Coach Klages' Great Expectations
1/18/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Jan. 18, 2002
By Jenny Aragones
MSU Sports Information Student Assistant
It seemed that MSU Head Coach Kathie Klages had everything working against her before the opening meet.
The Michigan State gymnasts were an unranked team about to face Iowa State and West Virginia, ranked 20th and 21st in the preseason polls, respectively. Senior co-captain Jane McIntosh, the team's top performer on the balance beam in the 2001 season, was injured and unable to compete. To top it all off, MSU was forced to put four freshmen into the starting line-ups.
The team persevered. Not only did MSU take second place overall, but the Spartans tallied the highest team score in an opening meet in school history at 194.650. Junior Christy Linder stepped up and took first place on the balance beam and in the all-around as well. As for the freshmen, Lauren Simpson, Kristin Merritt, and Jennifer Yarbrough each scored at least one 9.775 in their first collegiate appearance.
The Spartans were ranked 10th in the nation in the GymInfo poll after the weekend. Klages was both excited and surprised at her team's results.
"This is a great starting point for us! Instead of digging a hole at the first meet, we've built high expectations for the rest of the season."
Klages suspects the strong opening to the 2002 season can be attributed to two factors, the first being the performance of Christy Linder.
"Christy had a great preseason although she was nursing an ankle injury," admits Klages. "She's increased the difficulty at the floor, vault, and bar routines."
The fact that Linder took first place all-around on Saturday wasn't the most surprising detail. After all, she was the only Spartan to compete at every meet in the all-around for the 2001 season. Linder simply stunned her team and coach by tying the second highest all-around score in MSU history at 39.400.
Klages declared, "I expected her to do well at the meet, but I didn't expect her to come within .05 of beating the all-around record at Michigan State!" Still, Linder's coach has the utmost confidence in her ability.
"I do believe she will get that record this year. She'll only improve as the season goes on. Christy's quite a competitor. She knows how to step it up on meet day."
The second key to the Spartans' strength lies in their freshmen gymnasts. Although it may be surprising to the Michigan State athletic community that a coach would rely on her freshmen to such an extent, Klages sees her newcomers as a promising weapon.
"The freshman impact has a lot to do with the nature of our sport," Klages explains. "Red-shirting does not happen in gymnastics. Our freshmen have a lot of regional and national experience, but we're trying to adjust them to the collegiate level, which is very different from club."
The freshmen seem to have adjusted well so far. During the Green and White scrimmage on January 6th, Jennifer Yarbrough posted the team's highest score on the uneven bars with a 9.600, while Anna Hunsinger scored an impressive 9.700 on the vault, and Lauren Simpson tallied the same score on the floor exercise.
"The Green and White meet really helped the freshmen understand what competitions are all about. After seeing the girls nailing all of their routines last week, I think I'm more comfortable with having them in the line-up. I think their performances are just superb."
With a young but talented group of performers, Coach Klages has a lot to look forward to this season. The Spartans will face a variety of teams and conferences before they reach the Big Ten Championships, almost two months away. She feels that the team is up to the challenge.
"In past years, every time there was a Big Ten competition, Michigan or Minnesota would be expected to win. Now the competition is quite fierce.
"Being ranked 10th in the nation after the first week is a fantastic start. This gives the girls the belief that we belong at that level and we should stay there, and this will ultimately help us in the future competitions."