Spotlight: Iowa Softball Looks to Build on Last Season's Success

Iowa softball put together an impressive comeback last season in the National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC) title game. Trailing by three runs and down to their final out, the Hawkeyes rallied for five runs in the 7th inning to earn the NISC championship. It was the first taste of postseason success for many of the Hawks on the roster and gave the Hawks an accomplishment few in the country could match, ending the season on a win.

The Hawkeyes traveled to their first tournament last weekend, looking to turn last season's postseason success into a springboard for the 2024 season.

Iowa softball (3-2) began its season last weekend, going 3-2 to kick off an exciting spring on the diamond. The staff and players were clear about their team goals at last week's media day, a conference championship, and a berth in the NCAA tournament.

"That's always been the step," head coach Renee Gillispie said. The team hopes last year's NISC championship can be the springboard to another level of achievement. Gillispie indicated that the team has "incredible" confidence right now and the returning players have established a strong culture for the group. "Practices are a little more intense, there's more emphasis on weightlifting," she said. Tthey understand that they have to do extra things to get to where we're trying to get to."

Senior Brylee Klosterman can feel that confidence as well. "We know we can do it. We know we can make it to the postseason. We know we can win the Big Ten Tournament. This is the first time that I've really felt that people believe it."

The Hawks started the weekend with a pair of Friday wins, blanking their first two opponents, NC State in a 2-0 win and Western Kentucky in an 8-0 victory. Against the Wolfpack, Sophomore Jalen Adams pitched a complete game shutout, allowing just five hits and striking out four. Adams was a star for the Hawkeyes in her debut season, putting up a 2.02 ERA (4th in B1G) and earning Big-Ten All-Freshman team honors.

Gillispie was effusive in her praise for Adams but mentioned she thinks there's still room to grow, including improving her fastball by a mile or two more and adding a change-up and rise ball as pitches in her repertoire. Even with Adams' strong start, the game remained tied into the sixth inning until freshman Devin Bowman stepped up with a pinch-hit double that drove in a pair of Hawkeyes and clinched the win.

Against WKU, the Hawks put runs up early and often. Iowa started the game with five straight hits, capped by a two-run single from freshman Soo-Jin Berry. Iowa increased their lead in the third, plating three more runs on the back of RBIs from Klosterman, Sammy Diaz, and Devyn Greer. The Hawks added two more in the fourth to earn the run-rule win. Greer put together a masterpiece on the mound, throwing a complete game and giving up just four hits.

The Hawks split Saturday's game, beating North Carolina Central 4-1 and falling to Notre Dame 5-4. The freshman got their chance to shine during the two games, with Jaylee Ojo and Andrea Jaskowiak combining to pitch 6.1 innings and giving up one run and four hits. Grace Banes kicked off the game at the plate with a double before Berry drove her in with a double of her own to get the scoring started early for the Hawks. Iowa added another run in the 2nd inning, as well as insurance runs in the 5th and 7th to cruise to the win.

Adams was back on the mound against the Irish and went five innings, giving up two runs and six hits. Klosterman kept up the Hawks' streak of early scoring, driving in a run in the first inning before Bowman continued her hot start to her college career with a two-run single. The Irish rallied for two in the bottom of the first and teams traded runs in the third, led by a RBI triple from Berry, pushing the score to 4-3 Iowa. Notre Dame rallied for two runs in the sixth to take the game.

Iowa closed their opening weekend with a 3-1 loss to #13 Utah. Adams once again was on the mound for Iowa and gave the team another complete game. The Utes scored first in the second inning, plating a run. The inning threatened to unravel before Iowa made a pair of diving grabs to strand the Utah lead at one.

Jena Young's grab at short was the first of what the coaching staff believes will be many highlights for Young. Gillispie mentioned how excited she was to see the freshmen contribute right away and noted how important it was to keep the best Iowa talent in the state. "She was a top player last year in high school...She's a huge threat at the plate," Gillispie said. "She's not a huge kid, but she's got home run power."

Rylie Moss added a highlight play of her own, robbing a would-be Utah home run in the third inning, though the Utes were still able to squeeze a run across to take a 2-0 lead. Devin Bowman drove in Iowa's lone run in the sixth inning, but Utah answered with a run of their own, pushing the score to the 3-1 final.

It was a solid start to a year full of expectations for Iowa. The Hawkeyes picked up some early wins and were able to test themselves against some of the best competition in the country. They continue to get strong contributions from underclassmen, with Adams taking the lead on the mound and Berry putting on a show at the plate. In fact, Berry's performance on the weekend earned her a spot on the All-Tournament team.

The team was clear about their goals, and everyone we talked to before the season began brought up the impact of last year's NISC run. The Hawks got a taste of the postseason format and saw what it takes to succeed in that environment. It's seemingly led to a more intense culture, but one that hasn't come at the expense of team chemistry.

Jalen Adams talked about how she can hang out with everyone on the team and how her teammates have learned when she needs a pick me up on the mound or a quick break so she can take a deep breath. The incoming talent looks as good as advertised, with Berry contributing immediately at the plate, while Young made her impact in the field. The coaching staff is high on both, particularly Young, whose impact is expected to grow as the season rolls on.

Iowa softball took full advantage of its postseason opportunity last season, giving the young players, which included five freshmen starters, a chance to learn how to win. Now, the Hawkeyes have their eyes set on a home-field celebration when they host the Big Ten Tournament later this year. Before that though, the Hawks will be back on the field on February 16th at The Spring Games in Leesburg, FL. Games start at 1:30 on Friday and will be streamed on FloSoftball.

Iowa track and field continued its impressive recent run of form last weekend, setting five more school records. The fireworks started Friday even in Lubbock when Lia Love claimed the school record in the women's 60m dash, running a 7.24. Soon after, Kalen Walker improved his record in the men's 60m dash with a 6.52s time. Walker's impressive run came in the prelims and he took his second opportunity to break the school record yet again, this time running a 6.51, the fifth time Walker has set the school record this year. Holly Duax put together an impressive 60m run as well, notching the school's 4th-fastest time, 7.38s.

Saturday offered more of the same from the Hawkeyes, as they smashed three more school records. Alli Bookin-Nosbisch once again broke the women's 800m record, this time running a 2:03.42, while Rivaldo Marshall broke the men's 800m record with a 1:46.86 time. Soon after, freshman Daniela Wamokpego rewrote the triple jump record books, winning the event title with a school-record 13.24m leap.

Bookin-Nosbisch improved her school record by nearly a second and now has the Big Ten's 2nd-fastest time and the 11th-fastest time in the country this season. Marshall's time was almost half a second better than the former record, the 4th-fastest in the country this year, and the fastest in the Big Ten. Wamokpego's huge jump puts her in the top 10 in the NCAA this year.

It was yet another historic weekend for a Hawkeye team that has made a habit of them so far this season. The records again came from all over the track, from both the men's and women's side, and from seniors and freshmen alike.

Walker and Bookin-Nosbisch have made a habit of breaking their own records at this point, and I can only imagine Iowa recordkeepers are keeping those marks in pencil as the two continue to improve at each meet. Iowa is peaking at the perfect time and head coach Joey Woody has mentioned that he still thinks there's more room for growth from the squad.

The Hawks will host the Iowa Open next weekend and will also send runners to Arkansas and Notre Dame to compete.

Iowa gymnastics (3-3) scored a win over Rutgers (5-8) last weekend, beating the Scarlet Knights 196.300 - 195.325. Iowa missed their season-high by only a tenth of a point and put together a complete performance, winning three of four events.

Karina Munoz took home the all-around title in her first meet competing in the event, scoring a 39.400. Eva Volpe continues to improve during her freshman campaign, again bettering her career-best all-around score to 39.350. Even without All-American Adeline Kenlin, the Hawks took home the event title in her best event, as Ilka Juk topped the standings on the beam with a 9.900. Gianna Masella won the bars event with a 9.875, followed close behind by Munoz and Volpe.

We talked often about the adversity the Hawkeye gymnastics team has faced this year, but last week proved this team can still perform at a high level. The Hawks nearly set a season-high and continue to see strong, and improving, performances from underclassmen like Volpe and Munoz. The Hawks have been dealt the toughest of hands this year, but head coach Larissa Libby and the entire roster are showing off their resilience. They'll be back in competition for the home finale on February 16th when they take on Ohio State (4-2) (6:30, BIG+).

Iowa tennis (3-5) picked up a pair of wins over the weekend, beating Memphis 4-0 and Northern Illinois 5-2. Iowa was dominant from the jump against the Tigers, taking home the doubles point and following it up with straight-set wins from Daianne Hayashida, ranked #85 nationally, on court 1, Chelsea Bluestein on court 3, and Pia Kranholdt on court 6.

Iowa carried their momentum into the second match of the day, securing another convincing win over the Huskies. Iowa lost the doubles point but bounced back to take five of the six singles matches and secure the win. Hayashida, Marisa Schmidt, Bluestein, Barbora Pokorna, and Vipasha Mehra each won their singles matches in straight sets to claim victory for the Hawkeyes.

The Hawks have been close in most of their early season competitions, so it's a great sign of growth and resilience to see the group finally get over the hump and record a few wins. Hopefully, they'll continue to improve and stack some wins together as they prepare to enter conference play. The Hawks will next compete on February 16th when they travel to Des Moines to battle Iowa State.

Iowa golf began its spring season last week, with the women's team competing in the FAU Paradise Invitational and the men participating in the Puerto Rico Classic. The women's team was led by Kaitlyn Hanna, who finished in 12th place for the tournament, shooting a career-best 217 (+1). Madison Dabagia and Paula Miranda each shot one under par 71s in the first round to help the team tie for 8th place. Dabagia finished tied for 26th and Miranda ended the tournament tied for 50th. The women will next tee off on February 25th at the Westbrook Spring Invitational.

On the men's side, freshman Noah Kent put together an impressive first round, leading the tournament at -9 after a bogey-free day. His score is tied for the second-lowest round in Iowa history. Hawkeyes Hogan Hansen and Josh Lundmark also put together strong opening rounds, shooting -3 and -2 respectively.

Iowa finished 8th overall at the Puerto Rico Classic with a combined score of -25. Kent was excellent, shooting 63-70-69 over the three-day tournament and finishing -14 overall, tied for third and one stroke back of the overall leaders in the event. Lundmark and Hansen each finished -5 for the tournament, tied for 37th overall.