Gymnastics Prepares For First Road Meet
1/15/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Jan. 15, 2003
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
MSU HITS THE ROAD
The Michigan State women's gymnastics team will take to the road for its second meet of the season, as they travel to Ames, Iowa, to face Iowa State on Friday, Jan. 17. The meet will be held at the Hilton Coliseum on the ISU campus and is slated to begin at 7 p.m. CST.
CYCLONE TRACKING
Iowa State returns seven letterwinners from last season's 14-9 squad and adds six newcomers to the mix. ISU, who was ranked No. 18 in the GymInfo preseason coaches' poll, dropped a 192.575-192.000 decision to Missouri last weekend to open the 2003 campaign. Despite the loss, ISU captured event titles on all but one apparatus. Sophomore Abigail Richey took first-place in the all-around last weekend. Freshman Erin Dethloff won the floor and sophomore Susan Stock claimed winning marks on the vault and beam. ISU is ranked among the top-20, nationally, on the vault (15th - 48.825) and on the balance beam (24th - 48.300).
A "COACH K" BATTLE
Michigan State leads the overall record against Iowa State, 6-4, but ISU head coach, K.J. Kindler, is 1-0 against MSU mentor, Kathie Klages, as the Cyclones downed the Spartans at the MSU Invitational last season (195.175-194.650).
SPARTANS TAKE THIRD IN DEBUT
The Michigan State women's gymnastics team opened the 2003 campaign with a third-place finish at the MSU Invitational on Friday, Jan. 10. The Spartans finished with a 191.800, behind No. 13 Oregon State (195.825) and Auburn (195.350). The Spartans opened strong, with a 48.775 on the new vaulting table - the second highest team score on the apparatus. MSU continued with a 48.675 on the uneven bars, before stumbling to a 46.900 on the balance beam and a 47.450 on the floor exercise.
MORE NEWS FROM THE INVITE
With a score of 9.875 on the balance beam, senior co-captain Julie Devaty (North Omstead, Ohio) finished with the second highest score on the event
Freshman Sarah Alexander (Kernersville, N.C.) was impressive in her collegiate debut, finishing second on the vault...Alexander also posted the fifth-highest scores of the night on the uneven bars and balance beam
Senior co-captain Christy Linder (Fremont, Ohio) finished in a three-way tie for third on the vaulting table
Sophomore Lauren Simpson (Fenton, Mich.) garnered a score of 9.800 on the floor exercise to finish fourth...Simpson's score of 38.400 in the all-around competition is a new personal best, crushing her previous best of 37.900, which she set last season at the Circle of Stars Invitational in Indianapolis, Ind.
BIG TEN BITS
Following an outing of 48.675 on the uneven bars at the MSU Invitational, the Spartans are currently ranked second in the Big Ten Conference on the apparatus...After scoring a 9.875 on the balance beam on Jan. 10, Julie Devaty has the second-highest score on the event in the conference...Sarah Alexander is tied for seventh on the uneven bars and sixth on the vault.
200 AND COUNTING
Head coach Kathie Klages celebrated a personal milestone last season, as she recorded her 200th victory as the leader of the Michigan State gymnastics squad. The Spartans downed George Washington to give Klages the landmark victory on March 9, 2002. Klages is in the midst of her 13th season of coaching with a mark of 201-97-2.
THE BRAINIACS
Perhaps even more impressive than the athletic achievements of the Spartans' 2002 squad were their academic accomplishments. The National Association of College Gymnastics Coaches named seven members of the team -Ilene Cohen (Wantaugh, N.Y.), Julie Devaty, Dana Herr (Phoenixville, Pa.), Anna Hunsinger (Elizabethtown, Ky.), Kristina Petersen (Saginaw, Mich.), Lauren Simpson, and Lindsey Voth (Sarasota, Fla.) - Academic All-Americans for Women. Michigan State's seven award recipients are the most ever for the squad, surpassing the four honorees from the 2000-01 academic year. As a squad, the women's gymnastics team posted a 3.49 GPA last season - the best ever for a Spartan gymnastics team.
HOME SWEET HOME?
The Spartans will perform just two of their first six competitions in the familiar comfort of Jenison Field House. After the season opening meet against Auburn and Oregon State, the Spartans will travel to Iowa (Iowa State - Jan. 17) and Ohio (Ohio State - Jan. 25). MSU will return to Michigan to host the State of Michigan Classic (Feb. 2), before hitting the road again for a return trip to Iowa (Iowa - Feb. 8) and to the Fox Run Invitational in New Hampshire (Feb. 15).
IF YOU WANT TO BE THE BEST...
You have to play the best. That's the motto of Kathie Klages when she schedules the Spartans' competition. Seven of Michigan State's remaining opponents are ranked in the Jan. 13 edition of the GymInfo Top-25 and its two previous opponents also have a place among the leaders. Four of the Spartans' six Big Ten opponents are listed in the poll, including No. 7 Michigan, whom MSU will face three times this season.
Players Mentioned
