The Iowa State gymnastics team’s victory over bitter rival Minnesota on Friday night leaves the Cyclones tasting a mix of sweet and sour. Fortunately for ISU, the taste of the victory was overpowering enough.

“We beat them, but we did make some major mistakes,” ISU Coach Amy Pyle said. “The bottom line is we won.”

The contest was tight throughout, and after three of the four events, the 13th-rated Cyclones held a one-tenth of a point lead over their seventh-ranked opposition.

However, ISU managed to extend its lead in the final event to win 192.375 to 191.050.

The meet between the two ranked teams was not as clean as expected, Pyle said. She said neither team was in its best form, citing several falls for members of both squads.

“We wanted a big score tonight — not just a win, we needed a big score. That was a disappointment,” she said. “Our score could’ve been 2 1/2 to 3 points higher.”

A host of underclassmen led the Cyclones to victory.

Sophomore Kelli More highlighted the evening by winning the floor exercise outright and tying teammate Kayo Merritt for first place on the balance beam.

More won the floor exercise with a score of 9.90 and totaled a 9.80 on the balance beam.

On the vault, freshman Angie Umbaugh tied for first place overall with a 9.70. She also tied for second place with a 9.850 on the floor.

Sophomore Sarah Stayberg claimed top prize on the uneven bars with a score of 9.825. Junior Michelle Hladky scored a 9.750 to garner the second spot.

Pyle said she was not amazed by the performances of her young squad in its first home meet.

“It’s easier to perform at home,” she said. “If nothing else, I would’ve thought they would have done a little better.”

Umbaugh, an Ames native, enjoyed her inaugural home contest.

“At first I was pretty nervous, just because there were so many people that I knew, but I loved it how they were all cheering. That pumped me up a lot,” she said.

Umbaugh said the uneven bars and vault were the team’s best events.

Pyle agreed and said she was especially disappointed in the team’s inconsistency in the floor exercise.

Despite a less-than-perfect performance, Umbaugh said the victory will do a lot for the team in the future.

“That gave us so much confidence,” she said.

The Cyclones next travel to Missouri for the Cat Classic on Feb. 6 and 7. Pyle said the meet will be competitive, especially with No. 3 Penn State among the field.

“It’s a rough road ahead,” she said.

Pyle said her goals in the next two weeks will be to refocus, gain more confidence and get healthy.