Iowa State Back Home to Host No. 19 Minnesota

AMES, Iowa - The Iowa State gmynastics team returns home Friday to take on No. 19 Minnesota at 6:30 p.m. inside Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones will be looking to pick up their fourth-consecutive win, and take the next step to return to the Top 25.

Iowa State will honor former men's gymnastics head coach Ed Gagnier prior to the meet, with a banner to be unveiled in the rafters of Hitlon Coliseum. Gagnier was the founder of the men's gymnastics program in 1963, and in his 20 years in charge led ISU to three national titles and 10 Big 8 Conference championships.

Tickets for the meet can be purchased at the Hilton Coliseum Ticket Office, located on the Southwest corner of Hilton. Friday night is ISU Faculty/Staff Night, Iowa State Faculty and Staff members can show his or her ID's at any entrance for free admission.

Those who pre-registered for the Daddy-Daughter Date Night event should enter at the South Entrance to pick up their tickets, tiara and cupcake.

The meet will be televised live on Cyclones.TV Powered by Mediacom and on the Cyclones.TV web player. For more information about Cyclones.TV, click here. Live stats for the meet will be provided by cyclones.com (click here).

Iowa State Athletics Communications student assistant Cassidy Mace will be providing a live blog throughout the meet here. Results will also be posted throughout the meet on the Iowa State Gymnastics Twitter page @CycloneGYM.

Cyclone Headlines

Winners against its past three opponents, the Iowa State gymnastics team returns home Friday night looking to make it four in a row against No. 19 Minnesota. Action starts at 6:30 p.m. inside Hilton Coliseum.
Prior to the meet, Iowa State will honor former men's gymnastics coach Ed Gagnier with the unveiling of a banner to be hung in the rafters of Hilton Coliseum. Gangier started the men's program in 1963 and led it for 20 years, winning three national titles and 10 Big 8 Conference championships. He coached 16 national champions and 54 All-Americans.
This will mark the second meet this season between the Cyclones and Gophers. The two teams met to start the year at the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis, with UM's 194.950 bettering ISU's 193.475.
Iowa State competed at the IGI Chicago Style Meet at Navy Pier last Friday, defeating Northern Illinois and Yale with a score of 194.950.
Iowa State was led by Caitlin Brown, who recorded an all-around score of 39.275 while earning wins on bars and beam, too. Brown ranks atop the Big 12 and 29th in the NCAA with her 39.171 season average in the all-around.
The Cyclones continue to get strong performances from its freshmen, with Haylee Young, Hilary Green, Kelsey Paz and Micole O'Dell all recording strong performances across the last weekend.
Young, from Des Moines, tied her career high in the all-around with a 39.325 against Centenary and went 39.250 against Oklahoma, earning the event win for the all-around on both occasions. Young posted career-high scores on vault (9.875 vs. OU) and bars (9.850 vs. Centenary) last time ISU was at home. For her efforts against OU and CC, Young was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week.
Green, from Madison, Ala., naied a career-high 9.900 score on bars against Centenary, becoming the first freshman to go 9.900 on bars since Camille Santerre-Gervais in 2011. She also recorded a 9.850 against Oklahoma. Green earned a career high on floor at the IGI Chicago Meet with a 9.825.
Paz, from Sioux City, has impressed since transitioning from all-around to three events. Among the highlights of her weekend was a career-high 9.875 score on balance beam against Centenary. In the meet against the Ladies, Paz also posted a career-best 9.800 on vault.
In Iowa State's home meet against Oregon State and Southeast Missouri, Brown and Sammie Pearsall tied the ISU record with 9.950s on beam. For her effort on beam in the tri-meet, Pearsall was named the Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week, becoming the first Cyclone to get a nod from the Big 12 in 2015.
In the OSU-SEMO meet, ISU recorded a 49.425 team score on balance beam, a score that ranked tied for the third-best in Iowa State history and is tied for the third-highest in the NCAA this season.

Players Mentioned

Caitlin Brown

Caitlin Brown

Caitlin Brown

Hilary Green

Micole O'Dell

Kelsey Paz

Sammie Pearsall

Sammie Pearsall

Haylee Young

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