For the eighth consecutive year the ISU gymnastics squad will make an appearance in the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship Saturday.

After a tremendous season, the 15th-ranked Cyclones have attained the No. 3 seed.

Iowa State’s first invite to this regional tournament was in 1994, and since they have been invited every year except one. Head coach K.J. Kindler has never been denied a regional berth in her three-year stint at the helm.

At the tournament, which will be held at the Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich., Iowa State will face stiff competition. Third-ranked Arizona State is the No. 1 seed and 10th-ranked Michigan is the No. 2 seed.

The rest of the field consists of No. 28 New Hampshire, No. 33 Penn State and No. 41 Pittsburgh.

The top 18 teams in the nation were seeded and assigned to the six regional sites.

The remaining three team slots at each regional site were filled by the highest-ranking teams in that region which are not part of the top 18.

The top two teams from each regional tournament will qualify for the National Championships to be held in Lincoln, Neb., April 24-26.

Also, the top two all-around gymnasts who are not among the invited teams will advance, as well as any individual event winner who scores at least a 9.80.

Iowa State’s leading candidate to advance to nationals is freshman Erin Dethloff, who was recently honored as the 2003 Big 12 Conference newcomer of the year.

“I was very happy and excited because I met one of my personal short-term goals,” she said.

This season, Dethloff has broken the ISU freshman all-around mark on three separate occasions. She was awarded Big 12 gymnast of the week twice, as well as finishing with 21 first-place finishes. At one point this season, she was ranked 12th nationally in the all-around.

This season, Dethloff has established the best score on the team in the uneven bars, floor exercise and the all-around. In a meet versus Oklahoma, she scored a 39.60, setting an ISU freshman record, as well as placing fourth.

The Cyclones are attempting to recover from a disappointing showing last week in the Big 12 championships.

Unlike the Cyclones, many of the teams in the competition are riding a winning streak into the tournament.

Arizona State was once rated No. 2 in the country this year and won the Pacific-10 tournament. Three girls from the ASU squad were named to the all-conference team, led by junior Maggie Germaine, who was honored for the floor exercise.

Michigan won the Big Ten tournament last week and is looking to continue its winning streak. The Wolverines are lead by Big Ten Coach of the Year Bev Plock and boast three all-conference honorees.

Penn State stumbled in the Big Ten tournament and finished third, but with senior Katie Rowland being awarded the Big Ten gymnast of the year, the Nittany Lions look to make a splash in the regionals.

New Hampshire advanced to the regionals for the 22nd time in the 24-year reign of head coach Gail Goodspeed. New Hampshire is also coming off a win in the Eastern Athletic Gymnastics League tournament where it defeated Pittsburgh. This year will be the second in a row for the Pittsburgh Panthers in the Northeast Regionals.

But Dethloff warned not to count Iowa State out just yet.

“We have been working very hard this past week and a half for regionals, with some of us working new skills and others making sure our routines are polished up,” Dethloff said. “We also have been doing some extra cardio and strength work to help us better prepare.

“We need to go to Michigan with confidence and trust in our teammates in order to succeed. As long as we hit our routines, which we know we can, we are going to give these other teams a run for their money.”