CORVALLIS, Ore. – Saturday night’s NCAA National Collegiate Women’s Gymnastics Championships started off great for the No. 4 Cyclones. The “Super Six” event pitted the six best squads in the nation against one another.

After the first rotation, Iowa State was tied for first place with a score of 48.975 after a tremendous performance on floor exercise, bringing the ISU fans to their feet – an impressive proportion of the 7,064 fans in attendance.

What happened next could have only been predicted in coach K.J. Kindler’s worst nightmares. After having no falls on vault throughout the course of the season, the Cyclones recorded one fall . then another . then another.

Of six ISU vaulters, three fell upon landing. Even with only the top five of six scores contributing to the team total, two falls were counted against Iowa State, resulting in a score of 47.850, the Cyclones lowest vault score of the season.

“We’re really disappointed with how vault went,” Kindler said. “We haven’t counted a fall in three years, so to count two was definitely a surprise.”

Senior Laura-Kay Powell wasn’t quite sure to what to attribute the poor vault performance.

“I couldn’t tell you why everyone struggled on vault,” she said. “We hadn’t fallen all year, so I think it’s a fluke thing.”

Realizing that the chips were down, Iowa State resorted to doing what they’ve done best this season – nailing routines under pressure.

After the disastrous vault performance, the Cyclones came back and nailed all six routines on uneven bars for a score of 49.000 and performed strongly on the balance beam, earning a 48.900.

“Can you believe how that team came back?” Kindler said. “They just nailed the next two events after knowing what those mistakes were going to do to them. They didn’t give up, and I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

Kindler added that she didn’t have to give her team much of a pep talk to instigate the comeback.

“They were mad at themselves and disappointed in their performance on vault,” Kindler said. “This is the kind of team that doesn’t accept mediocrity, so they turned it around and finished strong.”

Powell said she believes the team’s strong second-half performance shows what the team is really made of.

“Our comeback shows just how good of a team we really can be,” she said. “We’re not down because we made our first Super Six in school history.”

But the strong comeback was too little, too late for the Cyclones, who took sixth place with a total score of 194.725.

Even with the low placing, Kindler said she believes even making the Super Six for the first time was a huge step for her program.

“We all learned a lot by being in this meet,” she said. “It’s a high-pressure meet and it’s a different level – it truly is – and what we’ve learned is going to help us get back here again.”

ISU fans can relive the action on television in two weeks. CBS is scheduled to air the Super Six finals May 6.

Junior Janet Anson said the coverage will reflect well not only Iowa State’s gymnastics program, but on the entire university.

“It’s nice that Iowa State as a whole will get recognized in a bigger light,” she said.

Super Six Finals – results and scores

1. Georgia – 197.750

Floor Exercise – 49.425

Vault – 49.650

Uneven Bars – 49.475

Beam – 49.200

2. Utah – 196.800

Floor Exercise – 49.175

Vault – 49.350

Uneven Bars – 48.950

Beam – 49.325

3. Alabama – 196.725

Floor Exercise – 49.375

Vault – 49.400

Uneven Bars – 49.300

Beam – 48.650

4. Florida – 196.275

Floor Exercise – 49.150

Vault – 48.975

Uneven Bars – 49.175

Beam – 48.975

5. Nebraska – 196.175

Floor Exercise – 49.300

Vault – 49.050

Uneven Bars – 48.875

Beam – 48.950

6. Iowa State – 194.725

Floor Exercise -48.975

Vault – 47.850

Uneven Bars – 49.000

Beam – 48.900