After losing their season opener, the ISU gymnastics team is looking for its first win Friday night against Michigan State. This meet will be the first at home for the Cyclones.

Last weekend, Iowa State fell to Missouri 192.000-192.575 in Big 12 Conference action. Sophomore Abigail Richey won the all-around competition with a score of 38.750.

Head coach K.J. Kindler talked about the team experiencing a case of the nerves at the first meet, especially the freshmen.

“In the first meet, there were a lot of jitters and nerves and I don’t expect them to be gone tomorrow night,” Kindler said. “But for us to be successful, handling our nerves is going to be the number one thing.”

Staying on the equipment was another problem that the Cyclones had in their first meet.

“This week in practice, we’ve been working on team bars. The bars were a disappointment for us,” Kinder said. “We’ve also been cleaning up a lot of things. We need to stay on our feet.”

Even though Kindler has seen improvement in practice this week, the team has been experiencing sickness and injuries.

Freshman Kacey Oiness has been battling the stomach flu.

“Wednesday she had a good practice on the floor, but on Thursday she still wasn’t feeling 100 percent,” Kindler said.

“If she is feeling good at the time of the meet, she will perform on the floor and exhibition balance beam.”

Another freshman Laura Kay Powell, who competes in the all-around competition, bruised her heel. She will perform in three events, but not on the vault.

Senior captain Karen Kuplicki suffered a concussion on Tuesday when she fell off the bar and hit her head with her knee. Kuplicki will not be performing on the bars for the Cyclones.

Kindler said Michigan State started the season similar to the Cyclones in their opening meet.

“They had a rough start like we did due to inconsistencies,” Kindler said. “I think our teams are well-matched. To be the winner, it is going to come down to who has the best meet.”

The Cyclones will take on the Spartans at 7 p.m. Friday at Hilton Coliseum.