The ISU gymnastics team is hungry for redemption after a shaky meet Friday at Pittsburgh.

Scoring low on floor exercise and losing a gymnast with an ankle injury on vault, the team has a rumbling belly ready to be filled with good scores and clean routines.

The Cyclones slipped three notches in the national rankings this week, from No. 13 to No. 16, which marks the first time this season that the team has failed to move up.

“It’s just a reality check that we need to step it up that last little bit,” senior Ashley Kent said. “We can’t be complacent; we can’t just let things slide. We need to really be sharp and get back on our game.”

The team has practiced three days in a row this week in order to prepare for its Friday meet. The gymnasts have had to be efficient with time because they missed out on a practice Sunday after being snowed in at Pittsburgh until Sunday night.

Far from being discouraged, the Cyclones are especially motivated because their opponent this week is No. 1 ranked Oklahoma. The last time the Cyclones met the Sooners was at the Big 12 Championships in 2009, when Oklahoma took first place and Iowa State took fourth.

“We’re really excited because Oklahoma is a really good team,” sophomore Celine Paulus said. “It’s nice to go against a good team because then that makes you kind of step it up a little bit.”

Last week Paulus felt the heat when she had to step in for Jody McKellar on uneven bars after McKellar was injured on the vault. Paulus performs exhibition on bars every meet, but last week her routine counted for a score.

“Jody is definitely a strong person on our team,” Paulus said. “She does all-around and she contributes on every single event, so it was kind of hard [when she was injured], but that’s why we have depth in our lineup, because we have someone that can go in for that person.”

McKellar has been practicing bars this week, but she has not been doing landings. Paulus was unsure Wednesday whether McKellar would perform or not, but she is prepared to step in for her if necessary.

“I struggled a little bit on bars [last week],” Paulus said. “But I’m hoping that this weekend, if I do get to go in for Jody [McKellar], I can prove myself — that I can be in the lineup and I can hit it.”

Paulus is prepared to step in, but the team is also ready to step it up.

“We’ve been saying ‘get hungry,’” Paulus said. “That’s our theme for this week: get hungry for something so we can just go out there and do what we do in the gym every day.”

The Cyclones will head to Norman, Okla., to compete at 7 p.m. Friday.