Michigan State University
Ohio St
Women's Gymnastics Edges Buckeyes On Senior Night
3/2/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
March 2, 2002
East Lansing, Mich. - The Michigan State gymnastics team secured a close win over Ohio State for the last home meet of the season. The No. 22 Spartans scored 195.600 points, which is the sixth-best point total in MSU history, against No. 24 OSU's 195.325.
The highest finish for the Spartans came from Julie Devaty (North Olmstead, Ohio/Magnificat) in the balance beam, where she scored a personal-best 9.925 to win the event. She also led the team on the uneven bars with a score of 9.800 to take second place.
Junior Christy Linder (Fremont, Ohio/ Fremont Ross) won the all-around with a total of 39.150, providing solid performances for the Spartans in the vault (9.825), the bars (9.625), the beam (9.850) and the floor (9.850).
The MSU freshmen dominated the floor exercise for the Spartans, all attaining personal-bests in the event. Lauren Simpson (Fenton, Mich./Linden) and Anna Hunsinger (Elizabethtown, Ky./Central Hardin) tied for second at 9.875, while Kristin Merritt (Racine, Wisc./Washington Park) tallied a 9.850 to tie for fourth. Simpson also achieved a personal best 9.825 on the vault to tie for second place.
Head coach Kathie Klages shared her thoughts on the close win, "The first time we even saw how close the scores were was after the balance beam. Since we can't control how the other team does, we just focused on what we needed to do. The girls wanted to do well for their seniors, and they did."
The gymnastics action will continue in Washington, D.C., at George Washington University on March 9th, at 7 p.m.
