Completed Event: Gymnastics at #10 Iowa (Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series) on January 10, 2026 , Loss , 193.425, to, 196.000
Final
Gymnastics
193.425
#10 Iowa (Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series)
196.000
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Iowa State University Athletics
Cyclone Gymnasts Look to Regain Solid Footing
06.30.2008 | Gymnastics
AMES, Iowa?Serious injuries are commonplace in gymnastics, so Iowa State sophomore all-arounders Jacquelyn Holmes and Alexandra Grant are not looking for any sympathy as they recover from last year's season-ending setbacks and prepare for the upcoming campaign in summer workouts.
“It's the nature of the sport,” said Grant, a Toronto, Ontario native who ruptured her right Achilles tendon in the second week of the season. “When you're flipping 13 feet in the air, you are bound to hurt yourself.”
ISU coach Jay Ronayne says serious injuries are something every coaching staff has to deal with.
“Unfortunately, it's fairly common for a season-ending injury to happen to at least one athlete on a squad,” he said. “It's a repetition issue. The gymnasts are exposed to high levels of impact over and over again on every event, every single day since they were young. It takes a toll on them.”
Despite sustaining her second anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear in her left knee and having her left ankle scoped, the Charlotte, N.C., native, Holmes, does not have any reservations.
“I am not really worried,” said Holmes who scored 9.700 on both the vault and bars last season before her injury. “I am really excited to break loose and be out there during meets and see the crowd. I can't wait to get the crowd involved in our competitions.”
The two also feel their first collegiate season was not a waste.
“I was really able to see what college gymnastics is all about,” said Holmes. “Seeing the other girls compete helped me realize what I need to work on.”
“It was hard to watch some meets because I wanted to be out there so bad,” said Grant. “I still got to sit back and learn and watch the whole process. It was a learning year.”
Grant and Holmes were not the only ones to feel the pain of their injuries as the rest of the Iowa State gymnastics squad had to take on the extra burden because of the two freshmen's inability to compete.
“It put a huge amount of pressure on everybody especially on floor exercise. If both Jacquelyn and Alex were in the lineup, we would have had six high-quality Division I gymnasts which would have been just enough,” said Ronayne. “We just did not have the bodies that really should have been out there, so the first half of the season we suffered tremendously.”
Without the two prized freshmen, the Cyclones still advanced to the program's 12th consecutive NCAA regional appearance following a gritty second-place finish at the Big 12 Championships where Iowa State finished a mere .1 of a point behind Oklahoma.
With Holmes and Grant back in the lineup, the Cyclones have even healthier ambitions this winter.
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