​Iowa State hosted No. 1 Oklahoma on Feb. 6 at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones fell to the top-ranked Sooners, 195.675-198.150.

​Starting the first rotation on the vault for Iowa State was junior Alex Marasco, freshman Briana Ledesma, freshman Micole O’Dell, freshman Kelsey Paz, senior Caitlin Brown and freshman Haylee Young. These girls were facing members of Oklahoma who were ranked in the top 25 in the nation in the event, including No. 2 Haley Scaman.

It was Young who led Iowa State in the event, with a personal-best score of 9.875. Ledesma, 9.775, and Kelsey Paz, 9.775, joined Young with personal bests of their own. Iowa State fell to Oklahoma 49.575-48.950 in the event. 

Then it was Iowa State’s turn on the bars, with junior Sammie Pearsall, junior Sara Townsend, Young, Ledesma, freshman Hilary Green and Brown leading the way. This again would be a hard challenge for the Cyclones to match the Sooners, but despite falling to Oklahoma 49.525 to 48.025, two ISU gymnasts recorded personal bests in the event — Hilary Green, 9.850, and Caitlin Brown, 3x 9.825.

The Cyclones then stepped onto the beam to present what would be their highest scoring event of the night. Both Paz and Marasco scored personal bests in this event, with Paz scoring 9.825 and Marasco scoring 9.875. Marasco’s performance was later recognized, as she was awarded the Mari-Rae Sopper Outstanding Gymnast Award. Despite a valiant effort, the team was once again defeated by Oklahoma.

Closing the night, the girls moved to the floor. Young again led the team in scoring with a solid 9.850. Freshman Hilary Green also recorded a personal best — a 9.775 score, while junior Kristin DeCosta scored 9.800. The Cyclones finished strong with an overall score of 48.925, but fell to the Sooners.

Oklahoma claimed victories with individual wins in the vault, the bars, balance beam and the floor, thus claiming the overall win with 198.150 points. Although the Cyclones fell with a score of 195.675, Brown and Young both walked away with a shared first place in the all-around. The Cyclones will continue their strive for victory Feb. 8 at Hilton Coliseum.