Cyclones Victorious In Big 12 Opener

AMES, Iowa – The No. 12 Iowa State gymnastics team (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) took home the victory against No. 24 West Virginia at Hilton Coliseum Friday night. Iowa State posted a season-high 195.800 in the win.

Iowa State closed out the meet on a high note with a 49.000 on floor. Three Cyclones scored 9.800s or better on floor, including a 9.900 by Andrea Maldonado. The Cyclones kept producing on the uneven bars by posting a strong 49.025 score.

Individually, some newcomers stepped up big for the Cyclones. Maddie Diab scored a 9.825 for the Cyclones on the floor in her first meet at Hilton Coliseum. Along with Diab, Maldonado's excellent floor routine stood out among Cyclone newcomers.

Vault was an area the Cyclones were focused on improving heading into this week, and they did just that by scoring a 49.000 as a team. The veterans proved to lead the way, with Sophia Steinmeyer coming up huge once again with an impressive 9.900. Phoebe Turner also pitched in with a strong performance of 9.850 and helped the Cyclones improve from last week's performance.

"I love this team and I love the way they want to compete," head coach Jay Ronayne said. "They are enjoying competing. We left a whole lot of room for growth still, and I am looking forward to Georgia on Monday. I can't say enough about Cyclone fans; they could have stayed home, but they didn't."

Uneven Bars
The Cyclones were strong on uneven bars for the second-straight meet, following up Saturday's performance with a 49.025. Natalia Ros Vaquer picked up where she left off last week by scoring another 9.850 in another strong anchor performance to get the event win. Behind her, Casandra Diaz (9.825), Laura Burns (9.800) and Madelyn Langkamp (9.800) all posted solid scores. Ana Palacios rounded out the scoring quintet with a 9.750.

Assistant Coach Nilson Medeiros Savage
"We had a lot of adversity this week. With everything against us, we still stepped up and did a great job tonight. On bars, we stuck the landings that we had to stick. I think the girls did a tremendous job to keep everybody as a unit."

Vault
Iowa State posted a season-high 49.000 on vault. They were led by another stout performance by Sophia Steinmeyer, who tied her career best with a 9.900 on the apparatus to pick up the event victory. Phoebe Turner picked up where she left off last week by posting a 9.850. Sydney Converse, Kelsey Boychuk, and Makayla Maxwell all chipped in solid performances, with each scoring a 9.750.

Head Coach Jay Ronayne
"Walking into vault, I had some question marks. I was a little bit nervous about that event, but they pulled it together like veterans and settled my nerves for me."

Floor Exercise
Iowa State finished the meet on a high note by posting a 49.000 on floor exercise. Andrea Maldonado started her career at Hilton Coliseum off with a bang by executing a 9.900 in just her second collegiate floor routine, earning the win for the event. In her second career floor performance, freshman Maddie Diab posted an impressive 9.825. Sydney Converse had a solid run, posting a 9.800, while Diaz (9.750) and Ana Palacios (9.725) also scored in the event.

Junior Andrea Maldonado
"As I went in, I was listening to my teammates, and it worked out for the best. I wasn't thinking about the routine; I was present in the moment and I think that's what made it so good. [My coaches] were so jumpy and excited; it was great!"

Balance Beam
The Cyclones battled tough and scored a 48.775 on the beam. Iowa State was led by Sydney Converse who posted a 9.825. Laura Burns had a big-time effort in her second official beam performance, posting a 9.800. Sophia Steinmeyer and Ana Palacios added to the Cyclones effort with scores of 9.750, while Meixi Semple rounded out the scoring team with a 9.650.

Assistant Coach Kristin White
"I think that they did a great job. We had a little mistake, but they have trained on how to deal with mistakes. We are very proud of Laura Burns for coming back and nailing a beam routine. Everybody finished strong and I thought we did a great job tonight."

All-Around
Ana Palacios was the lone Cyclone all-arounder once again, earning a 38.875 in her second attempt at the all-around and picking up the win in the meet. The junior tallied a pair of 9.750s on both bars and beam to highlight the effort.

Up Next
The Cyclones are back in action on Monday against No. 17 Georgia at Stegeman Coliseum. The meet will begin at 1:00 p.m. and streamed on SEC Network+.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kelsey Boychuk

Laura Burns

Sydney Converse

Maddie Diab

Casandra Diaz

Madelyn Langkamp

Andrea Maldonado

Makayla Maxwell

Ana Palacios

Natalia Ros Vaquer

Meixi Semple

Sophia Steinmeyer

Phoebe Turner

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics