The Cyclones traveled to Morgantown, West Virginia, to take on the Mountaineers on Sunday. Going into this match, Iowa State looked to exit with a much-needed win. The Cyclones accomplished that by taking a 195.375-194.175 victory.
Team performance
Iowa State took four of five leads in all events during this matchup.
Starting with uneven bars, the team earned a score of 48.775. The Cyclones took the first and second individual scores in this event. This team score earned Iowa State its first event win of the night.
Moving to the vault, the Cyclones received a 48.875. With two of the top five individual scores, Iowa State continued to produce stellar results on vault. Vault was the only event of the meet where the Cyclones did not earn the team win.
The best team performance for Iowa State came from the floor routines. A 48.950 earned the Cyclones their second event win of the night.
With another team score of 48.775, Iowa State won another event overall. That event was the balance beam.
The last event win was the all-around gymnast performance. Senior Hannah Loyim earned the team first place with an all-around score of 38.825.
The Cyclones added their first Big 12 victory to their 3-6 record as the meet concluded.
Individual leaders
Freshman Frederique Sgarbossa earned an impressive 9.850 on uneven bars to open a successful night for Iowa State.
Following bars, freshman Haylee Hardin earned a 9.825 on vault. Hardin found a way to earn two team-leading scores during the meet.
As Hardin came off of leading the team on vault she found a way to do it again on floor routine. With a 9.925, Hardin earned the highest score overall for this meet.
Rounding out the individual event scorers, senior Josie Bergstrom-Te Slaa and fifth-year Lauren Thomas both earned 9.800 on the balance beam. Sgarbossa followed closely behind with a 9.775.
Freshmen produce dominant scores to push for victory
Both Hardin and Sgarbossa dominated throughout the meet. Hardin led with two team-leading scores, which seems to be a frequent occurrence.
Along with coming off of a second consecutive Big 12 Newcomer of the Week award, Hardin doesn’t look to cool down anytime soon.
Sgarbossa earned two high scores to keep the Mountaineers from taking the first-place spot on bars. A 9.775 on the beam set the scene early for the event win as she went second in the lineup.
Overall, the freshmen continue to make their marks in key areas to earn crucial wins for the team.
Following this victory for Iowa State, the team will be back in action at 8 p.m. Friday as it heads to Tucson, Arizona, to battle the Wildcats. This meeting will be streamed live on ESPN+.
