ISU to Open Big 12 Action at No. 4 Utah

Who: Iowa State (2-1, 0-0 Big 12) at No. 4 Utah (1-3, 0-0 Big 12)

Where: Huntsman Center (15,000) – Salt Lake City, Utah

When: Friday, Jan. 17, 2025 – 8 p.m.

Leading Off: Fresh off its first two wins of the season in tri-meet against Iowa and Brown, Iowa State will go back on the road to face its second top-five team of the season. Friday's meet against Utah will open Big 12 conference action and be the first meeting between the teams since 2013.

After opening the season at the defending national champion LSU Tigers, Iowa State returned to Hilton and won a tri-meet over Brown and Iowa. Five Cyclones claimed event wins on the day, with sophomore Noelle Adams leading the way with two (vault and floor). She now has 16 event wins in her career.

Friday will be Utah's second home meet of its 50th season of gymnastics and it comes one week after the team's big early-season test at the Sprouts Farmer's Market Collegiate Quad, where the Utes met top-ranked Oklahoma, 2nd-ranked LSU and 6th-ranked Cal, and finished fourth.

Storylines:

Iowa State's freshmen have impressed in limited opportunities so far this season.
- Haylee Hardin claimed a floor title last time out, the first of her career.
- Frederique Sgarbossa had a top-three finish against LSU in the opener.
All five Cyclone newcomers have competed this season.
Both Noelle Adams and Josie Bergstrom-Te Slaa have been the team's highest scorers on vault in each meet.
- Lauren Thomas has been the team's highest scorer on beam in each meet.
A testament to her heard work and improvement, Bergstrom-Te Slaa now competes all-around for the Cyclones after starting off as an event specialist in college.
A short-handed Iowa State recorded its lowest score of the Ashley Miles Greig tenure in the season-opener at LSU.

From the Notes:

Iowa State returned 10 gymnasts from last year's squad that made the largest improvement in the country.
- ISU added four freshmen and one transfer for a team of 15.
Both Noelle Adams and Bergstrom-Te Slaa were named to the Big 12 Preseason Gymnastics team.
Iowa State's 10 victories this season are tied for the most since it won 20 in 2018.
Sophomore Noelle Adams claimed 14 event titles last year in her freshman campaign. Those 14 titles were the third-most in program history by a first-year gymnast.
As a team, ISU claimed 17 event titles last season.
2025 will mark the first year that Iowa State competes in a conference schedule, as the additions of Arizona, Arizona State and Utah put the conference at seven teams.

Switching Sides to Utah:

Utah finished fourth among that top-6 ranked quartet at the Sprouts meet, with a season-high 196.800 and earned one event win.
- Grace McCallum shared the top score of 9.975 on the bars.
Utah swept the top spots in its home opener for the second year in a row, taking down Utah State, 196.775-194.450.
- Winners included Ashley Glynn (vault), Amelie Morgan and Grace McCallum (bars), Camie Winger (beam) and Makenna Smith (floor and all-around).
Through two weeks, Utah ranks in the Road to Nationals top 12 in each team event.
- VT = 11 UB = 4 BB = 3 FX = 12
Head coach Carly Dockendorf is in her second season leading the Red Rocks program and her eighth overall with Utah Gymnastics.
- In 2024, Dockendorf became the first head coach in NCAA history to lead a team to the Final Four in the coach's first year in the position, earning the highest finish (third place) by any first-year head coach.

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Players Mentioned

Noelle Adams

Josie Bergstrom-Te Slaa

Haylee Hardin

Frederique Sgarbossa

Lauren Thomas

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics