The Iowa State Cyclones will take on in-state rival Iowa for the annual Cy-Hawk battle on Friday at 6:30 p.m. in Iowa City.

Last year in the Cy-Hawk dual, the Cyclones won 196.700-195.600.

During the week, the Cyclones have had relaxed practices due to travel.

Coach Jay Ronayne said Tuesday and Wednesday practices were heavy, focusing on landings and fixing techniques.

“We need to continue working on the beam event, last week at the Denver Tri-Meet we had a little shake-up,” Ronayne said. “We also need to continue on what only we can control.”

Ronayne said the Hawkeyes do their part to make the rivalry lively.

“I love the rivalry, and I look forward to it every year, its circled on my calendar for sure,” Ronayne said. “We do not like each other and that’s the way it is supposed to be.”

The focus of this week’s meet, Ronayne said, is to treat it like a home meet.

Ronayne said there is a sense of urgency to defeat the Hawkeyes.

“I love the drama of an in-state rivalry,” Ronayne said.

The Cyclones are nearing the end of the season, with only two meets left of the regular season before the Big 12 Championships on March 23.

“The next few weeks, we will be pushing very hard preparing for the Big 12’s, but for now our focus is on the Hawkeyes and bringing back the Iowa Corn trophy back to Ames,” Ronayne said.

Natalie Horowitz took the place of Ana Palacios at the Denver Tri-Meet last weekend and had success at the uneven bar event, scoring a 9.800.

Horowitz said she was prepared for anything, and could step in for anyone she had to.

“I am very confident in my abilities as a gymnast and with the support of my teammates I feel like I can do anything,” Horowitz said.

The gymnasts are excited to face the Hawkeyes and have been waiting for this meet all year long.

“Of course we want to beat them, but we have to compete within ourselves first,” Horowitz said. “We have to overcome our struggles and continue to get better every single day.”

Laura Burns also had an impressive showing at the Denver Tri-Meet last weekend. Burns competed in the beam event for the first time in her career and earned a 9.500.

“I had a lot of fun competing on the beam event and I hope I continue to get an opportunity to participate in the event again and continue to get better,” Burns said.

Burns said there are things she has to improve on throughout the rest of the season.

“I mainly have to focus on having fun,” Burns said. “The past few years I have worried about what the team will think or what the coaches will think of my performance. I realized that my teammates and coaches just want the best for me, now I can go out and perform and have fun.”

Where to find the results:

All the results of the meet will be posted on the team’s twitter page and released on the Iowa State Athletics page.

Twitter- @CycloneGYM

Iowa State Athletics- cyclones.com