Go ahead and call them underdogs, they don’t mind.

The preseason rankings have Iowa State ranked No. 17 in the country, but the media have them projected to finish fourth out of the four teams in the Big 12.

“On paper, we are in a rebuilding year,” said ISU coach Jay Ronayne. “We’re not supposed to be that good. We don’t have any more than one senior. No one on the team has ever competed more than one year of college competition. So that alone leads you to think that this team is not going to be that good, and that’s fine. I want everyone in the country to think we’re not that good.”

The Cyclones are two years removed from advancing to the NCAA Super Six Championship and are trying to rebound after last year’s heartbreaking tie-break loss at the NCAA Central Regional.

“We are kind of underdogs going in this season. We lost four seniors last year, so I think people are counting us out of a lot of things. They might be surprised on just how good we are,” said sophomore Nikki Dilbert.

The 2008 schedule gives the Cyclones plenty of chances to turn some heads. Almost everyone they match up against is ranked in the preseason top 20, including the entire Big 12 conference, which, in women’s gymnastics, is made up of only Iowa State, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma.

“The goals for the team this season are Big 12 champs, Nationals, Super Six,” junior Jennifer Salfen said. “We’re going for it all this year. We’re really looking forward to a really good season.”

Juniors Ashley Kent and Jasmine Thompson are serving as captains for the Cyclones during the 2008 season. Kent and Thompson must find a way to lead the very young and inexperienced Cyclone squad.

“We have plenty of leadership, which is awesome,” Ronayne said. “There were a lot of leaders last year, but they were all going in different directions.

“This year, we have two strong leaders that are leading everyone in the right direction. That makes it a lot easier for us. Now it’s just getting the physical stuff done,” Ronayne said.

On the mat, the Cyclones will be led by their two all-around performers, Thompson and Dilbert.

Thompson has the highest returning all-around score, with a 39.325, and Dilbert is second, with a high score of 39.250.

Both of these all-arounders have only one year of collegiate experience under their belts, but both expect to put up high scores in every event.

“I want to be consistent,” Dilbert said. “I want to hit all four events, because I’m an all-arounder, and that’s what I want – to contribute that to the team.”

In Iowa State’s first meet of the year against Nebraska, Dilbert received second place in the all-around with a 39.000, and Thompson won on the balance beam with a score of 9.875.

“I think Jaz [Thompson] has stepped up a lot from last year as an all-arounder, and same with Nikki Dilbert,” sophomore Jody McKellar. said. “They’re doing really well. They’re good motivation for the rest of the team.”

The Cyclones will also need to get consistent scoring from junior Ceilia Maccani. Last season, Maccani contributed only on the uneven bars and took first place against Missouri, with a 9.850.

This season, Maccani will be asked to contribute on vault and balance beam as well.

Sophomore Katie Sweetin will also be a regular on the mat. She was part of the vault, beam and floor rotation last year and will be asked to do the same this year.

“I just want to do as well as I can,” Sweetin said. “If I make it to Nationals, great, but I’m here for the team.”

The Cyclones match up twice against their in-state rival Iowa. In most sports this is a very competitive rivalry, but in gymnastics it’s been pretty one-sided as of late. Iowa State has won 27 of the last 28 matches with the Hawkeyes, and Iowa hasn’t won in Ames since 1993.

The Cyclones’ toughest test of the year will come when they travel to Athens, Ga., to take on the Georgia Bulldogs. Georgia is the consensus No. 1 team in the country in the preseason polls.

“It’s the kind of atmosphere that’s exciting,” Ronayne said. “When you go to Georgia, there’s 12,000 people in the stands, every single meet.”

The Cyclones have never beaten Georgia in the nine times they have competed.

“Georgia will be really cool just because there are a lot of girls from the Olympics, and it will be cool competing against girls that you see on TV,” McKellar said.

The Cyclones have three freshmen in their incoming recruiting class. Alexandra Grant, Jacquelyn Holmes and Jasmine Swyningan will try to bolster the Cyclones’ rotation.

“[Holmes] is looking awesome in the gym, and she is going to really show that she’s an awesome asset to this team,” Dilbert said.

With only one senior on the team, Iowa State will go as far as its underclassmen can take them. Iowa State has a lot of holes to fill before it will be a national title contender again. Just don’t tell that to the Cyclones.