Iowa State gymnastics face senior night against Denver

Laura+Cooke+begins+her+floor+routine+during+the+match+against+Central+Michigan+in+Hilton+Coliseum+on+Feb.+12%2C+2023.

Daniel Jacobi II

Laura Cooke begins her floor routine during the match against Central Michigan in Hilton Coliseum on Feb. 12, 2023.

Regular season is moving rather quickly as the Cyclones face their last appearance of the season in Hilton Coliseum. Mostly known as senior night, Iowa State gymnastics is preparing to host Denver in their last go-around at home.

It’s an important meet since the Cyclones have numerous seniors that are enclosing their careers. Jade Vella-Wright, Laura Cooke, Maya Ford, Loganne Basuel, Alondra Maldonado, Natalie Horowitz, Madelyn Langkamp, Makayla Maxwell, Kelsey Boychuk and Maddie Diab are key components to the team. Senior night is an event where every individual in the senior class is honored and recognized for their hard work and achievements with the team.

The 2023 seniors are a group of individuals from all over the world and with a deep variety of talents. In addition, this class also includes several returners from the 2022 season, which solidified their leadership as a class and as individuals.

Moving on to what awaits Friday night, Iowa State will face Denver, a team that throughout the season has maintained high levels of consistency and low margins of errors.

“We can be competitive with them, but we have to give it everything we’ve got,” head coach Jay Ronayne said.

All throughout the season the senior class has been tasked with embracing newcomers as well as themselves to step up for any lineup possible. Variety has always been a virtue, but during the 2023 season, Ronayne confirmed their lack of options for certain events.

While this alone has posed a struggle in their lineups, the Cyclones have succeeded at maintaining a steady pace throughout every competition and continue working towards their peak.

According to Ronayne, the Cyclones are more than capable of matching Denver, as they have recently sealed the rhythm to their consistency.

While it’s not the end of the road in terms of gymnastics for the senior class, the Hilton Magic comes to an end. Ronayne expressed that it is an emotional night, but the continued focus is to perform to the best of their abilities.

The competition will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.