Olympic Spotlight: Iowa Softball Off to 4-1 Start

Look, I know a few weeks ago I said if you break a school record, you get the spotlight. But as much as the Iowa track and field team might deserve the spotlight every single week this year, I have to spread the love around at least a little.

This is also why you shouldn't put rules down in writing.

So yes, Alli Bookin-Nosbisch set the Hawkeye record in the women's 800m over the weekend, breaking Mallory King's record from a season ago. Bookin-Nosbisch finished the race in 2:04.28 to claim the school record. Since I'd feel bad letting track and field have the main feature every week but would also feel bad not giving a special shoutout to a school record, I'm making a new section this week!

Introducing: The Olympic Record Breakers Section For Those That Are Part of a Team That's So Good They Can't Be the Spotlight Again Even Though They've Put Together Another Spotlight-Worthy Performance (working title of course).

Congrats to Alli on her awesome weekend. I have no doubt we'll hear from her a lot more before the season is out.

Iowa softball began its season over the weekend at the FAU Paradise Classic, where they put together a strong 4-1 record, including an upset over #23 Mississippi State. The Hawks were fast out of the gates, winning both of Friday's games, 3-1 over Loyola Chicago and 8-0 over Bethune-Cookman. Denali Loecker stood out in game one, going 2/3 at the plate with a home run and an RBI triple before taking the mound in the 7th to notch her first save. The freshmen paved the way to a win in Game 2, with Jalen Adams throwing a complete game shutout and Tory Bennett going 3-3 at the plate.

Saturday was another doubleheader for the Hawkeyes and it started with their best win of the weekend, a 2-0 upset victory over #23 Mississippi State. Devyn Greer and Jalen Adams combined on the four-hit shutout, while Echo Mattiello, Nia Carter, and Denalie Loecker provided the offense for the team. Echo and Nia hit back-to-back singles in the third before Loecker was able to drive in a run on an infield single and Mattiello scrambled home on a throwing error. That was all the Hawkeye pitchers needed and while the Bulldogs threatened a few times, they never pushed a run across the plate.

The fourth game of the weekend was a tight affair, with the Hawks ultimately falling 4-3 in extra innings. Loecker continued her stat-stuffing weekend, with another two-plus innings on the mound and Carter did her part with a huge diving catch to end an FAU rally in the first. The Hawks had a chance to win the game in the 7th but the winning run was tagged out in a pickle between third and home. Jalen Adams pitched another shutout inning to send the game to extras, but FAU eventually won with a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth.

Iowa bounced back nicely on Sunday, shutting out Stony Brook 5-0 behind a strong start from Breanna Vasquez who put together six shutout innings. Freshmen again did damage at the plate, with Mattiello notching three hits and Bennett two RBIs.

Iowa softball, like many teams in the midwest, faces geographic challenges when it comes to competing against the likes of the Big 12, Pac 12, and SEC (Iowa's first home game isn't until March 28th for a reason), which makes any win over those warm weather teams something special, especially one over a ranked SEC team. Early season rankings are what they are but it doesn't take away from the great start to the season for the Hawkeyes.

Last year, Hawkeye softball was 21-31, competitive but often unable to get over the hump. Already this season, the Hawks have shown that they can put together strong performances on the mound and in the field, and, at least for a weekend, there looks to be the makings of a successful offense. Carter and Loecker are established performers, but seeing the pair of freshmen make an immediate impact is a great sign. Softball can be a bit top-heavy in college so I won't blow smoke and say these Hawks are headed for the college world series, but that combination of experience and youth is an encouraging sign for the season to come.

I touched on it at the top, but Iowa track and field had another productive few days over the weekend. In addition to Bookin-Nosbisch's record-setting 800m, Amanda Howe claimed the weight throw event title at the Music City Challenge, improving her career-best to 21.78m (2nd in Iowa history), Audrey Biermann's 53.30s 400m was good for sixth all-time at Iowa while Julien Gillum improved to 7th all-time in Hawkeye history with his 46.73s time in the men's 400m. Elijah Barnes earned gold in the men's shot put (18.25m) and Kat Moody upped her 3rd-best mark in school history in the women's shot put (16.64). There isn't much new to add that hasn't already been said about this group. They've been excellent and you should jump on the bandwagon before it's too late. There's still a few weeks until the conference championships, but this team looks poised to make a whole lot of noise at that event.

Iowa gymnastics upset #12 Michigan State over the weekend, 196.100 - 195.725. JerQuavia Henderson took home first place on floor and tied for first with fellow Hawkeye Linda Zivat on vault. Adeline Kenlin took home the title on beam. The meet was the first ever inside Xtream Arena, where this year's Big Ten Championships will be held. While the score was a bit lower than the team would have liked, it's hard to complain about beating the #12 team in the country, especially when Michigan State was undefeated coming into the meet. The team won't be satisfied with their performance (and Coach Libby said as much after the meet), but it's always easier to pick apart film and improve after a win than a loss. The Hawks will be back in action on the 18th when they host Rutgers inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Both the men's and women's golf teams competed to start the week, with the Iowa men playing in the Puerto Rico Classic and the women competing in the Tulane Classic. Ronan Kleu and Callum Macfie were the top-finishing men's golfers for the Hawks, tying for 28th at -3, while Madison Dabinga was the highest-ranked women's golfer, finishing tied for 8th and earning her first career top-10 finish. The men's team finished 9th overall and the women's team finished 5th overall. The women will next play February 26th and 27th in Arizona and the men will next tee off March 6th and 7th in Pinehurst.

Iowa tennis split a pair of matches over the weekend, falling 4-1 to Oregon before bouncing back to beat Saint Mary's 5-2. Daianne Hayashida was the lone point scorer for the Hawks against Oregon on court four, but the Hawks scored from all but the sixth court in their Saturday win over Saint Mary's. The Hawks will travel to Chicago to take on DePaul next on February 21st.