Spartan Gymnasts Compete At NCAA Regionals Saturday
4/1/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
April 1, 2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
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Up Next: No. 21 Michigan State (15-6)at NCAA Southeast RegionalSaturday, April 6, 2002Morgantown, W.V. - 6 p.m.
What's Up: The No. 21 Michigan State gymnastics team competes in the NCAA Southeast Regional Saturday, April, 6, in Morgantown W.V. The top two teams will automatically advance to the NCAA Championships April 18-20 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
NCAA Regional History: MSU is making its first appearance at the NCAA Regionals since 2000, its fifth Regional in the past seven years and its 12th NCAA appearance in 20 years. The Spartans, who qualified three individuals last season (Melissa Green, Jane McIntosh and Christy Linder), finished sixth at the 2000 Regionals with a team score of 192.925.
MSU has not placed higher than fifth at an NCAA Regional since a fourth-place finish in 1996, and the Spartans have not finished third since 1989. MSU had five third-place finishes from 1983-89, and placed 12th at the 1988 NCAA National Championships.
MSU's highest ever score at an NCAA Regional was 194.700, which the Spartans scored in 1997 to place fifth before winning the National Invitational Tournament the following weekend with a total of 194.375.
Scouting the Competition: The Southeast Regional is loaded with talented teams, led by No. 2 Alabama. The Crimson Tide have a Regional Qualifying Score of 197.095 and finished fourth at last year's NCAA Championships. The second seed is No. 11 Minnesota, with an RQS of 196.10. The other four teams are bunched at No.'s 19-22 in the Top 25, including host West Virginia (No. 19, 195.415 RQS), Kentucky (No. 20, 195.280), MSU (No. 21, 195.265) and North Carolina (No. 22, 195.235).
The competition will feature some of the nation's top gymnasts including the Gymnasts of the Year in the Big Ten (Minnesota's MaryAnne Kelley), Southeastern Conference (Alabama's Andree Pickens) and EAGL (WVU's Kristen Macrie).
MSU has already competed this season against Minnesota and West Virginia. The Gophers finished second at the Big Ten Championships March 23 with a score of 195.775, while MSU placed fifth with 194.625 points. The Spartans hosted West Virginia way back on Jan. 11 in the opening meet for each team. MSU placed second in the four-team meet with 194.650 points, while WVU had by far its lowest point total of the season, finishing third with 189.925 points.
Southeast is a Beast: MSU was put into the toughest of the six NCAA Regionals, as all six teams are ranked in the current Top 25. The Spartans, who are ranked No. 21 nationally, are seeded fifth, ahead of only North Carolina, which is ranked No. 22 nationally. MSU is ranked higher than three of the six teams in four of the other five regionals (West, North Central, Central and Northeast) and two teams in the South Central regional.
MSU Places Fifth at Big Ten Championships: Michigan State improved from its sixth-place finish last year to take fifth at the 2002 Big Ten Championships with a score of 194.625. The Michigan Wolverines won the conference title for the fourth-straight year, tallying a score of 196.475.
MSU's highest finish came from senior Jane McIntosh. In her last conference appearance, McIntosh averaged a 9.925 on the balance beam to take second place and earn a spot on the 2002 All-Big Ten Team. She is the first Spartan to be named to the all-conference team since Melissa Green in 2000.
Junior Christy Linder made a strong impact on the Spartan finish as well. Her seventh-place finish on the balance beam (9.850) combined with an eighth-place finish on the vault (9.800), helped her to a fifth-place finish in the all-around with a total of 39.075.
Another high finisher for the Spartans was junior Julie Devaty, who tied for ninth on the floor exercise, tallying a 9.825 in the event. Devaty was also the team's top finisher on the uneven bars, tying for 12th with a score of 9.750.
Freshman Anna Hunsinger narrowly missed the top 10 in the all-around, totaling a 38.225 overall to take 11th.
What a Streak!: MSU put together its best ever streak of high team totals earlier this season, recording five of the top 17 team scores in school history in consecutive weeks. On Feb. 16 against Rutgers, MSU scored 195.725 (fourth best team score) in a victory. The following week the Spartans scored 195.700 (fifth best) while winning the Spartan Invitational. The next week against Ohio State, MSU tallied 195.600 points (sixth best) to defeat the Buckeyes. March 9 at George Washington MSU scored 195.325 (11th best) to beat the Colonials, and the Spartans' total of 195.050 March 16 at the Shanico Inn-vitational ranks 17th best in MSU history.
Fresh Faces: Michigan State's freshman class has been crucial to its success in 2002. At the Big Ten Championships, 10 of the 24 routines were performed by freshmen. Still, the 116 combined routines by freshmen this year (out of a possible 264 for 43.9 percent) are not the highest number of routines performed by a single class, as the junior class has performed 118 routines (44.7 percent). The sophomore class has accounted for 16 routines while senior Jane McIntosh has performed 14 routines.
Linder the Leader: Junior Christy Linder has undoubtedly been MSU's top performer this season. Linder has eight of MSU's top 12 scores this season on the vault, two of the top four bars scores and two of the top three scores on the floor. As a result, Linder also has the top five all-around scores for MSU this season.
Rank You Very Much: Michigan State remains in the Top 25 national rankings this week, appearing at No. 21. As a team, MSU is tied for 13th nationally on the beam, No. 28 on the floor, No. 33 on vault and No. 39 on bars. MSU does not have any individual gymnasts in the top 25. Jane McIntosh is the highest rated individual, tying for 34th on the beam with an RQS of 9.860, which she has achieved in only seven competitions.
Toppling the Top 25: Entering the Big Ten Championships, MSU owned a 5-4 record against teams ranked in the Top 25. The Spartans have won twice against then nationally-ranked Ohio State, own two wins against Eastern Michigan which was then nationally ranked, and also defeated then-No. 21 West Virginia. At the Big Ten Championships, MSU placed ahead of then-No. 21 Penn State, but trailed No. 5 Michigan, No. 11 Minnesota and No. 17 Iowa.
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. McIntosh earned All-Big Ten honors at the Big Ten Championships by placing second on the beam with a score of 9.925.
Trainham Derailed: Junior Lindsay Trainham had her season come to an end when she landed awkwardly on a vault March 9 at George Washington. Trainham suffered a torn PCL in her right knee, and a partial PCL tear and an ACL sprain on her left knee. In addition, she bruised the tibias in both of her legs. Trainham had performed on the beam in each of MSU's first eight meets, and had competed six times on vault, three times on floor and twice on bars, and had recorded nine scores of 9.700 or higher.
The Big 200: MSU head coach Kathie Klages reached a milestone with her victory at George Washington March 9, as the 12th-year head coach recorded the 200th victory of her career at MSU. With 15 victories this season, Klages' career coaching record currently stands at 201-95-2.
Beam Me Up: Many of MSU's best team performances this season have come on beam, which has helped the Spartans post the tied for 13th-best RQS in the nation on that apparatus. This season, MSU has had team scores on the beam that have been the fourth, seventh, eighth (twice), tied for 10th and tied for 15th-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. After the NCAA Regionals, Michigan State will have competed against ten teams this season that are ranked in the current top 25, including Alabama (No. 2), Michigan (No. 5), Iowa State (No. 7), Minnesota (No. 11), Oregon State (No. 13), Iowa (No. 16), West Virginia (No. 19) Kentucky (No. 20), North Carolina (No. 22) and Central Michigan (No. 25). In addition, MSU has also competed against No.'s 26 and 27 (George Washington and Penn State, respectively). Counting the Big Ten Championships and NCAA Regionals, the Spartans will have faced Iowa and Minnesota twice, and MSU competed against Michigan three times .