Despite her team’s No. 7 national ranking, ISU gymnastics coach K.J. Kindler said she knows the team can’t take Illinois lightly during Friday night’s home opener. Ranked No. 16, Illinois is considered a program on the rise.

“Illinois is a well-prepared team,” Kindler said. “Bob Starkell, Kim Mazza and Jenny Alf are a wonderful staff over there and they’ve done a great deal for the program.

“I know they’ll be well-prepared when they walk in, and I know it would be a big notch on their belt to defeat us on our home court because we’ve been undefeated at home for two years,” Kindler said.

Beyond the mat, it will be a homecoming for Illinois assistant coach Mazza. A former Cyclone, Mazza was one of Kindler’s most successful gymnasts. A 1997 NCAA National Championships individual qualifier in the all-around, she was also the 1997 Big 12 floor exercise Champion and the 1997 ISU female athlete of the year. She still holds the ISU school record with a 10.0 on the floor exercise, which she recorded at the Big 12 Championships in 1997.

During the meet, however, the Cyclones will be all business. Junior Janet Anson said the team knows it has to stay focused.

“We just want to hit 24 for 24 and have a strong meet, hit routines and keep building on a team score so when it comes to averages, we have a nice strong average,” Anson said.

Kindler said she knows how important it is to continue their strong performances on the uneven bars, vault and floor exercise.

The Cyclones are ranked No. 5, No. 5 and No. 6 in each event, respectively.

“I think we’ll be very strong on the floor and vault,” Kindler said. “Vault is a key event for collegiate gymnastics because it’s difficult to get a 10.0 start value, so when you have six 10.0 start values like we do, it gives you a little more depth at that event and may put you a little bit ahead of the competition.”

Senior Erin Dethloff’s thoughts were on the same wavelength as her coach.

“Most importantly is coming out strong on vault and setting the tone for the meet,” she said. “As long as we do well on that event, we can carry on through the other events.”

Senior Laura-Kay Powell, however, said she knows there is room to improve on each event.

“We can improve on hitting the angles on bars, taking less steps on vault and looking sharper throughout our performances,” she said.

Team members also hope to better themselves on the balance beam.

Statistically, beam is the only event in which Illinois performs better than Iowa State, with a 48.500 average compared to Iowa State’s 47.825. After a disappointing performance at the Super Six Challenge on Jan. 6, the Cyclones are looking to make sure they don’t make the same mistakes twice.

“We’ve been working really hard in the gym on beam and on all the little precise things that need to happen on Friday,” Dethloff said.

Kindler said she is confident her team will deliver in every facet of the competition.

“Obviously, an all-around strong performance on all four events is what we are looking for,” she said.

“In particular, beam has to improve from last week, so we’re definitely looking to make some changes and come out a lot stronger.

“If we can pull together the consistent performance on the other three events that we did last week, we’ll be in a very good position,” Dethloff said.

Friday’s meet begins at 7 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum.