Once again, the ISU gymnastics team has to overcome the jeers of a biased crowd.

On Friday, the No. 9 Cyclones (6-2, 1-0 Big 12) travel to Norman, Okla., to take on No. 6 Oklahoma (4-4, 0-1 Big 12). The competition marks the third week in a row Iowa State has traveled to compete against a tough team.

ISU coach K.J. Kindler said she doesn’t believe fatigue will be a factor for her team.

“No doubt – it’s tough to have three road meets in a row,” Kindler said. “I’m hoping they haven’t been thinking about that, they definitely haven’t been focused on it. Since it’s early in the season, I think it’s definitely something they can handle.”

As for changes in training to combat road fatigue, practice has been business as usual for the Cyclones this week.

“We’ve just been practicing hard at the beginning of the week and taper off at the end to get ready for the meet on Friday,” said senior Laura-Kay Powell.

Redshirt sophomore Jade Kvach added that consistency in practice helps the team in the long run.

“We pretty much do it the same every week so that we get into a rhythm during the season,” she said.

Coming off a win over Missouri in Columbia and a Cy-Hawk series-clinching victory over Iowa in Iowa City, the Cyclones have become accustomed to dealing with the pressure of competing on the road. Kindler said she believes the team is ready for their toughest head-to-head competition yet, although she said she realizes they have to be at the top of their game.

“I definitely think mistakes can’t be made – there’s no doubt – and we’re going to definitely have to come out hot on bars,” she said. “Bars is somewhere where I think we can make up a little leeway.”

Uneven bars could prove to be the most critical event for both teams, which are tied for the No. 9 ranking in the country on bars with an average score of 48.781.

“Bars is definitely somewhere that I’d like to see get into the 49s and we haven’t done that yet this season,” Kindler said.

Powell believes a great start on bars is the key to victory against Oklahoma.

“We want to start the meet out strong on bars,” she said. “Once we start off strong, it carries on throughout the meet through each event.

“We’ve been working hard this week on every event, especially bars,” she said.

“We’ve been working on landings and getting the little tenths we need.”

Although the Cyclones defeated then-No. 7 Missouri, 196.250-195.050, on Feb. 3, their national ranking held steady at No. 9. Neither Kindler nor the gymnasts considered this to be a disappointment, however.

“I think that’s a good place for us to be right now,” Kindler said. “Moving up in the rankings is definitely something to work towards.”

She said the team put up a good score last week, but will have to continue to do so in order to maintain its national standing.

“I don’t want to run in place, though. We want to move forward and we have to show some improvement in our scoring to do that,” Kindler said.

Kvach said the team must be aggressive.

“As long as we know that’s how were going to be up against any team, the rankings aren’t super important right now. We still have a whole lot of meets to go,” she said.

Kvach also said her team feels they are up to any challenge.

The action starts at 7 p.m. at the Howard McCasland Field House in Norman, Okla.