IOWA CITY — The ISU women’s gymnastics team’s 196.950-196.725 victory over a formidable Iowa squad Saturday in Iowa City proved the Cyclones are not only the best team in the state, but one of the strongest teams in nation.

“I firmly believe these are two of the top-10 teams in the country, and they took it to the wire tonight,” said head coach K.J. Kindler. She said it was remarkable for both teams to count all scores with no falls this early in the season.

Kindler’s statements were confirmed Monday when the Cyclones and the Hawkeyes moved up in the GymInfo national rankings to No. 4 and No. 6, respectively, from their prior positions at No. 6 and No. 12. The No. 4 ranking is Iowa State’s highest ranking in school history. The Cyclones currently have the third-highest average team scoring in the nation.

“Our girls did phenomenally,” Kindler said.

“We met our team goal of a 49.00 [score] on every event. We had a big obstacle to overcome with our injuries.”

She said the Cyclones who stepped in and rose to the challenge were the deciding factor in the victory.

Senior Chee Chee Calina, who hyper-extended her knee earlier in the week, stepped up and posted high scores on all of her regular events. A stuck landing on her balance beam dismount earned her first place with a 9.925 and retained her No. 3 national ranking in the event.

Junior Susan Stock, who had previously been sidelined due to injuries, returned to competition with a 9.875 performance on balance beam, which earned her a tie for second place in the event.

“I love the team home-stretch event [beam],” Stock said. She said the team practiced consistently in the gym, and that gave them the confidence necessary to hit their routines in the final rotation for the win.

Kinder said senior Gabrielle Layne also stepped into the Cyclones’ starting lineup on beam and bars to help in the victory.

“Some of our teammates had to step up and did,” freshman Janet Anson said. “We couldn’t have asked for anything more from them.”

Kindler said the team’s all-arounders also deserve their share of the credit.

“Laura-Kay [Powell], Janet [Anson] and Erin [Dethloff] always do well,” Kindler said. She said Powell and Anson were consistent all night and the trio’s solid performances were critical to the team’s success.

Anson hit a career-high all-around score of 39.575 to take third in the event and to earn a ranking as the nation’s No. 9 all-around gymnast. Anson finished in a tie for first place on the vault.

Anson was the top all-around finisher for the Cyclones, but was followed closely by Powell and Dethloff who finished fourth (39.4) and fifth (38.9), respectively.

Iowa trailed the Cyclones by .400 heading into the fourth and final rotation, where the Hawkeyes set a school record on the floor exercise. The late surge was not enough to overtake the Cyclones, who hit strong routines on the balance beam.

“I was more nervous after the competition than during it, because we weren’t sure who had won,” Calina said. “It was a great way to end my away meets at Iowa.”

No. 4 Iowa State will host its home opener against No. 8 Nebraska at 7 p.m. Friday at Hilton Coliseum.