The Cyclones competed in their second meet in the span of four days when they met Southern Utah in Cedar City, Utah. The weekend break presented the shortest turnaround time for the Cyclones this season, with almost all of their prior meets taking place at least a week apart.
The team came in off a third-place finish at the Utah State Quad-Meet on Friday. Iowa State placed behind Boise State, now ranked No. 29, and Utah State, the host team. This resulted in a Cyclone slide down the standings, landing them at No. 32, below in-state rival Iowa.
Iowa State dropped its eighth meet of the season in a 196.5–195.7 loss to Southern Utah despite some strong performances throughout the meet.
Loyim shines bright
Hannah Loyim, the Cyclones’ designated all-arounder, continued a year of strong performances with a crucial run in Cedar City.
Loyim opened in the uneven bars in the first rotation with a 9.8-point performance, the second-highest among the five competing Cyclones. Loyim followed up with a 9.65 performance on the vault and a score of 9.825 in the floor exercise. Loyim finished with a 9.75 on the balance beam, tallying a total of 39.025 points.
Adams stands tall
Noelle Adams continued the run as a star for the gymnastics squad. As a freshman, Adams’ performances at each meet stand as crucial, no matter the opponent.
Adams opened in the vault, scoring a strong 9.875 points. This score ranked as the highest for the Cyclones and tied for highest overall. Adams then picked up another 9.875 performance in the floor exercise. This was a step below Adams’ average but still a strong performance overall.
On the balance beam, Adams scored a 9.925, one of the best performances of the season and a major reason for the Cyclones’ success on the balance beam.
Skid continues
For their fourth straight meet, the Cyclones found themselves underneath their opponent. In its quad-meet and tri-meet performances, the team has not yet finished last but has continued to skid on the road and through their meets.
In their one-on-one matchup with Southern Utah, the Cyclones found themselves beneath the Thunderbirds and ultimately failed to snap their losing streak.
These struggles are indicative of the larger losing streak that has been present over the last month. With this loss, the Cyclones will likely suffer another fall down the rankings. After a strong start to the season, the team has cooled considerably, and it has not quite found its way back to the early strong play.
