The Iowa State women’s gymnastics team finished its season with a disappointing seventh-place finish at the Central Region Championships in Baton Rouge, La. this past weekend.

Second-ranked Alabama and fourth-ranked Michigan finished first and second, respectively. Both squads qualified for the NCAA Championships later this month in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

The Cyclones’ inconsistent performance capped off a season that has seen a rewriting of the school record books.

Beginning on their top event, the floor exercise, the Lady Twisters hoped to prove why their routines have recently gained national recognition for their innovative choreography.

All six Cyclones hit their routines to get the Cyclones off to a solid start. Big Eight floor champion Libby Bell led ISU with a 9.775. Senior floor specialist Teresa Looney, Kim Mazza and Shannon Herzog also performed well, each scoring 9.725. Heidi Kirt [9.650] and Megan Wall [9.600] rounded out the scoring for the Cyclones.

Coach Amy Pyle was happy with the team’s performance, but not with the scores they received.

“The girls did a nice job on floor,” Pyle said. “The scores were very tight for the performances that they gave, but it got us off to a good start.”

Iowa State moved to the vault looking to maintain their momentum, but the team experienced what Pyle deemed a “flat” performance.

Only one Cyclone vaulter fell on both vault attempts, but the team lacked their usual sharpness. Sophomore Kirt was the team’s leading vaulter, scoring a 9.625. Senior Megan Wall, competing in her final meet as a Cyclone, came through with a 9.550.

Mazza carded an identical 9.550 for ISU.

Despite the inconsistent vault showing, ISU was still in the running for a prominent team total heading into the final two rotations. Unfortunately, the Cyclones were unable to capitalize on their talent, suffering numerous falls and mental errors.

On the uneven bars the first four gymnasts swung well to keep ISU’s hopes alive.

Kirt and Katie Mazza both had season-best performances to lead the way. Kirt’s 9.725 and Mazza’s 9.600 were followed by consistent routines from Bell [9.675] and Amy Wall [9.625].

The final two competitors experienced falls to close out the event on a downward note.

Iowa State finished the competition on the balance beam. Three of the six beam workers hit their routines, but the remaining three counted five falls to lower the team’s final tally.

The Mazza triplets were solid on the beam. Kim was the team’s top beam worker, finishing 12th with a 9.750. Karen and Katie also performed well earning a 9.650 and 9.575, respectively.

After the competition, Pyle expressed her disappointment in the team’s performance.

“Obviously I’m very disappointed with how we did, but at the same time I realized how much our abilities have improved over the last couple of years,” she said.

Pyle compared the team’s showing to their last team appearance at the regionals back in 1994.

“Two years ago we were happy just to qualify for the regionals,” Pyle said. “This year we were truly in contention to finish as high as third. Without all of our falls we would have been right up there.”

Despite the discouraging performance, Pyle is optimistic about the team’s improvement and the incoming recruits. She believes that ISU could surprise even more people next year.

“We’ve started to gain a lot of respect throughout the region this year, and things should only get better,” she said. “We’re only losing three of our 24 competitive routines to graduation, and have an exciting recruiting class coming in.”

The incoming freshman class includes national qualifiers Kelli More, Kelly Cherwien and Sarah Stayberg.

Nebraskan Martha Strain will also attend ISU next year. All four are Level 10 gymnasts with a multitude of talent.

Pyle said it would be hard replacing the leadership and experience of seniors Looney and Megan Wall, but feels that the four incoming freshman should be able to contribute immediately.

Reflecting on her final season as a Cyclone, Looney summed up the team’s feelings.

“We made a lot of accomplishments this year for Cyclone gymnastics,” Looney said. “In the end things didn’t turn out like we would’ve hoped, but we gained a lot of experience and learned from our mistakes. That should help the team in years to come.”