Iowa State Travel to Raleigh for a Quad-Meet

Who: No. 32 Iowa State (5-8, 2-2 Big 12) at No. 24 North Carolina State (6-4, 6-0 ACC), Northern Illinois (7-8-1, 1-4 MAC), and Temple (9-9, 1-2 EAGL)

Where: James T. Valvano Arena (5,500) – Raleigh, N.C.

When: Saturday, Mar. 2, 2024 – 3:00 p.m.

Leading Off: No. 32 Iowa State will wrap up their long streak of away competitions in Raleigh with a quad-meet. They will compete against No. 24 North Carolina State, Northern Illinois, and Temple. This is a big meet for the Cyclones as they need to start climbing the NQS rankings with the season winding down.

The Cyclones are looking to get back on track on Saturday. They have not been able to reach the 196 mark since January. While in Logan at the Utah State quad they came very close with their team score of 195.950. They will need to improve upon that score in order to climb the standings. They currently sit 32^nd in the most recent NQS rankings. They need to finish in the top 36 to make a regional. ISU will see the 24^th ranked North Carolina State Wolfpack this weekend. This will be a good test for them to compete with a highly rated team.

The Cyclones saw many career highs on the road including Emilie Hong who set a new career high on the floor in back-to-back meets. First at Utah State she had a 9.775 then in Cedar City she scored a 9.825. Freshman Ella Schell also saw a new career high on bars with a 9.825 with one judge even putting her at a 9.9. Then to wrap it all up Noelle Adams set two new career highs while in Utah. First on the floor with an astonishing 9.95 routine. She followed that up with a 9.925 to wrap up the road trip on beam. Head Coach Ashley Miles Greig is wanting to see them along with others continue to step up to help the Cyclones get back to their early season form.

Storylines:

Iowa State came in third in the Utah State quad-meet with a score of 195.950.
- Boise State scored 197.025, Utah State scored 196.275, and Texas Woman's 195.425.
In Cedar City the Cyclones lost to Southern Utah with the scores of 195.700-196.500.
Emilie Hong set back-to-back career highs on the floor in these meets with a 9.775 and a 9.825. The Cyclones need her to continue hitting these marks.
ISU is coming off a heavy workload weekend with two meets in four days. They are hoping that these few days of rest will help them raise their scores back up.

From the Notes:

Noelle Adams won her 3^rd Big 12 Newcomer of the Week after her floor routine amassed a 9.95 and beam score of 9.925.
Josie Bergstrom is the 20^th ranked vaulter in the country. At Utah State she scored a 9.875 on this event.
Both Rachel Wilke and Madelyn Manternach stepped up on the road and tied their career highs on the floor with 9.85 scores.
The Cyclones come in ranked 32^nd on Road to Nationals with their top event ranking being vault where they place 20^th nationally.

Switching Sides to the Wolfpack:

Head Coach Kim Landrus is entering her 7^th year at the helm of North Carolina State gymnastics.
North Carolina State comes into this meet ranked 24^th and will look to keep climbing in the standings. Their best event ranking is 22^nd on vault.
The Wolfpack's top score of the year was 197.575 recently against Clemson. Most recently they scored 196.850 against Pitt.
North Carolina State's best gymnast this season is their all-arounder Emily Shepard who averages an all-around score of 39.381.
White brought in seven freshmen to pair with their 14 returnees.

Switching Sides to the Huskies:

Head Coach Sam Morreale is entering his 13^th season as the head coach of Northern Illinois.
NIU comes in ranked 52^nd on RTN. Their top event is on the vault where they come in ranked 32^nd.
Their top score of the year is 196.400 which they got back in January. Most recently they scored 195.800.
The Huskies top gymnast this year is their all-arounder Isabella Sissi. She averages an all-around score of 39.050.
NIU boasts a very big roster of 24 gymnasts. Seven of which are freshmen.

Switching Sides to the Owls:

Head Coach Hilary Steele is in her 2^nd year of leading the Owls.
In Temple's most recent tri-meet they saw a score of 195.525. This was their highest rated score in the month of February.
The Owls hold a roster of 24 athletes, 10 of which are freshmen.
This will be the third time ISU and Temple have competed with one another with the most recent meet being in 2022 where ISU fell 194.075-194.525.

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Players Mentioned

Noelle Adams

Josie Bergstrom-Te Slaa

Emilie Hong

Madelyn Manternach

Ella Schell

Rachel Wilke

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics