ISU women’s gymnastics head coach K.J. Kindler summed up the Cyclones’ latest meet against Auburn in two words. “We survived.”The Cyclones, rated 13th nationally, won their first meet of the season over the feisty Auburn Tigers, 194.975 to 193.875 at Hilton Coliseum. The meet featured consistent performances from Iowa State on the vault and balance beam, while Auburn shined in the floor exercise and the uneven bars.Cyclone co-captain Jessy Smith was among the stars Saturday as she placed in the top four of every event. Smith earned a 9.825 on the bars en route to a second place tie with Auburn’s Cheryl Lancaster. She also placed second in the vault (9.750) and third in the floor exercise (9.850). Her outstanding performances led to a first-place finish in the all-around (39.200).”Her vault was incredible,” said Kindler. “Her beam routine was very solid – the best beam routine I’ve seen from her all year.”The Cyclones got a scare early on when Stephanie Sweitzer took a nasty fall on the uneven bars. The junior redeemed herself on the balance beam, placing third along with fellow ISU gymnasts Chee Chee Calina, Courtney Sarrett and Smith.Iowa State was without Sarrett on the vault and floor exercise due to pain in her back. “Right now we just want to be careful at the beginning of the season,” said Kindler.Sissy Huey’s 9.90 on the bars gave her a first-place finish in the event. ISU sophomore Karen Kuplicki posted a 9.835 on vault to tie Auburn freshman Kristi Boyte for first place.The Tigers clawed back into contention late in the meet with strong floor routines, but Shelly Kringen ended the meet on a good note for Iowa State. She posted a career-high 9.90 to win the event and help end the Auburn threat.Huey put the Cyclones’ win in perspective. “We hit overall,” said the junior. “It’s just the little things that we have to work on now, going back to the gym and work on our finishes and landings.”Kindler praised the strong start on vault, but also saw room for improvement.”There were mistakes, but they came out and hit again, which is a positive thing, and something they can definitely build on,” she said. “It was a good win.”The Cyclone gymnasts will travel to Iowa City for a 7 p.m. showdown Feb. 2 with the Iowa Hawkeyes.