Thursday afternoon, the No. 36 Cyclone gymnastics squad participated in a win-or-go-home meet against the No. 30 Clemson Tigers. The winning team would earn a spot in a quad-meet matchup with No. 4 Florida, No. 13 Missouri and No. 20 Georgia on Friday. The losing team would face the end of their 2024 season.
The Cyclones defeated Clemson 195.875-195.625 to advance in the NCAA Gymnastics Championships.
This marked a return for the Cyclones to the gymnastics postseason after falling short the year prior, as well as the first postseason under first-year head coach Ashley Miles Greig.
The team also held three individual qualifiers: Noelle Adams in the vault, balance beam and floor exercise, Josie Bergstrom in the vault and balance beam and Kaia Parker in the floor exercise.
Miles Greig’s first postseason victory
In only her first season as the head coach of the Cyclones, Miles Greig captured a first postseason win.
However, Miles Greig is not unfamiliar with the NCAA postseason. She boasts one of the most decorated careers by any NCAA gymnast during her time with Alabama. As an athlete, she earned four NCAA titles and led the Crimson Tide to two runner-up finishes in the NCAA Championship.
With her pedigree as an individual performer and gymnastics legend, it is no surprise to many that Miles Greig has carried much of that into her coaching career.
Noelle Adams shows out
Adams showed why she managed to qualify as an individual competitor with her performance Thursday. She participated in the vault, balance beam and floor exercise events.
Her highest score of the meet came on the balance beam, where she earned a 9.9. This score tied for the highest point total of the afternoon between both teams.
On the vault, she scored 9.825 points, while during the floor exercise, she scored 9.875 points. Her score on the floor was the highest point total for either team. Her scoring and strong performances were crucial in Iowa State’s upset victory.
Balance beam dominance
The Cyclones performed well across the board for their four events Thursday. However, their strongest event came on the balance beam.
As a team, they managed a 49.225-point total. This event alone was a major force in pushing the team past the Clemson Tigers.
Adams and Bergstrom led the team with two 9.9-point performances, pushing them into a three-way tie for highest scorer on the balance beam with Clemson’s Rebecca Wells.
The Cyclones managed to secure a huge postseason win against the Tigers, earning themselves another meet and advancing another step toward the NCAA Championship despite entering as the underdog.
The team will now enter the aforementioned quad-meet, stacked up with three other teams.
