AMES, Iowa - The No. 25 Iowa State gymnastics team kicks off its 2015 season Saturday with a meet at No. 17 Minnesota. The meet will begin at 6:30 p.m. inside the Sports Pavilion.
Tickets to the meet can be purchased now on
mygophersports.com, or at the Sports Pavilion Ticket Office, which will open at 5 p.m. on the evening of the meet. The match will be streamed via BTN Plus, a subscription-based service, for more information click
here.
Live stats for the event will be provided by
gophersports.com. Results will also be posted throughout the meet on the Iowa State Gymnastics Twitter page
@CycloneGYM. Iowa State Athletics Communications student assistant Cassidy Mace will be providing a live blog throughout the meet
here.
Cyclone Headlines
- The No. 25 Iowa State gymnastics team opens the 2015 season Saturday when the Cyclones take on No. 17 Minnesota at the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis.
- This meet will mark the first of two meetings between the Cyclones and the Gophers in 2015. Minnesota will travel to Hilton Coliseum to take on the Cyclones on Feb. 20.
- Iowa State comes into the season with a No. 25 ranking in the GymInfo Preseason Coaches Poll, marking the fifth time under head coach Jay Ronayne that the Cyclones have garnered a preseason ranking.
- ISU finished the 2014 season off with a bang, recording a season-high score of 196.650 at the Big 12 Championship to secure the 36th and final spot in the NCAA Regionals. At its Regional hosted by LSU, the Cyclones finished third with a 196.350. The late-season surge helped the Cyclones earn an end-of-the-season ranking of No. 21 from the gymnastics coaches.
- Cyclone senior Caitlin Brown will lead the ISU squad in 2015. An Apple Valley, Minn. native, Brown was a qualifier for the 2015 NCAA Gymnastics Championship in the All-Around, marking the fourth time in the last five seasons a Cyclone qualified for the NCAA Championships. Brown qualified at the NCAA Regional with a career-best 39.400 in the All-Around.
- While Iowa State is returning an NCAA qualifier, the Cyclones have many talented gymnasts to replace, losing six seniors who were all in the lineup in multiple events last season in 2014 All-Big 12 honorees Henrietta Green and Milan Ivory, 2013 All-American on balance beam Michelle Shealy, 2014 All-American on uneven bars Camille Santerre-Gervais and Hailey Johnson.
- The Cyclones boast a large group of newcomers, with seven freshman and Missouri transfer Lark Pokladnik joining the squad. Iowa State anticipates Des Moines native Haylee Young to make an instant impact in the all-around with many other freshmen expected to contribute across events. It is expected that Hilary Green, Briana Ledesma and Kelsey Paz will be among the freshmen to contribute immediately
- Iowa State will also look forward to welcome back a pair of veterans from recurring injuries. Juniors Sammie Pearsall and Sara Townsend both saw their 2014 limited and ended early, respecitveily, due to injuries. Pearsall, who had been a contributor on beam in the past, will be a top contributor for the Cyclones in those and other events. Townsend was a regular in the ISU lineup on valut, bars and floor before a knee injury at Northern Illinois saw her sophomore season come to an abrupt end. Another junior to watch out for this season will be Alex Marasco, an important contributor on both vault and beam.