Iowa State is set to face off against the No. 19 Southern Utah Thunderbirds Friday at 8 p.m. 

The Cyclones are coming off of an impressive showing against two top 25 teams last weekend. They finished as a close second at the GymQuarters Invitational behind No. 9 ranked LSU Tigers, but they were able to finish ahead of No. 19 ranked Missouri Tigers and Lindenwood Lions.

With only four meets left until the Big 12 Championships, the vault is something that Head Coach Jay Ronayne and his staff are placing emphasis on moving forward.

“We’re upgrading the skills that we are doing. We are doing more difficult vaults and we are messing with the order that we put everyone in,” Ronayne said.

The Cyclones are aiming to finish the season strong and this new strategy could help them do that. Ronayne is looking to maximize the Cyclones’ points in every event and if all things are perfect, this new order could help them score a half a point higher on this event alone. 

After its last meet, Iowa State had its fourth gymnast receive a Big 12 weekly award. Freshman Jade Vella-Wright was named Big 12 Newcomer of the week with her performance on the bars.

“It really means a lot getting noticed by the conference as a whole. Especially getting here and being a first year,” Said Vella-Wright.

Southern Utah is currently sitting as the No. 19 team in the country with an overall record of 4-5. The Thunderbirds were defeated by in state rival Utah State in their last meet, losing 196.450 to 196.525. Despite the tough loss, Southern Utah had junior Morgan Alfaro and sophomore Caitlin Kho receive MRGC Vault Specialist of the Week.