The Iowa State gymnastics team let one slip away against No.1 Nebraska in the season opener.

The Cyclones had the lead going into the final rotation but, with a poor floor exercise, they fell to the defending conference champions, 193.500-192.475, Friday night at Hilton Coliseum.

“We’re standing there as the meet progresses, looking at each other going, ‘Hey, look, the door is open for us; hey, look, we didn’t walk in; oh, look, it’s open again; oh, look, we’re not walking in,'” said ISU coach Jay Ronayne. “All the opportunities were there, but it’s so early – as you saw from both teams, there were lots and lots of mistakes, so we set the bar low early in the season and only have up to go from there.”

Jasmine Thompson earned the Marie-Rae Sopper Outstanding Performance Award, which goes to the ISU gymnast whose performance most inspired teammates and fans. Thompson finished fourth in the all-around competition with a score of 38.550 and also won first place on the balance beam with a career-high 9.875.

“I think I did pretty well. I got some areas to pick up – floor for sure. I had a couple of bobbles there, but for the most part I’m pretty satisfied,” Thompson said.

Iowa State’s top gymnast for the night was Nikki Dilbert. The junior finished second in the all-around competition with a 38.900 and tied a career high on the balance beam.

The Cyclones have not beaten the Cornhuskers since 2006, but will get another crack at them in Lincoln later in the season.

“Overall, I feel actually pretty good despite the score being lower than I anticipated coming in. I feel good about it because we had kids step up that had been struggling a little bit in practice, and we got to see what they can do under fire,” Ronayne said.

After the second rotation, Iowa State found itself trailing 96.450-96.125. Nebraska had a strong performance on the vault with a 49.025, and Nebraska’s Emily Parsons won first place with a 9.900.

In the third rotation, the Cyclones had their best event of the evening on the balance beam. They posted a 48.875 and watched the Cornhuskers post a 48.475 on the floor exercise. With one rotation left, Iowa State held a slim 145.000-144.925 lead.

Iowa State faltered on the floor exercise, with nobody posting higher than a 9.700. Meanwhile, Nebraska almost matched Iowa State’s dominance on the beam and put up a score of 48.575, and the Cyclones ultimately fell.

“We had a couple [of gymnasts] that did stuff that was out of character. They’re taking it very hard – it’s not like I have to kick them in the butt or anything. They’re kicking themselves in the butt right now,” Ronayne said.

Nebraska’s Maria Scaffidi won the all-around competition with a score of 39.000, a career high for the sophomore.

“I would compare anyone to Nebraska, and say ‘You beat them, you’re doing it right,'” Ronayne said.

The 17th-ranked Cyclones will next travel to Columbia to take on Big XII rival Missouri. The meet is at 7 p.m. on Friday.