Cyclones to Host Nebraska in Home Opener

AMES, Iowa- The No. 6 Iowa State Cyclones (4-0, 0-0 Big 12) open Big 12 Conference competition in its Hilton Coliseum debut as it plays host to No. 5 Nebraska (4-1, 0-0 Big 12) on Friday at 7 p.m. ... ISU jumped seven places this week in the polls from the pre-season rankings ... the Cyclones defeated Minnesota on Jan. 13, 195.525-195.400 ... on vault, freshman Megan Barnes took first-place with a 9.850 score ... Barnes, who competed in the all-around for the first time this season, scored a total of 38.875 and was also honored with the Cyclones' MVP award ... senior Janet Anson won the all-around title with a season-high 39.225 with first-place finishes on floor (9.900) and bars (9.775) ... senior Ashley Alden (9.825) won beam ... Iowa State holds a top-20 ranking in every event as they are eighth on beam (48.812), 11th on vault (48.975), 13th on floor (48.737) and 18th on bars (48.537) ... seven-time All-American Anson is tied for third in the individual rankings on floor after a pair of 9.900s in the opening two meets.

Who: No. 6 Iowa State (4-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. No. 5 Nebraska (4-1, 0-0 Big 12)
Where: Hilton Coliseum
When: Friday at 7 p.m.

On the Web
Live Video and Live Scoring: Watch the Cyclones compete against Nebraska live on the "Clone Zone," the athletics department new premium content video subscription package. Those who have already signed up for Clone Zone to watch gymnastics can access the webcast here, simply login when prompted and enter username and password. Fans watching the meet on the Clone Zone are encouraged to view Live Scoring for continuous scoring updates (please refresh Live Scoring page often, as it will not update automatically).

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About Nebraska
No. 5 Nebraska returns 10 letterwinners, including seven All-Americans who have a combined total of 17 All-American honors ... the Huskers posted a 195.200 at the Super Six Challenge in Fayetteville, Ark., on Jan. 5, to place second ... sophomore Kylie Stone finished second in the all-around (39.125) ... Desire' Snitynski set a career-high on bars with a 9.925 ... junior Emily Parsons placed second on vault (9.975) and beam (9.85) ... Parsons was named the inaugural Big 12 Conference Event Specialist of the Week on Jan. 9 ... NU ranks first in the nation on beam with a total season average of 49.400 (at the Super Six) ... the Huskers are also tied for third-place on vault (49.1254) ... individually, Parsons is the nation's top-ranked vaulter (9.975) and ranked ninth on beam (9.85) ... Sniatynski and Vanessa Meloche are tied for third nationally on bars (9.925).

Iowa State Jumps to No. 6 Nationally
Iowa State improved to No. 6 nationally in the latest GymInfo polls released on Monday ... after a first-place finish at the Cancun Classic on Jan. 5, and a win at Minnesota on Jan. 13, the Cyclones have a season average of 195.062, which also puts them second in the North Central Region and Big 12 Conference rankings ... additionally, Iowa State holds its highest ranking on beam (48.812) with a first-place rank in the conference, third-place regionally and eighth in the nation.

Cyclones in the Top 15

Individually, senior Janet Anson is tied for third on floor (9.90) in the national polls, tied for first in the region and holds the top-ranking in the conference ... Anson's all-around score of 39.162 is ranked second in the conference and fourth in the region ... freshman Megan Barnes holds the No. 2 ranking on vault (9.875) in the Big 12 and senior Ashley Alden's 9.85 beam score is tied for first in the conference and tied for second regionally.

About the Rankings
Ranking are updated each Monday and are based by meet scores alone, unlike other collegiate athletic rankings that are based on wins and losses or votes ... from Jan. 15-Feb. 12 gymnastics teams and individuals are ranked by their season averages ... starting Feb. 19, teams and gymnasts will be ranked by their Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) or regional-qualifying average ... an RQS is based on a team's top six regular-season scores, with three scores coming from away meets ... from these six scores, the top score is dropped and the remaining five scores are averaged to calculate the RQS.

Cyclones Top Minnesota
The then 13th-ranked Iowa State gymnastics team improved to 4-0 overall as it defeated No. 21 Minnesota, 194.525-194.400, Saturday night ... Janet Anson led the Cyclones with first-place finishes in the all-around (39.225), floor (9.90) and bars (9.775) ... Megan Barnes made her all-around debut with a 38.875 ... Iowa State put up a 48.425 uneven bars score in the first rotation ... Anson took first place, recording a 9.775, while sophomore Jasmine Thompson scored a season-high 9.70 to tie for third place ... ISU was led by Barnes' first-place vault (9.85) ... Katie Lasher tied with Minnesota's Carmelina Carabajal for second with a score of 9.825 ... after the third rotation, the Cyclones lead kept narrowing to a slight 146.10-145.475 advantage over the Gophers' ... on floor, it was once again Anson, with a 9.90 routine, who anchored the team's season-high floor score of 48.775 ... in the final rotation, ISU's beam squad scored a 48.425, enough to earn the overall victory ... senior Ashley Alden nailed her flight series and finished strong with a stuck landing, scoring a 9.825 to lead the Cyclones ... the Cyclones will face Minnesota again later in the season when the Gophers return the trip to Ames on March 2.

BEAMing
Beam is the Cyclones' strongest event in the GymInfo rankings (eighth nationally, third in the North Central Region and first in the Big 12 Conference) ... Iowa State has been led by seniors Jade Kvach and Ashley Alden ... at Minnesota, Alden (9.825) won the event and in Cancun, Kvach and Alden both scored 9.875 ... the team score at the Cancun Classic was 49.200, only .10 below the 2006 beam high (49.300) ... in 2006, the beam squad was ranked in the top 10 nationally for seven weeks and as high as second for two weeks in March ... at the end of the season, Iowa State ranked third in the final standings (RQS 49.145) ... beam was the Cyclones' second-best team event (best- floor, nationally ranked No. 2).

Barnes Begins Career with a Bang

Megan Barnes made her collegiate debut for the Cyclones at the Cancun Classic and has made a big impact for the team ... at Minnesota, Barnes earned the meet's MVP honors for the Cyclones with a standout performance in the all-around (38.875) and a first-place finish on vault (9.850) ... at the Cancun Classic, Barnes landed a 9.90 for another first-place vault ... she is tied for 12th place in the individual national rankings ... before Iowa State, the Salt Lake City, Utah, native, was the 2004 regional vault champion and placed second in the event at regionals and third at nationals in 2006.

Newcomers Excel in Opening Competitions

Other Iowa State newcomers that stood out at the Cancun Classic were Katie Sweetin (9.825 on beam and floor) and Anna Robey (9.85 vault and 9.775 floor) ... each of these young competitors have the potential to improve as the season goes on and will be a bright part of the Cyclones' line-ups.

Kvach Earns Career High

Senior Jade Kvach set a career-high mark at the Cancun Classic on Jan. 5 ... Kvach scored a 9.875 beam, beating her previous top score of 9.820 set on Feb. 25, 2005, against Oklahoma ... Kvach shares the Cyclones' top beam score of the season with fellow senior Ashley Alden, who also scored a 9.875 to tie for second place in Cancun.

Standout Sophomores

Ashley Kent, the only freshman to compete for the Cyclones last season, continues to turn in impressive scores ... the bars and beam specialist tied for fifth on bars (9.75) and tied for 10th on beam (9.80) at the Cancun Classic ... one of the newest sophomore competitors, Ceilia Maccani, stood out in her collegiate debut in Cancun placing third (tie) on bars with a 9.775 ... she also took fifth-place honors at Minnesota with a bars score of 9.675.

Anson Earns Big 12 Honor

Senior Janet Anson was named Big 12 Gymnast of the Week on Jan. 9, for the first time this season and the sixth time in her career ... Anson led the Cyclones to the Cancun championship, finishing second in the all-around with a 39.10 score, and first on bars (9.85) and floor (9.90) ... she also placed fifth on vault (9.825).

Conference Champs Honored at Halftime

The 2006 Iowa State gymnastics team was honored by Iowa State fans in a special ceremony at halftime of the Iowa State men's basketball game on Jan. 10, at Hilton Coliseum ... Athletics Director Jamie Pollard and Senior Associate Athletics Director Calli Sanders presented the team with its Big 12 Championship rings and helped unveil banners commemorating the program's accomplishments last season ... in 2006, the squad became the first team in ISU women's gymnastics history to appear in the Super Six finals of the NCAA Championship ... highlights included claiming the conference championship (second in program history), Big 12 Gymnast of the Year (Janet Anson), three All-Americans, as well as a trio of conference and regional champions.

Up Next
After a week off, the Cyclones return to action when they play host to conference foe Missouri ... Iowa State faces the Tigers in Hilton Coliseum on Friday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m. ... the Tigers have two tough meets before coming to Ames in two weeks ... they compete against Oklahoma and Central Michigan in Norman, Okla., on Friday and then return home to play host to Nebraska on Jan. 26 ... Missouri beat Illinois 194.025-191.025 on Jan. 12, in Columbia, Mo.

Season Tickets on Sale
Season tickets for Iowa State's 2007 gymnastics home meets are now on sale ... the Cyclones will face a series of tough competitors again this season ... home matches include Friday's meet vs. Nebraska and the upcoming Missouri, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Denver and Iowa meets ... the cost for the Cyclones' five regular-season meets at Hilton Coliseum is $30. Tickets can be purchased by calling 888-ISU-CYCLONE or online at Cyclones.com.

Season Preview

Read the Cyclones' 2007 Season Preview

Cyclones to Host Nebraska in Home Opener

Players Mentioned

Ashley Alden

Ashley Alden

Janet Anson

Janet Anson

Megan Barnes

Megan Barnes

Ashley Kent

Ashley Kent

Jade Kvach

Jade Kvach

Katie Lasher

Katie Lasher

Ceilia Maccani

Ceilia Maccani

Ceilia Maccani

Anna Robey

Katie Sweetin

Jasmine Thompson

Jasmine Thompson

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Cyclones to Host Nebraska in Home Opener

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Players Mentioned

Ashley Alden

Ashley Alden

Janet Anson

Janet Anson

Megan Barnes

Megan Barnes

Ashley Kent

Ashley Kent

Jade Kvach

Jade Kvach

Katie Lasher

Katie Lasher

Ceilia Maccani

Ceilia Maccani

Ceilia Maccani

Anna Robey

Katie Sweetin

Jasmine Thompson

Jasmine Thompson

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