One may have predicted this was coming, the other was just hoping to get a chance. Both of these junior gymnasts, Sissy Huey and Stephanie Sweitzer, will be representing Iowa State at the upcoming NCAA Championships.

At the age of two, Huey was working on back-flips and tumbles. Her parents opted to deal with the “terrible 2s” by enrolling her in a gymnastics club. “My mom put me in it to keep me from bouncing around the house,” said Huey, smiling. Huey grew up in a very athletic family. Her brother is currently on a baseball scholarship in Georgia. Sissy, whose real name is Tanya, claims it was that brother who nicknamed her. “It’s been that way ever since I was five,” she said.

A Florida native, Huey decided to spurn three Southeastern Conference schools, and Boise State, in favor of the people and the academic opportunities at Iowa State.

While at Iowa State, Huey has made her mark. In 1999, she became the first ISU freshman ever to advance to the NCAA Championships in the all-around. She was also the first freshman to claim a Big 12 title of any sort, on the uneven bars. She repeated the feat in 2000, and placed second this year. At this year’s Big 12 Championship, she took the floor exercise title. Huey has been an all-conference performer all three years. She holds the school record on the uneven bars (9.950) and owns the second-best beam performance in Cyclone history (9.925).

What makes her success even more remarkable is the fact that she has been injury-prone her entire career. A dislocated elbow, kidney stones, bone spurs in her ankle, shoulder trouble, back pain . the list goes on.

However, this year she has avoided major injuries – one of the accomplishments she’s most proud of.

The exercise and sport science major plans to use her “experience” in the future.

“I do want to do something in the health field,” said Huey. “I feel like it’s kind of a part of me since I’ve spent so much time in the hospital the last two years.”

Sweitzer also got an early start in the gym, around age five. She pointed out that her older sister was also in gymnastics. That sibling rivalry was the starting point for what has turned out to be a promising career at Iowa State.

The former Minnesota state champion on balance beam was not recruited by Iowa State, but decided to walk-on as a freshman.

“Coming in, I always wanted to compete in the Big 12, regionals and nationals, but I didn’t know if that was going to be possible,” Sweitzer said.

Her decision to walk-on paid off. That first year she was voted the unsung heroine by her teammates for her contributions on and off the competitive floor.

She earned a scholarship last year and had a very solid season, but was still in the shadow of former All-American beamer Kelli More. Sweitzer says More helped motivate her to do her best.

“I wanted to be like her, so I tried to follow in her footsteps,” recalls Sweitzer.

This year, Sweitzer has done just that.

She responded to the spotlight by tying a career high against Iowa and in a dual meet versus Minnesota and Oklahoma. In March, she surpassed it with a 9.925 against Missouri. The following night against Nebraska, Sweitzer upped the mark one notch and tied the school record of 9.950 held by none other than Kelli More.

Sweitzer, also majoring in exercise and sport science, posted another 9.950 at this year’s Big 12 Championship where she took the beam title and earned all-conference honors. Most recently, she was honored as this year’s North Central Region Balance Beam Champion.

One thing that both Huey and Sweitzer share is the fact that their family gives them unlimited support in their ventures.

“[My mom] goes to every single one of my meets and follows me everywhere,” Sweitzer said. “Our parents are like the two die-hard parents.”

“Hard-core,” chimed in Huey.

National competition will be icing on the cake for Huey and Sweitzer, following an outstanding season in Cyclone gymnastics. The team finished second in the Big 12, despite recording 197 or more points in a meet four times – a feat that evaded the 2000 Big 12 Champion squad.

Not many predicted the level of success this year under first-year head coach K.J. Kindler, after losing two All-Americans.

“It means a lot because of the fact that at the beginning of the season, nobody thought we’d do good, and we did just as good if not better this year,” Sweitzer said.

Part of the success can be attributed to the family-like atmosphere among the team this year, Sweitzer and Huey said.

“We’re all friends with each other,” Sweitzer said. “We’ve seen them on their happiest days, and we’ve seen them in their worst moments.”

“They’re always there to give you a shoulder to lean on, or an ear to listen to,” added Huey. “It’s taken every single person on this team to do what we’ve done this year.”

The team was confident going into regional competition, but hit a bump in the road when they were outscored by Utah and Denver, eliminating them from the post-season. Sweitzer and Huey said without their teammates, it will be difficult to deal with.

“That’s a really hard feeling because you want your team to be there for you, and when they’re not, it’s hard to cope with,” Huey said. “When you don’t have your team cheering you on and behind you, it’s a lot harder. We’re gonna have to rely on each other.”

Their teammates may not be making the trip, but Coach Kindler and assistant coaches Lou Ball and Kim Mazza will be there representing the Cardinal and Gold.

“Our coaches have done such a good job this year for us,” said Huey. “They don’t get near as much credit as they deserve. They probably deserve a `good job.'”

“A high five, two thumbs up,” added Sweitzer.