So far this season, the ISU women’s gymnastics team has reached unprecedented heights in the national rankings. The Cyclones have defeated three top-20 teams, including one of the strongest-ever Hawkeye squads, conference opponent Missouri and reigning Big 12 champion Nebraska.

But things won’t get any easier for Iowa State.

The No. 5 Cyclones will try to remain undefeated on the season and vie for a clean sweep of all Big 12 opponents when they take on No. 9 Oklahoma Sunday in Norman, Okla.

Senior Chee Chee Calina said Oklahoma is a strong team, and the Cyclones haven’t been able to take anything lightly heading into the meet.

“It would be easy to want to relax, but I think it has made us more determined to keep the momentum going into [this meet],” Calina said.

Calina said keeping the same high level of confidence will be key in matching up against the Sooners.

“The team has definitely built confidence over the past three meets. Not just confidence in our own performances, but also confidence in our teammates,” Calina said.

“That is really important because it is much easier to stay focused in a meet when you can trust your teammates and know that they’re going to do their jobs.”

The Cyclones have been gaining strength, but so have the Sooners. The Sooners jumped up 12 spots in the national ranks last week to No. 9 and now boast the No. 1 uneven bars team in the nation.

Head coach K.J. Kindler said the Cyclones’ performance on uneven bars will be the key to a victory.

“We’ve been focusing in practice on landings and our angles on bars,” Kindler said. She said it will be the attention to details that will keep the Cyclones competitive on the event.

“We’ll need to fight for every tenth,” Calina said.

Kindler said the Cyclones should be able to make up plenty of ground on the other events.

“If the vault team hits, we’ll make up a lot of ground,” Kindler said.

“Floor and beam will match up well, and those are two of our best events.”

Freshman Janet Anson, who was named Big 12 gymnast of the week after her all-around and event wins over Nebraska last weekend, will lead the Cyclones in all events, particularly in the vault where she is currently No. 12 in the nation.

Though it will be a full team effort, Kindler said her all-around competitors — Anson and sophomores Erin Dethloff and Laura-Kay Powell — will need to hit solid routines to support the team’s score. She said Dethloff, an NCAA All-American, has been solid in practice this week and should shine at this weekend’s meet.

The Sooners are riding a 14-meet home winning streak in the Lloyd Noble Center, but the Cyclones will be prepared mentally as well as physically.

Kindler said the season’s two road wins have the Cyclones’ road confidence at a high level. She said she has also shown her gymnasts the floor layouts of the arena for a ‘mental practice.’

“We are doing visual routines in our head as if we are in Oklahoma’s arena,” Calina said.

“Mental and physical preparation go hand and hand when is comes to preparing for a meet,” Anson said. She said the Cyclones are focused on hitting 24 out of 24 routines.

The Sooners are 7-5 on the season, with all five losses delivered by top-10 opponents.