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29 C ollegiate gymnastics is weeks away from championship season. For some teams, it means their final meets are near, but for others it's the beginning of a postseason run For all Big Ten teams, a part of the conference championships began at the Big Five Meet on Feb. 22, as they competed for their session at the Big Ten Championships e top three in each of the two sessions at the Big Five Meet compete at the preferred night session at Big Tens Going into the Big Five Meet, the University of Iowa women's gymnastics team's goal was to get into the top three in session one. "We had no idea when we looked up at the scoreboard, that one, we could've won, that wasn't a thought, and two, that the score would be that high," Iowa head coach Larissa Libby said Iowa gymnastics received scores it knew it was capable of achieving by winning session one of the Big Five Meet with a season-high 196.450 "We are used to feeling great and looking up at the scoreboard and it not being what we thought," Libby said. "It is going to be the turning point for us on how everyone sees us. It was a historical night for the GymHawks. ey had never won a Big Five Meet "For us to win, was validation mainly," Libby said. "When we talk about validation, we try to redirect where the satisfaction comes from. It's funny it came at that time, because we had it settled in our brains that it doesn't matter what other people think. It matters what we think. Even with this win, the GymHawks didn't lose who they are. "It was relaxed for them and probably the first time that they were OK with whatever happened," Libby said. "ey were happy regardless, because we instilled in them from the beginning that your score doesn't define you. ey didn't compromise themselves at any point. is confidence is just what the GymHawks longed for as they head into the back half of the season "It gave us a lot of confidence in doing what we love and succeeding at that," junior Clair Kaji said Kaji won three event titles at the Big Five Meet in session one: bars (9.900), floor (9.900), and beam (9.875), tying with senior Nicole Chow on bars and freshman Lauren Guerin on floor As a junior and NCAA qualifier, she knows that this win is just the beginning "I don't want to stop here. I don't want to live in that success. I want to keep going," Kaji said. "If you're not growing, you're dying. If you're not learning, you're failing, because you're not getting better. I am grateful for everything that has brought me here, but it's still time to keep pushing. e GymHawks backed their Big Five score on March 1, competing against Iowa Corn Cy-Hawks Series foe No. 26 Iowa State. Iowa earned a score of 196.250, helping them move up the rankings to No. 31 in the Road to Nationals Poll (released March 4). Kaji and her teammates aren't going to stop here. "We have to be conscious of not basking in the glory of one meet," Kaji said. "We have to back it up. It's not just one success and we're done. is is only the beginning and we have so much more to offer." MARCH SCHEDULE March 8 at Washington vs. Sacramento State Seattle March 15 at Oregon State vs. North Carolina vs. Seattle Pacific Corvallis, Ore. March 22-24 at Big Ten Championships University Park, Pa.