Cyclone Gymnasts Fall to No. 7 Nebraska in Opener

AMES, Iowa ? The Iowa State gymnastics team had chances against the seventh-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers in its season opener, but fell, 193.500-192.475, Friday night at Hilton Coliseum.

Jasmine Thompson earned the “Marie-Rae Sopper Outstanding Performance Award” for the Cyclones, which goes to the ISU gymnast whose performance captivated and inspired coaches, teammates and fans. Thompson won first place on the balance beam with a career-high 9.875 and finished fourth in the all-around competition.

“All the opportunities were there,” ISU head coach Jay Ronayne. “It's so early (in the season) and there were lots and lots of mistakes. We can only go up from here. Overall I actually feel pretty good despite the score being lower than I anticipated. We had kids step up that have been struggling a little in practice and we saw what they could do under fire.”

Iowa State claimed an early lead after the first round, scoring a 48.60 on vault, while Nebraska had to count all five competitors' scores on uneven bars, and struggled in the first rotation with a score of 47.425. Katie Sweetin and Thompson tied for third place overall on the vault with scores of 9.825.

The Huskers quickly got back into meet, however, with a strong performance on vault, scoring a 49.025, while the Cyclones matched NU's bar effort with a 47.425. Nikki Dilbert led ISU with a 9.80, which was good for second place. Through two rotations, the Huskers led, 96.450-96.125.

After the third rotation, the Cyclones found a door open again, scoring a 48.875 on beam to take a slight overall edge over the Huskers, 145.000-144.925. Thompson came through big for the Cyclones with her career performance and gave them a huge boost going into the final round.

But the Huskers made a solid stand on balanced beam in the fourth rotation to pull out the victory. NU had two gymnasts score 9.850 for a second-place tie that catapulted the Huskers to the win. The Cyclones had their weakest performance of the night on the floor, struggling in each routine, for a final score of 47.425.

Nebraska's Maria Scaffidi won the all-around competition with a final score of 39.000, while Iowa State's Dilbert was second with a 38.900. NU's Emily Parson was third with a 38.875 and Thompson came in fourth with a 39.550.

The Cyclones will continue Big 12 action when they travel to Missouri for a meet with the Tigers at 7 p.m., Jan. 18, in Columbia, Mo.

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Players Mentioned

Nikki Dilbert

Nikki Dilbert

Nikki Dilbert

Katie Sweetin

Katie Sweetin

Katie Sweetin

Jasmine Thompson

Jasmine Thompson

Jasmine Thompson

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