Notching a home-opener victory against Missouri is the least of the ISU women’s gymnastics team’s worries as it prepares for the 2005 season.

Head coach K.J. Kindler said the team’s biggest challenge will be to physically and mentally overcome the injuries that have sidelined three of the team’s top contributors.

The Cyclones will start the season off missing three big vault routines from the All-Big 12 vaulters Krystal Carney, Jessica Oney and Laura-Kay Powell. Carney and Powell are both expected to be sidelined from floor exercise competition, and Carney will also sit out on uneven bars.

“It’s definitely not a situation you want to be starting in,” Kindler said. “But, we’re rolling with the punches, and several members of the team are really stepping up.”

Kindler said sophomores Ashley Alden and Jade Kvach and senior Abigail Richey have made huge improvements throughout the preseason training and will be stepping up to make big contributions throughout the season.

Sophomore All-American Janet Anson said the team has been able to keep its focus positive, despite the loss of injured teammates.

“We expect a lot [of ourselves],” Anson said, adding that the team is working harder to stay at the level of performance and success they are accustomed to.

One thing helping to keep the Cyclones high is their current preseason No. 14 ranking that commends the Cyclones’ 9-1-1 record last season and three individual qualifiers to the NCAA nationals. The ranking is the highest in the history of the program.

Team co-captain and two-time All-American Erin Dethloff said the team is honored by the ranking.

“We have set a standard, and now we need to progress to that level and, hopefully, surpass it,” she said.

Kindler said the team is doing everything it can to prepare mentally and physically for the upcoming season opener. The team has been facing tougher workouts to compensate for time that will be lost during semester break. It has also competed in its annual intrasquad meet and will practice several times in Hilton Coliseum over break.

The No. 14 Cyclones will face the No. 22 Tigers at 7 p.m. Jan. 7 at Hilton Coliseum.