Iowa State Set to Host In-State Rival Iowa

Who: No. 34 Iowa State (7-9, 2-2 Big 12) vs No. 35 Iowa (5-7, 2-7 Big Ten)

Where: Hilton Coliseum (14,356) – Ames, Iowa

When: Friday, Mar. 8, 2024 – 6:30 p.m.

Leading Off: No 34. Iowa State is set to host No. 35 Iowa in the 88^th rendition of the Cy-Hawk meet. The Cyclones are looking to carry on their momentum to shoot up the rankings to firmly plant themselves in the top 36 teams.

The Cyclones had a big bounce back performance at NC State in which they saw two new season high scores. First on beam with a 49.325 and the on floor with a 49.350. The beam score is their highest since 2017. ISU knows they need to keep those performances coming as they are just inside the top 36 with the season coming to an end in a couple weeks. Iowa State has dominated the all-time series against the Hawkeyes with a record of 54-33. However, Iowa currently holds a four meet win streak dating back to 2020.

The Cyclones are set to honor five seniors as their times as Iowa State gymnasts are coming to an end, Loganne Basuel, Emilie Hong, Ana Irene Palacios, Kaia Parker, and Lauren Thomas. All five have been huge contributors throughout their careers and have been amazing leaders under first year Head Coach Ashley Miles Greig. ISU will look to send them out on a high note with beating their in-state rival in their final meet at Hilton Coliseum and make it to regionals as well.

Storylines:

Iowa State came in second in the North Carolina State quad-meet with a score of 196.700.
- NC State scored 197.000, Northern Illinois scored 195.200, and Temple 194.425.
The Cyclones had many gymnasts step up as they saw a ton of new career highs. Madelyn Manternach made one of the biggest jumps on floor as she saw a new career high of 9.9.
Emilie Hong has set a new career high on the floor in three straight meets. Hong scored a 9.85 to help ISU to their top score of the night.
The Cyclones will be coming into this meet with a ton of momentum. They achieved two new season high scores, one on beam of 49.325 and then on floor with 49.350.

From the Notes:

Noelle Adams continues to be a rock in the Iowa State lineups. In all three of her events at NC State she scored 9.800 or higher
- 9.800 on vault, 9.875 on beam, and 9.850 on floor.
ISU comes into this week ranked 34^th. They need to continue these strong performances to create some cushion between them and the 36^th ranking.

Kaia Parker has now scored 9.925 on the floor twice this year. First at home against Illinois State and the second at the North Carolina State quad-meet.
The Cyclones top event this year has been vault where they are ranked 22^nd. Josie Bergstrom has been the most consistent on this event and is the 25^th ranked vaulter in the country.

Switching Sides to the Hawkeyes:

Head Coach Larissa Libby is entering her 20^th year at the helm of Iowa gymnastics.
Iowa comes into this meet ranked 35^th and will look to climb back up the rankings. Their best event this year has been on the beam where they see themselves ranked 23^rd.
The Hawkeyes top score of the year is 196.400 which they got in their first meet of the season. Most recently they achieved a 196.025 as a team at Sacramento State.
Iowa boasts two really talented all-around gymnasts in Adeline Kenlin who averages a score of 39.425 and Karina Munoz who boasts an average of 39.475.
Libby leads a veteran group of gymnasts as the Hawkeyes consist of just four freshmen and 10 upperclassmen.

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Players Mentioned

Noelle Adams

Loganne Basuel

Josie Bergstrom-Te Slaa

Emilie Hong

Madelyn Manternach

Ana Irene Palacios

Kaia Parker

Lauren Thomas

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics