The slightest misstep could easily move a team from first to last Saturday at the Big 12 women’s gymnastics championship in Norman, Okla.

With all four teams ranked in the top 25, the parity among No. 4 Nebraska, No. 9 Iowa State, No. 10 Oklahoma and No. 24 Missouri is such that the teams are separated in the rankings by only a few tenths on each event.

“Whoever wins the meet will be phenomenal that night,” said coach K.J. Kindler. “I expect my team to put together its best performance of the year because they know they have to.”

Proven by last year’s championship, nobody can be counted out, and nobody is a shoo-in.

Iowa State was favored to win and powerhouse Nebraska was expected to be the biggest challenger. A slip-up on beam left the Huskers in last place and the door wide open for the Cyclones.

But the entire conference sat in disbelief as underdog Oklahoma slipped past the Cyclones by twenty-five-one-thousandths of a point to take the crown, after failing to notch a conference victory all season.

Last year’s upset sends Missouri to the championship with upset dreams of its own. The Tigers are certainly the underdog and will be led by junior Lauren Schwartzman, last year’s beam champion, and senior Alisha Robinson, last year’s vaulting champion.

Nebraska should once again challenge all.

Ranked as high as first in the nation this season, the Huskers hope to uphold a strong tradition, having won every Big 12 Championship except two (Iowa State, 2000; Oklahoma, 2004).

This season, the Huskers have beaten No. 1 Utah and have only fallen once in conference action — to Iowa State. With a strong start on beam, the Big Red could be virtually unstoppable.

Junior Laura-Kay Powell said the team is approaching the competition just like it would any other meet, keeping themselves more excited than nervous and focusing on a solid team performance — a tactic of Kindler’s overall strategy.

“I don’t have to tell them this is an important meet; they know that,” Kindler said. “There’s no need to over emphasize it.”

Kindler said the Cyclones’ advantage lies in resilience. She said the team has been able to stay on top this season, despite a string of injuries that caused frustrating changes in the lineup.

The setbacks didn’t stop this week, however, as senior Abigail Richey suffered a mild ankle sprain Sunday that may sideline her from Saturday’s beam competition.

Softening her absence will be sophomore Jade Kvach, who will return to the event after sitting out the past three weeks with an elbow injury.

“Knowing what this team wants to do, and how successful they have been in doing so this year, I don’t think anything could stop them from getting what they want,” Kindler said.

Both team co-captain Erin Dethloff and Powell should prove to be huge all-around threats, as the duo finished second and third, respectively, in the all-around at last year’s championship. Dethloff will also try to defend her uneven bars championship. Sophomore Janet Anson, last year’s Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, should also make an outstanding case for herself in the all-around and vault competitions.

The trio said the squad’s mentality is strictly focused on its common team goal.

“I don’t think we’re focused on [individual performance],” Dethloff said. “If we work as a team more, the individual [accolades] will be there as well.”