Gymnastics Releases Season Schedule
10/2/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Oct. 2, 2003
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State women's gymnastics released its 2004 season schedule Thursday. The Spartans host four meets and travel to nine throughout the 2004 season, four of which are in the state of Michigan. The Spartans, who finished last season ranked No. 25, return 10 letterwinners and face 10 teams ranked in the final 2003 Top 25.
"I always try to schedule our program against the teams that I believe we would face at a national championship," said head coach Kathie Klages. "We compete within the state at least seven times this year, which is a great opportunity for our kids. We only have four meets this year at home which puts pressure on us to perform well in those meets."
Those four home meets include the season opener on Jan. 9, when the Spartans host Louisiana State, Arizona and Western Michigan. LSU and Arizona were ranked No. 10 and No. 19, respectively, in the 2003 season-ending rankings. MSU then takes to the road for five meets, though three of those are within the state. State competes at Central Michigan on Jan. 18 against CMU and Illinois State. The Spartans travel to Ann Arbor twice within a week, as MSU faces last year's final No. 5 Michigan in a dual meet on Jan. 31 and returns for the Michigan Classic, where Michigan hosts MSU, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan, on Feb. 6.
State's final three home meets of the season come in three consecutive weeks, Feb. 14, Feb. 21 and Feb. 28. On Feb. 14, MSU hosts the Spartan Invitational with New Hampshire and George Washington, while it takes on Pittsburgh and Ohio State in dual meets on Feb. 21 and 28, respectively.
Before heading to the Big Ten Conference Championships at Minnesota on March 20, State travels to Oregon State on March 5 and a dual meet at Boise State on March 7. Oregon State hosts a six-way meet, as BYU, Sacramento State, Boise State and Seattle Pacific will compete in addition to MSU and OSU. MSU's final in-state meet of the year is the Eagle Classic at Eastern Michigan on March 13, where the Spartans will take on Western Michigan and Southeast Missouri State.
NCAA Regional competition is scheduled for April 3, with sites yet to be determined. UCLA hosts the 2004 NCAA National Championships April 15-17.
The complete 2004 MSU gymnastics schedule follows.
Date Opponent Location TimeJan. 9 Arizona/Western Michigan/Louisiana State East Lansing, Mich. 8 p.m.Jan. 18 at Central Michigan University with Illinois State Mt. Pleasant, Mich. 2 p.m.Jan. 23 at University of Florida with NC State and Illinois-Chicago Gainesville, Fla. 7 p.m.Jan. 25 at Illinois Champaign, Ill. 2 p.m.Jan. 31 at Michigan Ann Arbor, Mich. 7 p.m.Feb. 6 at Michigan Classic with Michigan, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan Ann Arbor, Mich. 8 p.m.Feb. 14 Spartan Invitational: University of New Hampshire, George Washington University East Lansing, Mich. 7 p.m.Feb. 21 Pittsburgh East Lansing, Mich. 4 p.m.Feb. 28 Ohio State/West Virginia East Lansing, Mich. 7 p.m.March 5 Oregon State with Brigham Young, Sacramento State, Boise State, SPU Corvallis, Ore. 7 p.m.March 7 Boise State Boise, Idaho 7 p.m.March 13 Eastern Michigan Ypsilanti, Mich. 4 p.m.March 20 at Big Ten Conference Championship Minneapolis, Minn. 6 p.m.April 3 NCAA Regional Championship TBA TBAApril 15-17 NCAA National Championship at UCLA Los Angeles, Calif. TBASchedule subject to change.All times listed are Eastern.Bold indicates home meets held in Jenison Field House.