Confidence, talent and depth are three things essential to a strong gymnastics team, and this year’s Iowa State squad appears to be loaded with all three.

“We’re tired of standing behind the door, we want to go through and open up some new pathways,” ISU coach Amy Pyle said about her team’s goals of winning the Big 12 Championships and qualifying for NCAA Nationals.

Her determined attitude has rubbed off onto her athletes. Senior Kayo Merritt, sophomore Kelli More and freshman Angie Umbaugh all are focused on making statements in the Big 12 meet and ultimately at nationals.

“It makes a big difference that they want [to reach high goals], not just the coaching staff. They’re working hard towards it,” Pyle said.

Pyle said she is pleased by the strides made by her upperclassmen and hopes the team is ready to jump into the top 10 programs in the nation. Currently, the team is ranked 13th.

“That’s what we’re ready to do and that’s what we want to do,” she said.

In addition to hard-working, Pyle’s squad is more talented than any of her past Cyclone units.

“It’s going to be a great year. We have a lot of physical talent in the gym,” Pyle said.

Merritt agreed. “Definitely it’s the best team we’ve ever had here. We have more talent than we’ve ever had,” she said.

Obviously, balance is also a key to success in gymnastics, but this year’s team looks to have more than just balance on the beam or on the bars. It has team balance in terms of depth.

Pyle said depth will be pivotal to having a successful season. “You can’t have a weak link in there and do well at the end,” she said.

The good balance has come as a result of Pyle’s recruiting prowess. Her recruiting has been outstanding since taking over the reigns six years ago.

The quality recruiting she has done has been proven by the fact that every team and individual record has been broken during her tenure.

“We’ve really reached out a lot further. We’re going after much higher-caliber athletes,” she said.

Many of her high-caliber athletes excel in the vault, including Kelly Cherwien, Angie Umbaugh and Amy Wall.

ISU also looks to be competitive on the bars, led by Sarah Stayberg and Michelle Hladkey.

Pyle expects More and Merritt to be the consistent leaders on the beam; while in the floor exercise, More and Umbaugh expect to be among the best on the team.

Pyle said More is this year’s returning best all-around gymnast. As a freshman, More netted school records in the all-around and balance beam.

More said she is excited about the season, both for achieving her individual goal of being a Big 12 champion and also for the team competing at nationals.

“I think we have potential,” More said. “I think we have above and beyond what we had last year.”

Cyclone Merritt said the team is strong as it starts the season because of the intense conditioning it underwent in a team-oriented, positive atmosphere during the off-season.

As a senior, Merritt also said she is impressed with the quality of freshmen.

Freshman Angie Umbaugh said she is thrilled about competing in front of her hometown crowd at Hilton Coliseum.

She has high expectations for this season, wanting to be a Big 12 champion in her inaugural year.

Umbaugh said she thinks she and freshmen teammates Lauren Goldberg and Jessica Smith will be able to contribute to the Cyclone success soon.

“I think we’ll really be able to help out, especially once we get over getting to know what college meets are about,” she said.

So far she has adjusted to the new life well, thanks in part to Pyle’s coaching style. “She’s really positive,” Umbaugh said. “I think that really helps.”

Pyle and her team compete Friday night against Minnesota at 7 p.m. in Hilton.