Gymnastics Begins 2004 Season
1/23/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Jan. 23, 2004
EAST LANSING, Mich. - by Robbie Schlissburg, Sports Information Student Assistant
After losing nearly half of the 2003 squad to graduation, the 2004 edition of Michigan State gymnastics will rely heavily on a core group of sophomores and juniors, while a strong class of incoming freshmen will bolster the Spartan returnees' efforts on the floor of competition this season.
The Spartans feature only one senior, Lindsey Voth, in 2004, but head coach Kathie Klages has an optimistic outlook for the team's future, though she is quick to point out that the Spartans want to be a force to be reckoned with now.
"Even though we graduated seven seniors, we have six outstanding freshmen coming in and a team that is very fired up to move up the ladder in the world of gymnastics," Klages said. "I believe that the juniors and the sophomores now have the experience they need to improve the program."
The Spartans hope to improve upon last year's marks that included a seventh-place tally at the Big Ten Championships and a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Central Regional.
"They know what it's going to take and they're willing to put forth the effort," Klages said. "Like most teams in our sport, the youth of our squad is an exciting factor rather than being something that we can't count on."
As usual, this year's team faces a difficult schedule that features many of the nation's top teams.
On the docket are nine teams that finished last year ranked in the Top 25, highlighted by a Jan. 23 visit to Gainesville, Fla., to take on perennial powers Florida and North Carolina State along with Illinois-Chicago. The Spartans open up the season at home against Arizona, Louisiana State and Western Michigan on Jan. 9.
"I always try to schedule our program against the teams that I believe we would face at a national championship," Klages said.
The season culminates at the Big Ten Championship meet, held this year at the University of Minnesota on March 20. The Spartans then hope to compete deep into the postseason with a trip to Regionals on April 3, 2004, and to their ultimate goal of reaching the national championship meet April 15-17 at famed Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus.
"Our expectations for the team this year are extremely high," Klages said.
All-Around
Sophomore co-captain Sarah Alexander will lead the way for the 2004 Spartans. Alexander is coming off one the most successful freshman seasons in school history.
"She's just incredible in the gym," Klages said. "Sarah just might be the most decorated freshman gymnast we've had at Michigan State University."
Alexander tied a school record on floor, scoring a 9.975, and her 39.425 total in all-around is only .025 off that school mark; she matched that score twice in her rookie year. She was also named first team All-Big Ten last season. Alexander led the team with 15 individual event titles last season and won the all-around in five meets.
"She is an incredible kid," Klages said. "We look for Sarah to continue her record-breaking performances this season."
Joining Alexander as co-captain is junior Anna Hunsinger. She is coming off a season marred with injuries that hindered her performance in 2003.
"She is much improved this preseason and we look to have her back to all-around status with upgrades on vault, bars and beam," Klages said. "Anna is an extremely consistent performer who shows great leadership on the floor."
Michigan State's third all-around gymnast is junior Lauren Simpson. Simpson was named second team All-Big Ten in 2003 and is looking to improve on her already successful career. She set her career-best vault score, a 9.850, at Rutgers last year, en route to winning the event title.
"Lauren was our second-best all-arounder last year," Klages said. "She is very consistent and a focused performer."
Klages also expects freshman Kristen Coleman to see action in the all-around this season. From Cornwall, Ontario, Coleman has competed for the Canadian national team and has a lot of competitive experience for an incoming freshman.
"Kristin is one of the most powerful athletes I've had the pleasure to coach," Klages said.
Vault
Michigan State has put a lot of work into the vault lineup and is looking to reap the benefits in 2004.
"Last year, our lineup included just one 10.0 vault, sometimes two," Klages said. "We've been lagging behind the bigger gymnastics schools in scoring from the start. We've really worked to improve our competitive strength in this event."
The team features a lineup now that could consist of as many as six 10.0 vaults. Voth, the team's senior member, is expected to see action on the vault this year along with juniors Nicole Anderson, Lauren Simpson and Anna Hunsinger, sophomores Leia Langhoff and Sarah Alexander and freshmen Kristen Coleman, Chayla HIll and Victoria Iakounina.
"I believe that with this recruiting class and the improvements we made throughout the summer, vaulting should be our most improved event," Klages said.
Uneven Bars
The Spartans' bars lineup was prehaps the event that was most affected by the loss of seven seniors in 2003.
Juniors Kristin Merritt and Jennifer Yarbrough, along with sophomore Leia Langhoff, return to provide some much needed experience on the uneven bars.
Merritt is returning after an ankle injury in 2003 and has added a second major release to her routine. After a strong summer of training, Yarbrough will be a major contributor, adding a Tachachev release to her routine.
"Our goal on the bars this year is to upgrade our dismounts," Klages said. "We are in the process of training these upgrades in order to do that."
As many as four freshmen could be called upon this year to compete on the uneven bars.
Balance Beam
The balance beam is an event that the Spartans have traditionally excelled in, and they hope that this year's team will be no different.
"We have some key athletes from last year's beam lineup back and those returnees will really help to bring that consistency we need," Klages said. "With the addition of our freshmen, I think our beam lineup will be solid."
Sophomores Sarah Alexander and Jaime Miles will be are two of those gymnasts expected to bring stability to the balance beam line-up.
Sophomore Julianna Karall will also contribute on the beam this year, returning from an injury that left her sidelined most of 2003.
Floor
The Spartans have made a number of improvements to their floor exercise routines thoughout their off-season training, working on raising the degree of difficulty to their routines. Already known for their performance quality, the added difficulty should bring improved scoring.
"We're training some higher level tumbling skills that will add difficulty and bring higher scores," Klages said.
The team will have a myriad of options with their lineup on the floor exercise, including Alexander and Hunsinger, both of whom posted floor scores ranked among the top 10 all-time at State in the 2003 season.
Coaching Staff
Joining Klages on this year's coaching staff are third-year assistant coach Elisabeth Forshier and newcomer Sam Buchalter.
A four-year letterwinner at Michigan State, Forshier will be a vital cog in the team's success. Her attention to detail and collegiate experience is a tremendous asset to the team. "Elisabeth is an excellent coach, with her forte being the vault," Klages said. "She was one of the most decorated vaulters at Michigan State."
In his first season at Michigan State, Buchalter comes to East Lansing with plenty of coaching experience. He worked at Twistars for seven years where he had the opportunity to train an elite level of gymnasts.
"We can already see his excitement and enthusiasm in the gym that will help carry us throughout the season and enhance our efforts to improve and to obtain the Big Ten Championship," Klages said.
The Spartan gymnastics team is poised to take the next step in becoming an elite team.
"We're very excited to be at that point and believe that it will help us in our quest to move up in the Big Ten and to qualify for the National Championship," Klages said.
Players Mentioned
