Cyclones Go 196.225, Get Win Over West Virginia

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State (1-3, 1-0 Big 12) got a big finish on floor exercise to record a season-best team score of 196.225 and pick up the win over West Virginia (2-3, 0-2 Big 12), who scored 195.425, Friday night in front of 1,723 at Hilton Coliseum.

Iowa State got season-best team scores on vault, balance beam and floor exercise, with six Cyclone performances earning scores of 9.850 or better on the evening.

"We got the monkey off our back," Iowa State head coach Jay Ronayne said. "We had some struggles on beam the first few meets, and what we needed was to just stay on the apparatus. It feels much better to accomplish what we are capable of. I'm very proud of the poise we showed today, they competed like the team I know they are."

Floor Exercise
Iowa State finished the meet with its best event score of the season, recording a 49.225 as a squad. Leading the way with her second 9.900 of the season was Laura Cooke, who tied for the event win with WVU's Kendra Combs with her 9.900. Maddie Diab anchored the evening for the Cyclones with a 9.875, while Andrea Maldonado chipped in with a 9.825. Kelsey Boychuk led off with a 9.825, and Rachel Wilke closed out the Cyclone scoring squad with a season-best 9.800, a good bounce-back after stepping out-of-bounds during her routine against Auburn.

Vault
The Cyclones opened their meet with a season-best 49.175 on vault. For the second-straight week, Makayla Maxwell had a strong effort in her premier event, getting second place with a 9.875. Emilie Hong notched a second-straight 9.850, once again showing strong form in sticking her landing. Josie Bergstrom followed up her 9.850 at Auburn with a 9.825 tonight, while Kelsey Boychuk recorded a new season-best with a 9.825, too. Ariana Orrego rounded out the scoring squad from the leadoff spot, matching her career best with a 9.800.

Uneven Bars
The Cyclones were able to rally from a slow start to the rotation to record a 48.900. Loganne Basuel stepped up with her best performance of the season, recording a 9.850 to earn the event win. Right behind her were a pair of career-best 9.825s via Laura Cooke and Orrego, with Orrego going two-tenths better than her previous best in the event. Hannah Loyim did well to work through her routine and finish with a 9.775, while Maxwell rounded out the scoring squad with a 9.625.

Balance Beam
Once again, the Cyclones were able to rally from a slow start to post a solid 48.825 on balance beam. Meixi Semple led from the anchor position again, recording a 9.850 for the second-straight weekend. Basuel once again had a solid performance to deliver the Cyclones in the event, recording a 9.800. Loyim helped kickstart the Cyclone effort 9.775. Bergstrom, Ana Palacios and Sophia Steinmeyer all posted 9.700s to round out the ISU effort.

Up Next
Iowa State is off next weekend, and will be back in action on Sunday, Feb. 14 at No. 5 Denver. The meet will start at 3 p.m. Central.

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Players Mentioned

Loganne Basuel

Josie Bergstrom-Te Slaa

Kelsey Boychuk

Laura Cooke

Maddie Diab

Emilie Hong

Hannah Loyim

Andrea Maldonado

Makayla Maxwell

Ariana Orrego

Ana Palacios

Meixi Semple

Sophia Steinmeyer

Rachel Wilke

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics