Minnesota’s women’s gymnastics team has a goal to improve every meet.

Before this weekend, the Gophers had done exactly that, recording higher scores at each competition.

But Saturday, Minnesota slipped up – literally – in posting its lowest score of the regular season and falling to Iowa State 196.850-192.450 at the Sports Pavilion.

“You never want to have a meet like this,” junior Maria Opsahl said. “But it’s early in the season, and it’s kind of a kick in the butt to get us going.”

The Cyclones were dominant on every event, recording the top three individual scores in the uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise.

“The biggest thing lacking right now in our team is confidence,” senior Carolyn Yernberg said. “And it’ll come.”

The Gophers particularly struggled on the beam, in which three gymnasts fell during their routines and the Cyclones outscored them by two full points.

“If one person falls, there’s no more margin for error,” co-coach Jim Stephenson said. “That certainly is an added stress on everyone.”

After miscues and falls on the beam, Minnesota rallied to post a 48.725 – its highest event score of the night – on floor exercise. Opsahl and Ashley Stanton led the team on the floor with scores of 9.775.

Though Stephenson said he was pleased with how the team finished, he said it needs to work on overcoming mistakes.

“We’ve got to learn not to let (the falls) affect us,” he said.

The Gophers were closest to the Cyclones in the vault, in which Yernberg tied for first place with a score of 9.825 and Angela Walker and Laura Johnson tied for third with scores of 9.750.

Iowa State swept the top three spots in the all-around competition, with Janet Anson finishing first and scoring 39.300.

Walker finished fourth for Minnesota with a score of 38.825.

“(Walker) seems to be improving every week,” Stephenson said.

Stephenson said he hopes his team will learn after not performing to the best of its ability and that scores will steadily increase.

“We have a strong team – better than last year,” Stephenson said. “We know that if we perform well, we are very likely one of the top 10 teams in the country.”

Men post season high

Minnesota’s men’s gymnastics team fell to top-ranked Illinois 219.075-214.375 Saturday at the Sports Pavilion, but the Gophers recorded their highest score of the season.

“I’m really pleased with where we’re at right now,” coach Mike Burns said. “For our guys to feel like they can stay with the No. 1-ranked team in the country is amazing for their confidence.”

Senior Guillermo Alvarez won the floor exercise and pommel horse with scores of 9.825 and 9.450, respectively.

Alvarez also finished second in the all-around with a 54.90.

But the Gophers suffered a major loss when sophomore Steve Vuong tore his anterior cruciate ligament during vault warm-ups. Burns said Vuong will be out for the rest of the season.