ISU Gymnastics 2010 Season in Review

05.04.2010 | Gymnastics

By: cyclones.com

Cyclone Notebook
? The Iowa State gymnastics team completed its 2010 season ranked No. 24 and saw sophomore Michelle Browning qualify for the NCAA Championships in the all-around.
? Iowa State concluded its 40th season of gymnastics. The Cyclones have a 410-463-4 all-time record.

Last Time Out
? Iowa State sophomore gymnast Michelle Browning became the first Cyclone to earn a place at the NCAA Championships since All-America honoree Janet Anson in 2007 with a 39.150 all-around performance April 10 at the NCAA West Regional meet in the Pauley Pavilion. The then-17th-ranked ISU gymnastics team had an up and down performance that culminated in a fourth-place showing at the six-team meet with a team score of 194.325. UCLA won the event with a 197.825, Arkansas placed second (196.675), Arizona took third with a score of 195.100, Arizona State finished fifth (193.900) and Brigham Young rounded out the competition with a 193.400.

Browning Qualifies for NCAA Championships
? Sophomore Michelle Browning became Iowa State's first NCAA Championships individual qualifier since All-America honoree Janet Anson after the Houston, Texas native placed sixth in the all-around at the NCAA West Regional on April 10 in Los Angeles, Calif. Browning was the top all-arounder at the regional who was not on a team to qualify for the NCAA Championships. The top five all-around competitors at the NCAA West Regional were from UCLA and Arkansas, both teams that advanced to the NCAA Championships. Browning scored a 39.150 in the all-around, highlighted by a 9.850 floor routine and a career-high-tying 9.825 bars effort.

Browning Forced to Withdraw from NCAA Championships
? Iowa State sophomore gymnast Michelle Browning suffered blood clots in her lungs that forced the Houston, Texas native to withdraw from the NCAA Championships.

Cyclones Have Big 12-Best 11 Academic Honorees
? Iowa State led the Big 12 Conference with 11 academic all-league honorees. The Cyclones had a league-high seven gymnasts earn first-team honors and four receive second-team distinctions. Megan Barnes, Nikki Dilbert, Ashley Kent, Ceilia Maccani, Celine Paulus, Anna Robey and Melanie Tham were first-team recipients, while Shea Anderson, Michelle Browning, Jody McKellar and Katie Sweetin were on the second team. ISU placed the most gymnasts on the academic all-conference squad for the second-straight year.

Cyclones Hit Hard by Injuries
? A squad that appeared to be loaded with experience heading into the 2010 campaign was forced to lean heavily on its youth throughout the year. Seniors Megan Barnes (knee), Nikki Dilbert (elbow) and Katie Sweetin (achilles) were seriously injured in preseason training. Fellow senior Melanie Tham (achilles) joined the list of season-ending injuries on March 5. Junior Jasmine Swyningan (knee) did not see action this season either. ISU all-arounder Jody McKellar saw limited action since suffering a Feb. 5 ankle injury and Barnes was not at full strength for the seven meets she competed in 2010.
? Barnes was the defending Big 12 vault champion and was only able to compete once on the event in 2010. Dilbert was the ISU team MVP in 2008, while Sweetin had been a strong contributor on floor and beam during her career at ISU.

Kent and Tham Earn Postseason Awards
? Seniors Ashley Kent and Melanie Tham earned postseason awards for their efforts outside the gym.
? Kent was named the Iowa State CHAMPS Performer of the Year. The award goes to one male and one female student-athlete a year at Iowa State who exemplify the goals of the ISU CHAMPS/Life Skills program. The CHAMPS program has five areas it is committed to helping student-athletes: academic excellence, athletic excellence, personal development, career development and community service.
? Tham was named to the 2010 Spring Chick-fil-A Community of Champions team by the Big 12 Conference. During the fall, winter and spring terms, one student-athlete from each Big 12 institution receives the honor based on academics, community service and leadership/sportsmanship.

Tham's Career Ends Due to Injury
? ISU senior Melanie Tham joined a long list of injured Cyclones when she tore her achilles tendon during floor warm-ups against Iowa on March 5. Tham had competed on beam and floor for the Cyclones at every meet in 2010 before the injury. Tham's injury caused her career to come to a premature end.

ISU on the National Scene
? As a team, ISU finished the season ranked on all four events. ISU was No. 16 on beam (48.960), No. 17 on bars (49.020), 20th on floor (49.055) and No. 23 on vault (48.995).

Ashley Automatic
? Fifth-year senior Ashley Kent proved to be one of the most steady beam performers in the country in 2010. Kent did not score lower than 9.825 on the apparatus in 2010, and scored as high as 9.875 on the event. The Calgary, Alberta native finished the season tied for No. 27 on beam in the national rankings.

Career Night for McKellar at Minnesota
? Senior Jody McKellar posted back-to-back career highs March 20 at Minnesota with a 9.900 on bars and a 9.825 on vault in the Cyclones' 196.225-195.300 victory in Minneapolis.

Browning Big 12 Gymnast of the Week Twice
? Michelle Browning's 39.275 and first-place showing in the all-around at Oklahoma on Feb. 12 helped her garner Big 12 Gymnast of the Week honors for the second time in 2010. The Houston, Texas native also won the award Feb. 2 following her performance against Michigan and BYU.