Michigan State University Athletics
Gymnastics Prepares To Take On Iowa
2/6/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
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Feb. 6, 2003
Michigan State will return to the road for competition on Saturday, Feb. 8, in Iowa City, Iowa. The Spartans will take on Big Ten rival Iowa at 7 p.m. CST at Carver Hawkeye Arena. It is the fourth time this season that the Spartans have been on the road for a competition.
MSU EARNS STATE BRAGGING RIGHTS
The Spartans returned to Jenison Field House with a bang on Sunday, Feb. 2, winning the State of Michigan Classic. Michigan State posted a 195.075 to finish first, ahead of Central Michigan (194.900) and No. 11 Michigan (193.900). Eastern Michigan (192.525) and Western Michigan (192.000) rounded out the five-team event. MSU claimed the highest team score on the bars and beam, setting season-high marks on both.
DEVATY NAMED CO-BIG TEN GYMNAST OF THE WEEK
Senior co-captain Julie Devaty(North Olmstead, Ohio) was named the Co-Big Ten Gymnast of the Week on Tuesday, Feb. 5. Devaty matched her career-best mark of 9.925 on the balance beam to capture the event title at the State of Michigan Classic on Feb. 2. She also finished tied for second on the floor with a season-best mark of 9.875 and matched her personal-best score of 9.825 on the uneven bars to post the fourth-highest score of the day on that event. Devaty tied for the weekly honor with Calli Ryals of Michigan.
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE SCORE, BUT...
Unlike most sports, gymnastics is one that is based on the overall team score and not the win-loss record. But after coming up on the lower end of the scores when compared to the opponents during the first three meets of the season, the Spartans were ready for a win. By claiming the State of Michigan Classic title on Feb. 2, Michigan State not only got a notch in the win column, but they now stand at .500 on the season.
DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE SCORE
Michigan State's mark of 195.075 was the second highest of the season and assisted in boosting the Spartans from 31st in the country to 26th, with a total season average of 193.844.
A COMMANDING PRESCENCE
With the victory over its four in-state rivals, Michigan State improved its record with each team, taking a commanding 119-29 all-time lead against the four programs combined. The Spartans moved to a 31-3 lifetime mark against Central Michigan and improved to 25-1 all-time against Eastern Michigan. MSU evened its record with Michigan at 25 wins apiece, while continuing to dominate Western Michigan (38-0 all-time).
ENDING A STREAK
With the victory at the State of Michigan Classic, Michigan State became the first Big Ten Conference team to defeat Michigan in over four years. Until the Spartans topped the No. 11 Wolverines on Feb. 2, Michigan had not lost a meet against a conference rival since Jan. 15, 1999. Since that date, Michigan had recorded 40 consecutive wins over conference rivals.
NEWS FROM THE GYM
Along with Julie Devaty's first-place finish on the balance beam, several other Spartans were able to step up onto the podium at the State of Michigan Classic. Devaty claimed second place on the floor exercise, along with sophomore Nicole Anderson(Kenosha, Wis.). Both scored a 9.875 on the event to take the runner-up position.
MSU received three top-five finishes on the uneven bars. The Spartans were led by freshman Sarah Alexander (Kernersville, N.C.), who tied for second with a 9.875. Senior Diana Crea(Beaver Falls, Pa.) and sophomore Kristin Merritt(Racine, Wis.) finished tied for fourth with a 9.850.
Sophomore Anna Hunsinger(Elizabethtown, Ky.) finished in fifth place on the vault with a 9.800, while senior Ilene Cohen (Wantagh, N.Y.) also claimed fifth on her beam routine with a 9.825.
GOOD CAREER MOVES
Seven Spartans matched or posted 11 career high scores at the State of Michigan Classic. Senior Julie Devaty matched her personal best score on the uneven bars and balance beam, while classmateIlene Cohen equaled her career high on the beam. Sophomore Lauren Simpson matched one and set two new career-high tallies. Simpson scored a 9.725 on the bars to tie her career best and earned new lifetime highs on the beam (9.800) and in the all-around (39.000). Kristin Merritt set a new personal standard on the bars with a 9.850 and Anna Hunsinger tallied a 9.800 on the vault for a new career high. First-year gymnasts, Sarah Alexander andNicole Anderson continued to improve their lifetime highs, as Alexander posted new marks n the bars and in the all-around, while Anderson tabbed a new floor exercise score.
RAISING THE STANDARDS
In addition to setting new career-best scores, two Spartans set season-best marks at the State of Michigan Classic on Feb. 2. Julie Devaty posted her best score of the campaign on the floor exercise with a 9.875. Lauren Simpson also tallied a new floor exercise score with a 9.850. Both gymnasts scores were just .025 off of their career-best marks.
MORE HIGH TIME HIJINKS
As a team, the Spartans won the uneven bars, posting a season-best total of 49.125. MSU also scored a season-high 49.000 on the balance beam to capture the event title.
BIG TEN BUSINESS
The Spartans currently lead the Big Ten Conference on the uneven bars, with a season average of 48.794...Sarah Alexander is currently ranked fourth in the conference on the uneven bars, with an average score of 9.819...Anna Hunsingerholds eighth place on the all-around with a total of 38.900...Ilene Cohen Is listed in seventh place on the balance beam with a 9.775, while Alexander and Christy Linder (Fremont, Ohio) are ranked ninth (9.762) and tenth (9.750), respectively.
NATIONAL NETWORKING
Sarah Alexander is tied for 45th, nationally, on the uneven bars. Her season average of 9.819 on the event places her eighth in the Central Region...also tied for eighth in the Central Region is Anna Hunsinger, who earned her honor in the all-around competition...Ilene Cohen is listed as the 10th gymnast on the regional balance beam rankings... Lauren Simpson (Fenton, Mich.) and Alexander are each ranked 12th in the Central Region in the all-around and on the balance beam, respectively.
IF YOU WANT TO BE THE BEST...
You have to play the best. That's the motto of Kathie Klages when she scheduled the Spartans' competition. Six of Michigan State's remaining opponents are ranked in the Feb. 3 edition of the GymInfo Top-25 and six of its previous opponents also have a place among the leaders. Five of the Spartans' six Big Ten opponents are listed in the poll, including No. 11 Michigan, whom MSU will face two more times this season.
RANKING NOTE
Starting with the Jan. 27 poll, national rankings will be determined by a total season average and will continue this way until the final month of competition (Feb. 24), when the rankings will be listed in order of Regional Qualifying Score (RQS).
THE HAWKEYE HUNT
Although the Iowa gymnastics team (0-3) is still looking for its first win of the season, all three of its losses have come at the hands of teams that were ranked amongst the nation's best, including No. 2 Georgia and No. 4 Nebraska...With two scores of over 195, the Hawkeyes have a total season average score of 194.533 and are ranked 18th in the GymInfo Top 25...This will be Iowa's first Big Ten meet of the season and its only conference meet until March 8.
THE HISTORY OF THE HAWKEYES
Michigan State holds a 16-4 overall record against the Hawkeyes, but they have dropped the last three regular season meetings...It is only the second time since the 1995 season that MSU has traveled to Iowa City to take on the Hawkeyes...Iowa has traveled to MSU in 1996, 1999, 2001 and 2002, while the Spartans went west in 1995 and 1998. The two teams only faced each other at the Big Ten Championships in 1997 and 2000.
LAST TIME AROUND
Michigan State competed against the Hawkeyes twice in 2002, once during the regular season and again at the Big Ten Championships. MSU fell to Iowa, 193.875-191.200, in the second meet of the season in East Lansing. Iowa claimed a third-place finish at the Big Ten Championships with a score of 195.550, while the Spartans tallied a 194.625 to take fifth.
