelio battled injuries during the season, but is feeling great and is filling really important roles in our lineup as well." With Ohio State hosting both the Big Ten Championships and NCAA Championships, the Hawkeyes' familiarity in Columbus, Ohio, could give them an advantage as they look for consistency. "We are looking to go in and compete as a team," Reive said. "ey are in great shape and are able to go in and do whatever they set out to do. To do that, they need to go in as a group and know they are putting out 30 routines and hit as many as possible. We need to go in and be competitive." Championship season begins with the Big Ten Championships on April 1-2 and continues on April 15-16 for the NCAA Championships. APRIL SCHEDULE April 1-2 at Big Ten Championships (Columbus, Ohio) April 15-16 at NCAA Championships (Columbus, Ohio)