It was the little things that cost the ISU gymnastics team its season opener on Sunday against No. 15 Penn State. A slip here and an extra step there put the Cyclones on the losing side of their 2014 season debut.

Though the year started on a sour note, ISU coach Jay Ronayne thinks the Cyclones (0-1, 0-0 Big 12) have reasons to smile.

“We have a ways to go, which was expected,” Ronayne said. “There are a lot of little details to iron out. But there were some huge highlights. Caitlin [Brown] got off to a great start and this could be her breakout season … Henri [Green] is having an amazing season and she’s going to be a top-scorer who could win a lot of All-Around awards.”

Green got her season off to a strong start, earning top scores on uneven parallel bars (9.825) and floor exercise (9.800). Green also placed third on the beam with a mark of 9.750, propelling her into fourth place in All-Around scoring and helping her set a personal record of 38.800 on the day.

Even in the wake of personal success, Green remained focused on the team’s goals.

“We all came out and did what we wanted to do,” Green said following the 193.925-193.550 loss to the Nittany Lions. “That didn’t quite show in the team score, but I’m really proud of the girls. These first few meets are kind of about finding our rhythm as a team and right now it’s all about doing what’s best for the team.”

Brown, a junior, got her season off on right foot, scoring a career-high 38.900 points en route to beating out five other gymnasts to take the All-Around award. She said, however, there is still room for improvement.

“There’s always something you can do better,” said Brown, who placed in the top four on the floor exercise, uneven parallel bars and beam events. “I’m going to take that [mindset] into the gym and take care of the details. No matter how well I did there’s always something better.”

With a quick turnaround for Friday’s meet, Iowa State knows what it needs to do in order to get past its first loss and keep its eyes on the ultimate goal.

“We just need to fill in those gaps and getting a little healthier will help,” Ronayne said. “We’re training for [Nationals in] March. That’s what I told the girls right after the meet. We didn’t work all off-season for just right now – we’re still working for Nationals.”