Iowa State Headed to Auburn For NCAA Regional

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State will continue its season at the 2022 NCAA Gymnastics Championships, the team learned Tuesday during the selection show. ISU will travel to the Auburn Regional, marking the Cyclones' 14^th Regional appearance in the last 15 seasons the meet was hosted.

Iowa State will open competition Wednesday, March 30 against Western Michigan with the winner advancing to a quad meet the next day.

"It's a privilege to take this squad to the Auburn Regional," head coach Jay Ronayne said. "This team has battled through adversity all season and we're so thankful for another opportunity to compete together. Our goals are still out there for us to grab and we still have more to accomplish this season."

Three Cyclones were also selected as individual event specialists at the regional in Makayla Maxwell (vault), Emilie Hong (vault) and Maddie Diab (floor).

The Cyclones enter the meet No. 28 in the RoadToNationals standings with a 196.430 NQS. Iowa State has 26 scores of 9.900 or higher so far this season. The Cyclones have had at least one score of 9.900 or above at every meet, with seven of them coming in the last two weeks.

Against Lindenwood, Iowa State notched a 196.875, the second-highest score of the Ronayne era. The Cyclones were led by All-Big 12 performers Maddie Diab and Makayla Maxwell, who were recognized on floor and vault, respectively.

Diab earned a share of the Big 12 title on floor after posting a 9.950 at the Big 12 Championships over the weekend, her eighth score of 9.900 or higher this season. Maxwell earned a podium finish as well with a 9.950 to grab silver.

More information regarding specifics to the NCAA Gymnastics Championship Regional rounds will be posted at a later date.

About the NCAA Gymnastics Selection Process
The top 36 teams based on national qualifying score (NQS) were selected for regional competition. The committee named the top 16 teams and seeded them in the bracket. Seeding determined at the time of selections will be maintained through the championship. Teams 17-36 were placed geographically at one of the four regional sites. Nine teams will compete at each of the four regional sites.

The committee also selected the top 12 all-around competitors and top 16 event specialists based on national qualifying scores and placed them geographically into one of the four regional sites, keeping individuals from the same team together. The list of all-arounders and individual event specialists included individual qualifying scores from the teams competing in the first round to ensure those individuals will compete in the individual competition if their team does not advance from the first round.