The Latest in Men's Gymnastics
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
March 24, 1998
UP NEXT: No. 6 Michigan State wraps up its regular season while hosting eighth-ranked Michigan at Jenison Field House Saturday, March 28 at 7 p.m.
SEEING TRIPLE: The Spartans compete against the Wolverines on March 28 for the third time in as many meets. On March 12, MSU competed at Ann Arbor, winning 229.475-229.150. On March 20-21, the Big Ten Championships saw MSU outscore U-M 227.975-226.625. A fourth and even fifth consecutive meeting is possible if both teams advance to the NCAA Regionals and then on to the NCAA Championships.
BIG TEN RESULTS: At the 1998 Big Ten Championships hosted by Michigan, Michigan State achieved a fourth-place finish (227.975), while No. 3 Iowa clinched the conference crown with 230.525. The Spartans scored season highs on vault (38.900) and parallel bars (38.050).
Freshman Tommy Housley shined at Saturday's individual competition, grabbing second-place honors in floor exercise with a 9.787 and a second-best score on parallel bars (9.700), good for fourth place. Kenny Baker finished in third place on pommel horse with a 9.712, and Brady Grimm vaulted his way to a sixth-place 9.600. Ryan Trumpinski tied for fourth on floor (9.675).
REGIONAL UPDATE: Michigan State is currently ranked fourth in the eastern region behind Iowa, Ohio State and Penn State. The top six teams qualify. This year's NCAA Eastern Regional is held on April 4 at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Mass. MSU has qualified for regional competition five times in the 1990s. Most recently, the team finished sixth in 1996.
RANKED: MSU moved up one place to sixth in this week's poll, based on its regional qualifying score of 228.717.
VAULTING TO THE TOP: The Spartans maintain their No. 1 position on the vault for a second week in a row with a regional qualifying score of 38.717. They also move to second in the nation on the floor exercise with a 38.583.
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS: (All rankings by regional qualifying score) Tommy Housley is third in the country on the floor exercise with a 9.779 score. Brady Grimm is MSU's other top-5 gymnast, coming in at fourth on the vualt (9.783). Kenny Baker is seventh on the pommel horse (9.783) while Ethan Sterk and Ryan Trumpinski are ninth on the high bar and vault, respectively.
