The Iowa State Cyclones women's gymnastics team represents

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...

(ISU) and competes in the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

. The team is coached by Jay Ronayne, he is in his 11th year at Iowa State. The Cyclones host their home meets at

Hilton Coliseum James H. Hilton Coliseum, commonly Hilton Coliseum, is a 14,267-seat multi-purpose arena located in Ames, Iowa. The arena opened in 1971. It is home to the Iowa State University Cyclones men's and women's basketball teams, wrestling, gymnastics ...

on Iowa State's campus.

History

Iowa State first put together a women's gymnastic team in time for the 1973-1974 season, Char Christiansen lead that squad. Christiansen led the Cyclones to their first Big Eight Conference title in 1975. The Cyclones had limited success through most of the late 1970s and 1980s. The rebuilding process of the Cyclone program began with the hiring of Head Coach Amy Pyle in 1994. In 2000, her final season, the team won their first

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...

championship and placed 8th overall at the NCAA Tournament, the highest finish in program history at that point. After Pyle's retirement, Iowa State hired former letter winner and assistant coach

K. J. Kindler K.J. Kindler (born June 26, 1970) is an American college gymnastics coach and the current head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners women's gymnastics team, a role she has held since 2006. Coaching career 1992–2006: Iowa State Following her graduatio ...

, she would go on to be the most successful coach in program history. The highlights of her tenure were making back-to-back NCAA Finals in 2005-2006 and Janet Anson's individual career. In 2006 they won their second Big 12 Championship and made the first and only Super Six in school history. During her collegiate career, Anson was a four-time First Team All-American in vault (twice), floor, and all-around. At the conclusion of the season she left for Oklahoma. Current Head Coach Jay Ronayne has continued where Kindler left off. Under his leadership the Cyclones have qualified for NCAA Regionals every year and have had ten Big 12 Champions.

Individual Accomplishments

All-Americans

Conference Individual Champions

Facilities

The team practices at the Amy and Dennis Pyle Family Gymnastics Facility that was renovated in 2002. The facility includes an 80-foot divider wall, matting in all uneven bar and balance beam areas, a balance beam dismount pit, cardiovascular elliptical trainers and treadmills, and an open pit vaulting station.

Past Olympians

Ariana Orrego Ariana Gabriela Orrego Martínez (born 25 September 1998) is a Peruvian former artistic gymnast. She represented Peru at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games. She was the first ever Peruvian gymnast to compete at the Olympic Games. She is a six-time ...

(2016; 2020) *

Marina González Marina González Lara (born 15 December 2002) is a Spanish artistic gymnast and social media personality. She represented Spain at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She won the gold medal on the floor exercise at the 2019 Szombathely World Challenge Cu ...

(2020)

References

{{NCAA women's gymnastics programs College women's gymnastics teams in the United States Gymnastics, Women's 1970 establishments in Iowa Sports clubs established in 1970