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57 T he University of Iowa women's gymnastics program has shaped Erin Castle, Emma Hartzler and Clair Kaji. e trio of GymHawk seniors competed in its final home meet March 6 against No. 19 Illinois. "e person I walked into college as and the person I am leaving as are different people," said Castle, a native of Boone, Iowa. "Being on the team has allowed me to grow to be who I am going to be for the rest of my life." Castle committed to the Uni- versity of Iowa as a sophomore in high school and throughout her Hawkeye career, she has competed as an all-around gymnast. Her favorite memory was defeating Iowa State for the first time in four years in 2020 at Hilton Coliseum because her fam- ily, who largely rooted for the Cyclones, were in attendance. Aer graduation, Castle will move to Nashville, Tennessee, for graduate school at Belmont Univer- sity as she works toward a master's degree in sports administration. Hartzler is grateful Iowa head coach Larissa Libby gave her an opportunity to compete beyond high school. She will forever cherish the memories she has made as a Hawkeye. "My most memorable moment has to be my first home meet at Carver-Hawkeye Arena my fresh- man year," said Hartzler, a native of Marion, Iowa. "Or it was when I landed my vault for the first time at Michigan. I had worked so hard to get it, and it was a new vault that I had never brought to com- petition before." Hartzler plans on continuing her education in nursing. For Kaji, a fih-year Hawkeye from Vancouver Canada, being a part of the team extends beyond gymnastics. "I used to be extremely introverted," said Kaji. "I have gained so much confidence and am so proud to be who I am." Kaji's battled through an Achilles tendon tear as a sophomore and her first senior season was cut short in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pan- demic. "e injury put me outside of the sport, which gave me a dif- ferent perspective," she said. "I was more of a learner, which changed my perspec- tive of how I thought of myself, which was always as a gymnast. I had the mentality of if I am not a gymnast than who am I? From then, I have been grateful for learning everything that I did that year and have always been grateful for being able to compete." Kaji is using her fih year to start master's degree classes in the social work program. Her passion for helping the oppressed population in the United States has led her to study social work and crimi- nal justice. e trio has been instrumental in a banner year for the Hawkeyes. Iowa claimed the regular season Big Ten title — the first in program history — with a Big Five Meet victory Feb. 27. e team achieved a No. 7 national ranking, which is tops all-time. e Hawkeyes also scored a 196.800 in a come- from-behind win over No. 11 Minnesota — the best score by the team since 2004. MARCH SCHEDULE March 14 at Nebraska March 20 at Big Ten Championships