IOWA CITY, Iowa – Florida Tech transfer Sara Batchadji has signed a scholarship agreement with the University of Iowa women’s soccer team, head coach Dave DiIanni announced Friday.

Batchadji led Division II Florida Tech to its first national championship in program history in which she was named the United Soccer Coaches Women’s National Player of the Year at the Division II level in 2025.

“Sara brings to us incredible athletic and technical ability,” said DiIanni. “She is calm and composed under pressure and can defend in space when isolated. We welcome her coming off a national championship season where she was rightfully honored as the national player of the year in division two. We look forward to welcoming Sara to our program. It’s a great match, she’s gotten better every season in college, and we develop players as good as anyone in the country.”

In her junior campaign, Batchadji played in 26 matches earning 24 starts, totaling 2,120 minutes. She finished the 2025 season with five goals, 15 points, 57 shots, and 27 shots on goal. The Lubeck, Germany native earned CSC Second Team Academic All-America, CSC Academic All-District, USC Scholar All-South Region recognition, United Soccer Coaches First Team All-South Region, D2CCA Second Team All-South Region, ALL-SSC First team honors, and was named a finalist for the 2025 Honda Cup Division II Athlete of the Year.

In 2024, Batchadji appeared in 19 games totaling 3 goals and an assist. She was named All-SSC First Team, CCA All-Region First Team, CSC Academic All-District, D2 CCA All-Region First Team, and USC All-Region honors.

In her freshman season, Batchadji appeared in all 23 games where she finished with four goals and five assists. She earned All-SSC Third team honors.

Batchadji attended Carl-Jacob Burckhardy Gymnasium where she played club for SV Henstedt-Ulzberg in Germany.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The 22nd-ranked University of Iowa women’s gymnastics team posted a team score of 194.825 on Friday night to finish third overall in a tri-meet featuring three ranked teams inside the Jon. M Huntsman Center.

No. 5 Utah (196.625) won the competition while No. 16 Minnesota (195.475) placed second.

Fifth-year senior JerQuavia Henderson made a successful return to the lineup, competing for the first time in two years. Henderson tied for second on floor with a 9.875 and matched sophomore Aurélie Tran for third place in the all-around with a score of 39.125.

BEAM
The GymHawks opened the meet on beam, earning a 48.125 on their first event. Tran led the rotation with a 9.800, followed by a 9.700 from Henderson. Freshman Maggie Ball posted a 9.625 in her collegiate debut, while fifth-year senior Marissa Rojas followed with a 9.600.

FLOOR
In the second rotation, Iowa registered a 48.825 on floor. Henderson led the way with a 9.875, followed by senior Emily Erb’s 9.800. Sophomore Sydney Turner and freshman Stella DePaola matched 9.725 scores, and Tran posted a 9.700.

VAULT
The GymHawks recorded a 48.950 in the third rotation, their highest event score of the evening. Henderson led the Hawkeyes, scoring a 9.850, closely followed by Turner and freshman Sophie Schriever earning a 9.800 in her collegiate vault debut. Tran added a 9.775 in her third event of the night. Senior Hanna Castillo contributed a 9.725 to keep Iowa in the mix heading into the final event

BARS
Iowa concluded the competition on bars posting a 48.925. Tran led the lineup scoring a 9.850, followed by Turner and senior Gianna Masella each adding a score of 9.800. Schriever posted a solid 9.750, followed by freshman Daisy Bowles contributing a 9.725 in her colligate debut.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH JEN LLEWELLYN
“I think we just needed to get the first event under our belt and then we just kind of got a little bit more settled in after each event. I love that they didn’t allow that first event to shake them; they fought, they stayed gritty, and I was really impressed by that. The scores were a little bit tight, which you expect the first meet of the year, but they handled that really well. The atmosphere was exceptionally electric and amazing with 11,000 people here in such a historic venue, so I also thought they handled that situation with great composure.”

UP NEXT
The nationally-ranked Hawkeyes will host Illinois, Illinois State and Iowa State in the Border Battle meet on Jan. 10. Action inside of the Carver-Hawkeye Arena will begin at 4 p.m. and will be streamed on B1G+ (subscription required).

The Atlantic Trojans Girls Basketball team opened 2026 with a 48-41 road victory at the Shenandoah Fillies. The Trojans were led by their two posts in Brynn Lamp and Katrina Williams. The duo had 27 of the team’s 48 points. The game was a nailbiter all first half with the teams being tied at 22 at the break. In the third quarter, Atlantic outscored the Fillies 17-7 and carried a ten-point lead into the fourth. Although, the hardworking effort from Shenandoah to come back and win, the Trojans prevailed by knocking down key free throws down the stretch to seal the eight-point victory. 

The Trojans came out of the gates quickly finding Brynn Lamp for a basket followed by Katrina Williams scoring down low as well. On the Shenandoah side, leading scorer Kalyn Scammen and Ava O’Rourke hit two threes in the final couple minutes of the first quarter to give the Fillies a 15-11 lead heading into the second quarter. 

In the second quarter, Atlantic continued to go back to their posts and went on a 7-0 run to begin the quarter. Shenandoah answered right back with five points including another three from Scammen. Foul trouble was an issue for Scammen as she picked up three first half fouls. This resulted in her having to sit a majority of the second half. It was a tie ballgame at halftime.

Atlantic got off to a red-hot start to begin the third quarter. Williams had a quick six points in the paint with solid post moves to get around the defender. Meanwhile, Brynn Lamp was able to maneuver her way to the basket twice and put up four points in the quarter. All the momentum was on the Trojans’ side as five different Trojans scored in the quarter. Down by as many as 12 in the quarter, Shenandoah began to play a little timid and put the defensive press on. Despite the foul trouble, Scammen played nearly the entire third quarter for the Fillies and scored four of the team’s seven points in the quarter. The Fillies didn’t have quite the amount of depth on the bench as the Trojans did. Shenandoah scored just four points off their bench all game. Junior Peyton McLaren capped off the 17-point third quarter with a two-point basket to go ahead 39-29 after three.

In the fourth, the defensive full court press began to rattle Atlantic. The Trojans began the quarter with back-to-back turnovers including the inability to inbound the ball with a five second call. The Fillies spaced the floor for Scammen as she hit second three-pointer of the night right away to begin the quarter. All of a sudden it was a two-point game late in the fourth.  Senior MaKenna Schroeder hit a big time three-pointer to keep the distance from Shenandoah to put Atlantic back up by five. Towards the final seconds, Shenandoah down two possessions had no other choice than to foul and send Atlantic to the free throw line. A perfect combined 4/4 from the line for McLaren and Schroeder iced the game for Atlantic. The Trojans improved to 5-5 with the victory.

Head Coach Dan Vargason complimented his team’s resilience

The gameplan was to utilize the posts with the size advantage for Atlantic.

Tonight was a major confidence boost.

The Trojans return to the floor Tuesday in a home game with Glenwood.

Iowa coach Ben McCollum hopes the home court is an advantage Saturday afternoon when the 25th ranked Hawkeyes return to Big Ten play by hosting UCLA. The Bruins are 10-3 overall and 2-0 in conference play while the the Hawkeyes are 11-2 overall and 1-1 in conference play.

Attendance is up in McCollum’s first season as head coach. A year ago average home attendance was just over nine thousand, 100 fans per home game. So far this season it is just under 10 thousand, 400 fans and McCollum has been working to bring even more into Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The Northern Iowa men roared back from a nine point first half deficit to beat Indiana State 75-66 in the McLeod Center, Thursday. Trey Campbell led four players in double figures with 18 points as the Panthers move to 3-0 in the Missouri Valley.

That’s UNI coach Ben Jacobson. The Panthers won the battle on the glass by outrebounding the Sycamores 35-22.

The 14th ranked Iowa Hawkeye women used a late 14-1 run to take command in an 86-76 win over 20th ranked Nebraska, Thursday. Sophomore guard Chit Chat Wright led the Hawkeyes with 24 points.

That’s Iowa coach Jan Jensen. Senior forward Hannah Stuelke had 21 points, 10 rebounds and was seven-of-seven at the line.

The Hawkeyes are 3-0 in the Big Ten.

A new challenge begins for the third ranked Iowa State men as they open Big-12 play at home on Friday night against West Virginia. The Cyclones enter league play with a record of 13-0.

That’s ISU coach T.J. Otzelberger, who says the Cyclones are thrilled with the chance to open conference play at home.

West Virginia is 9-4 under first year coach Ross Hodge and the Mountaineers hang their hat on defense.

Otzelberger feels the leadership on the team has taken a step forward since Christmas break and feels good about their ability to handle the grind of a conference race.

After one game shy of the state tournament a season ago for the ACGC Boys’ Basketball team, the Chargers are experiencing some growing pains early in the season. ACGC is currently 2-4 on the year and have multiple freshmen coming off the bench and seeing valuable minutes. Head Coach Lance Kading says gaining experience is key for these underclassmen.

The Chargers lost three all-conference seniors last year in Payton Policky, Noah Kading and Jathan South, but ACGC does return the veteran leadership of seniors Joe Crawford and Thomas Skram. Both players are averaging roughly 17 points a game.

Kading says the team can improve in multiple areas in the game.

ACGC resumes their season on January 6th at Des Moines Christian.

The Iowa Hawkeyes finally broke through against a rated foe, Wednesday afternoon.

Gary Dolphin on the Hawkeye Network. The 23rd ranked Hawkeyes built a 21-3 advantage midway through the third quarter them held off a furious rally by 14th ranked Vanderbilt for a 34-27 win at the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa. The Hawkeyes snapped a 15-game losing skid to ranked opponents.

That’s Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz. Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski passed for 212 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for 54 yards and a score in being named the game’s most valuable player.

Iowa loses 27 seniors from this year’s team, including three members of a standout offensive line.

Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea says the Commodores made too many mistakes and the Hawkeyes made them pay.

The Commodores finish 10-3. It was the school’s first 10-win season.

Gronowski was the key as the Hawkeyes finish 9-4. It is the sixth time they have won nine or more games in the last 10 full seasons.

Iowa outgained Vanderbilt 167-51 on the ground and the offense answered every time the Commodores got to within a score.

Vandy star quarterback Diego Pavia was 25-of-38 for 347 yards and two touchdowns. He was also sacked five times by the Hawkeyes and senior linebacker Karson Sharar had two of them.

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State head football coach Jimmy Rogers has announced the position coach assistants for his first season with the program.

Rogers previously announced that Jesse Bobbit, his defensive coordinator at Washington State and South Dakota State, will join the Cyclones in the same role.

Bobbit’s group includes three other defensive staffers from Washington State as well as former Toledo Co-Defensive Coordinator Ross Watson.

“I’m thrilled to be able to keep our defensive group together and add Ross Watson to the mix,” Rogers said. “I know what this group is about and have no doubt that their attention to detail, intensity and culture setting will allow us to be competitive from the start.”

The following coaches have agreed to join Rogers’ staff as preparation begins for the 135^th season in program history:

Mike Banks – Cornerbacks – Full Bio

Banks played a key role in helping Washington State’s defense rank among the nation’s Top 15 teams in passing defense, allowing just 174.4 passing yards per game. The University Park, Illinois native also worked with Rogers at South Dakota State in a similar capacity with the 2024 Jackrabbit defense finishing fifth in FCS in total defense and registering 14 interceptions. He helped develop First Team All-American Dalys Beanum in 2024, while on the other side Colby Humphrey was a second team all-conference pick. He also spent time at his alma mater, Illinois State, and produced another All-American while the Redbirds made the FCS Playoffs twice, including the quarterfinals in 2019.

Jalon Bibbs – Defensive Line – Full Bio

Bibbs has worked alongside Rogers at both Washington State and South Dakota State and helped form those defenses into two of the best nationally at their respective levels. His defensive linemen helped Washington State compile 31 sacks last season, while being outstanding in specialty situations. The Cougars ranked seventh nationally in fourth down conversion defense (.333) and 11th in red zone defense (.727). Defensive end Isaac Terrell had seven sacks and 12 tackles for loss and was the nation’s 19^th-ranked edge defender by PFF during the regular season. The Phoenix, Arizona native was on SDSU’s staff in 2023 during the Jacks’ FCS National Championship run. In his two seasons at SDSU, seven of eight starting defensive linemen earned all-conference accolades, while one was an All-American and another a freshman All-American.

Pete Menage – Safeties – Full Bio

Menage joins the Cyclone coaching staff after being on Rogers’ staff at both Washington State and South Dakota State as safeties coach. The 2025 Washington State squad allowed just 20.2 points per game, including just 12.7 points over the course of the season’s final eight regular season games. He was in charge of the same position group at SDSU when the team won the 2023 FCS National Championship and reached the semifinals in 2024. The Rock Rapids, Iowa native’s safety group intercepted 14 passes in his two-year stint with the Jackrabbits.

Ross Watson – SAM Linebackers/Nickelbacks/Defensive Pass Game Coordinator – Full Bio

Watson, a Youngstown, Ohio native, spent the last 10 seasons at Toledo, serving as co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach for the Rockets since 2020. His 2025 defense had nine players honored as All-MAC selections, including his two starting safeties Braden Awls and Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, both first-team picks. The 2025 Rockets ranked third nationally in total defense (247.8 ypg), while also finishing top five in passing efficiency, tackles for loss and red zone defense. In 10 seasons at UT, the team reached nine bowl games and won the MAC in 2017.