MSU Gymnastics Heads East To Battle George Washington
3/5/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
March 5, 2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
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Michigan State (13-4, 2-3 Big Ten)vs. George Washington (15-8)Sat., March 9, 2002, Washington, D.C., 7 p.m.Coast-To-Coast: The Michigan State gymnastics team begins its coast-to-coast trek competing on Saturday, March 9, at George Washington. The Spartans will head to west coast the following Saturday for the Shanico Invitational hosted by Oregon State.
About the Colonials: George Washington owns a 15-8 overall record after placing fourth out of six teams last Saturday at the Wendy's Wolfpack Invitational hosted by North Carolina State with a score of 194.600. The Colonials have an RQS of 194.300 which ranks them 26th nationally, and have a season-best score of 195.350 in a win against Maryland Feb. 13.
George Washington will host James Madison on Wednesday, March 6, before competing against the Spartans Saturday.
MSU Beats No. 24 Ohio State: The Michigan State gymnastics team ended its home schedule with a solid victory over No. 24 Ohio State last Saturday. The Spartans totalled 195.600 points, which is the sixth-best point total in MSU history, against OSU's 195.325.
The highest finish for the Spartans came from Julie Devaty 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 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 and Anna Hunsinger tied for second at 9.875, while Kristin Merritt tallied a 9.850 to tie for fourth. Simpson also achieved a personal best 9.825 on the vault to tie for second place.
MSU's best performances as a team came on the floor exercise and beam. The Spartans scored 49.275 on the floor for the seventh-best team score in school history, while the beam total of 48.975 tied for sixth-best.
What a Streak!: MSU has put together an impressive streak of high team totals over the past three weeks. On Feb. 16 against Rutgers, MSU scored 195.725 for the fourth best team score in school history. The following week the Spartans just missed that mark with 195.700 while winning the Spartan Invitational for the fifth best team score in school history. Saturday against Ohio State, MSU made it three straight weeks of impressive totals collecting the sixth best team score with 195.600 points.
Toppling the Top 25: After defeating No. 24 Ohio State Saturday, MSU now owns a 5-2 record against teams ranked in the Top 25. The Spartans have now won twice against the nationally-ranked Buckeys, own two wins against Eastern Michigan which was then nationally ranked, and also defeated then-No. 21 West Virginia.
Consistency Counts: For the third straight week, MSU put together a consistent meet from start to finish Saturday against Ohio State. The Spartans scored their second best team total of the season on bars and floor, tied their second best effort of the year on beam and recorded their third best vault total of the season. The result was the third best team score of the season and sixth best in school history.
On the Verge of 200: MSU head coach Kathie Klages is approaching a milestone, as the 12th-year head coach needs just one more victory for 200 during her career at MSU. After garnering 13 victories so far this season, Klages' career coaching record currently stands at 199-93-2.
Fresh Faces: Michigan State's freshman class continues to be crucial to its success in 2002. In last Saturday's meet, 10 of the 24 routines were performed by freshmen. Still, the 85 combined routines by freshman this year (out of a possible 192) are not the highest number of routines performed by a single class, as the junior class has performed 89 routines. The sophomore class has accounted for 10 routines while senior Jane McIntosh has performed eight routines.
Linder the Leader: Junior Christy Linder has undoubtedly been MSU's top performer this season. Linder has five of MSU's top seven scores this season on the vault, two of the top four bars scores, five of the top 10 beam scores and two of the top three scores on the floor. As a result, Linder also has the top three and six of the top eight all-around scores for MSU this season.
Rank You Very Much: Michigan State has dropped back out of the Top 25 national rankings this week, but just barely. Despite increasing their Regional Qualifying Score slightly to 194.235, the Spartans slipped to No. 27. As a team, MSU is No. 12 nationally on the beam, and No. 27 on the floor.
Big Mac Attack: Senior co-captain Jane McIntosh was forced to miss four of MSU's first five competitions after recovering from off-season shoulder surgery - her third such surgery of her career. McIntosh had a triumphant return at the State of Michigan Classic, winning the beam with a score of 9.875, and scoring a 9.800 on her other event, the floor exercise, to tie for seventh. In her third performance at the Spartan Invitational, she tied the school record with a 9.950 beam routine, and placed third with a 9.875 score on the floor exercise.
Beam Me Up: MSU's best team performances this season have come on beam, which has helped the Spartans post the 12th-best RQS in the nation on that apparatus. This season, MSU has had team scores on the beam that have been the fourth, seventh (twice) and tied for 13th-best team scores in school history.
Linder Nears Record: Christy Linder has put her name in the MSU record books for the all-around twice this season. Linder's 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. Linder also scored a 39.300 to finish second at the State of Michigan Classic Feb. 3, which ranks as tied for eighth best ever in the all-around at MSU. Linder now owns three of the top 10 all-around scores in MSU history.
State Power: MSU's second-place showing at the State of Michigan Classic Feb. 3 marked the third straight year that 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 with a score of 38.750 Jan. 26 at Illinois. She has improved that total since, scoring 39.050 against Rutgers Feb. 16 and 39.000 vs. Ohio State March 2.
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. 4), Minnesota (No. 9), Iowa State (No. 10), Oregon State (No. 14), Iowa (No. 19), Penn State (No. 20) and Ohio State (No. 24). Counting the Big Ten Championships, the Spartans will face Iowa twice, and MSU will compete against Michigan and Ohio State three times . In addition, the Spartans could face other ranked teams in the Regional Championships.