MSU Gymnasts To Square Off With Rutgers Saturday
2/12/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Feb. 12, 2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
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Coming Up: Michigan State (8-4) vs. Rutgers (8-4)
Saturday, Feb.16, 2002 - East Lansing, Mich. - 7 p.m.
No Place Like Home: The Michigan State gymnastics team returns home after three straight weeks on the road to face Rutgers. This weekend's meet is the first of three straight home meets for MSU.
About the Scarlet Knights: Rutgers owns an 8-4 record and has an average score of 190.925. The Scarlet Knights' top score of the season was 193.525 which they recorded Jan. 16 in a win against Temple and Towson. Rutgers posted a score of 192.125 in its last meet Saturday, finishing second out of four teams at Pittsburgh.
MSU Wins Circle of Stars Meet: The Michigan State gymnastics team improved to 8-4 by winning the Circle of Stars Meet Friday night in Indianapolis, Ind. MSU scored 193.375 points to edge second-place Ball State, which had 193.300. No. 25 Eastern Michigan placed third with 192.325 followed by No. 19 Ohio State which totalled 190.450 points.
Junior Christy Linder tied for first on the balance beam with a score of 9.825 on her way to the all-around title. Linder finished with an all-around score of 38.850, while freshman Anna Hunsinger placed third in the all-around with a total of 38.200.
Junior Julie Devaty had another fine performance, sharing first place on the floor exercise with a personal-best score of 9.875 while tying for third on the beam with a 9.800. Freshman Lauren Simpson was also in the top three in two events, tying for second on the vault with a 9.700, and sharing third in the floor exercise with Hunsinger with scores of 9.850.
The beam and vault were keys to victory for MSU, as the Spartans had the highest team score in each of those events. The beam, in particular, was good to MSU as the Spartans scored almost half a point higher than the next best team. Along with the high finishes of Linder and Devaty, Simpson and junior Lindsay Trainham tied for fifth with scores of 9.775.
MSU also had a season-best score on the floor exercise with a total of 49.175. In addition to the Devaty's career-best and the 9.850 scores from Hunsinger and Simpson, MSU had a 9.825 from Linder and a 9.775 from freshman Jennifer Yarbrough.
Ms. Consistency: Junior Christy Linder is one of the nation's top beam performers, and it is largely due to her consistency. In MSU's five meets, Linder has scored at least 9.800 each time on the beam. Her best score of 9.850 came against Illinois Jan. 26, she has scored 9.825 three times and has one score of 9.800. Linder ranks fourth in the Central region and tied for 18th nationally in the beam.
Toppling the Top 25: After defeating No. 19 Ohio State and No. 25 Eastern Michigan Friday, MSU now owns a 4-2 record against teams ranked in the Top 25. The Spartans also own wins over then-No. 21 West Virginia and then-No. 23 Eastern Michigan.
Fresh Faces: Michigan State's freshman class continues to be crucial to its success in 2002. In Friday's meet, 13 of the 24 routines were performed by freshmen. Still, the 55 combined routines by freshman this year (out of a possible 120) are not the highest number of routines performed by a single class, as the junior class has performed 56 routines. The sophomore class has accounted for seven routines while senior Jane McIntosh has performed two routines.
Mac Back on Track?: Senior co-captain Jane McIntosh, who missed the first three weekends of competition while recovering from off-season shoulder surgery - her third such surgery of her career, competed for the first time this season Feb. 3 at the State of Michigan Classic. McIntosh had a triumphant return, winning the beam with an MSU season-best score of 9.875, and scoring a 9.800 on her other event, the floor exercise, to tie for seventh. However, she was unable to complete enough repetitions during the week to compete last Friday at the Circle of Stars Meet, and her status for this Saturday's meet against Rutgers is questionable.
Rank You Very Much: Michigan State has slipped back out of the top 25 rankings, but just barely. The Spartans, who are ranked seventh in the Central Region, have an average score of 193.145 which ranks them 29th nationally. Individually, Jane McIntosh and Christy Linder are in the top 25 on the balance beam, as their average scores of 9.875 and 9.825 rank them fourth and tied for 18th, respectively.
Linder Nears Record: Christy Linder put her name in the MSU record books for the second time this season in the all-around, scoring a 39.300 to finish second at the State of Michigan Classic Feb. 3. Linder's score ranks as tied for eighth best ever in the all-around at MSU, and she now owns three of the top 10 scores. Her score of 39.400 in the Jan. 11 season opener was tied for the second best all-around score in MSU history. Only Carolyn Hecht scored higher, recording a score of 39.450 vs. Ohio State on March 22, 1996. Melissa Green is the only other Spartan to score 39.400, accomplishing the feat Feb. 19, 2000 vs. Pittsburgh.
State Power: Sunday's second-place showing at the State of Michigan Classic Feb. 3 marked the third straight year the MSU placed at least second in the meet. Last season, the Spartans took the title, and MSU placed second in 2000.
Dynamic Debut: Anna Hunsinger's first ever all-around competition was one to remember, as the freshman won the all-around title Jan. 26 at Illinois. Hunsinger's score of 38.750 is the fourth best all-around total for a Spartan this season.
Best Ever Opener: Michigan State's point total of 194.650 in the Jan. 11 opener was easily its best ever in a season-opening meet. The previous best-ever score in an opener was 191.900 by the 1996 squad which went on to finish 27-3.
In Order to Be the Best...: You've got to beat the best. Michigan State will compete against at least seven teams this season that are ranked in the current top 25, including Michigan (No. 6), Iowa State (No. 9), Minnesota (No. 12), Penn State (No. 19), Iowa (No. 20), Oregon State (No. 21) and Ohio State (No. 22). Counting the Big Ten Championships, the Spartans will face Iowa twice, and MSU will compete against Michigan and Ohio State three times each. In addition, the Spartans could face other ranked teams in the Regional Championships.