The No. 5 ISU gymnasts are not just hoping to remain undefeated on the season with a victory over No. 25 Denver Friday in Hilton Coliseum. They’re also hoping the home-crowd atmosphere will push them to break the 197.000 team scoring mark in order to move further up in the national rankings.

“We’ve done so well; we have to keep our momentum going,” senior Chee Chee Calina said. “We can’t underestimate our opponent, but we have to focus on building upon what we’ve been doing.

“We’ve proven we can be consistent — now we need to fix the small things to get the big score.”

Iowa State hasn’t hit the 197.000 mark since a 198.300-197.050 loss to Nebraska on March 23, 2003.

Head coach K.J. Kindler said the team is still trying to reach its full potential and, this week, has been focusing on floor and beam landings.

“We have yet to put together an awesome meet on all four events,” Kindler said.

She said the Cyclones don’t want to underestimate Denver.

“They are 25th in the nation, but I don’t believe it’s representative of their ability,” Kindler said. “They hit a 10 on vault last week, so they are very good on vault.”

Erin Dethloff, this week’s Big 12 Gymnast of the Week, said the Cyclones will draw strength from their teammates to start the meet off on top.

“We’ll need to start off strong on vault because it will set the tone for the meet,” Dethloff said.

Senior Gabby Layne said the team will go into the meet strongly united.

“We’ve developed solid friendships, and we believe in each other, and that’s key,” Layne said. “We have the talent, and we keep putting in the effort it’s going to take to win.”

Layne and Calina both said the home crowd could really boost the team’s performance and help it break the 197.00 mark.

Calina said the team has been able to motivate itself, but can’t wait for the extra push from the home crowd. “We’ll be there pumped up and ready to perform our best routines for the crowd,” she said.

Cyclone fans set an attendance record at the last meet when 2,716 fans watched the Cyclones score a 196.925 against Big 12 nemesis Nebraska.

The Cyclones will face the Pioneers at 7 p.m. Friday in Hilton Coliseum.