Michigan State University Athletics
Spartans Travel To Face Ranked Denver And UIC
1/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Jan. 26, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
Notes vs. Denver and UIC
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The Michigan State gymnastics team (3-1-0) will hit the road again this weekend as they are set to face the Denver Pioneers (3-3-0), and Illinois-Chicago (3-1-0) Jan. 28, at 6 p.m. (mst.). The Spartans are looking to notch another victory following their success last week against Ohio State, 193.075-192.400, while the Pioneers are also coming off a win against Brown and Towson, while UIC is fresh off a season-high performance vs. Minnesota. In previous meetings Denver holds a 3-1 advantage over MSU, although the sole win by the Spartans came in their home opener last year as State posted a team score of 195.475.
LAST WEEK IN REVIEW... The Spartan gymnastics team improved to 3-1, 1-0 Big Ten with a road victory over conference foe Ohio State 193.075 to 192.400 Saturday night. State's Kristen Coleman took second in the all-around competition with a combined 38.950, including a first place score of 9.800 on the uneven bars. Teammate Victoria Iakounina took first place on the vault with a 9.825, while Sarah Alexander tumbled her way to a second place 9.850 on the floor exercise.
THE WEEK AHEAD... MSU travels to Denver this Saturday to face the nationally-ranked Pioneeers and the University of Illinois-Chicago Flames. The contest begins at 6 p.m. mst. Visit msuspartans.com for meet results and recaps.
SOUTING THE NO. 18 DENVER PIONEERS The Denver University Pioneers are currently ranked No. 18 in the nation, following a tri-meet victory over Brown and Towson in their home opener. The win improves the Pioneers record to 3-3 for the season. Denver placed third in the Cancun Classic in its season opener, falling to No. 1 Georgia and No. 6 Stanford, while defeating No. 8 Oklahoma and No. 14 Arizona. The following week, the Pioneers were bested by Big Ten competitor No. 20 Minnesota.
LAST TIME AGAINST DENVER The 2005 season opener was the last time Michigan State faced the Pioneers. The Spartans defeated the Pioneers posting a 195.475 overall team score, which was MSU's highest overall score of the season, while also marking the Spartans highest season-opening score in history. In addition, the 2005 win marked the first time in four meetings between the two schools that MSU had defeated Denver.
SCOUTING THE ILLINOIS-CHICAGO FLAMES UIC comes into the weekend (2-2-0) following a loss to No. 20 Minnesota, despite its best team total of the season (192.900). The Flames tallied higher scores than the Golden Gophers on both the vault and floor exercise, but were unable to come away with the victory. Junior Racheal Zelinski won two individual titles with a 9.9 on floor exercise, and a 9.775 on the beam, while senior Veronique Meunier captured a win on the vault with a score of 9.9.
NO. 25 RANKED SPARTANS The Mighigan State Spartans have earned a national ranking of No. 25 this week following their defeat of Ohio State on Jan. 21. MSU joins conference opponents Michigan (No. 4), Penn State (No. 7) and Minnesota (No. 20) in the rankings. This is the first time the Spartans have been ranked this season, and the highest ranking they have received since being ranked No. 23 early last March.
SPARTANS TOP BIG TEN OPPONENT With a road victory over Ohio State, the Spartans start off Big Ten competition on top. Michigan State was dominant in the meet, having two athletes place individually in each of four events. With this victory, the Spartans improve to a 3-1-0 record (1-0-0 Big Ten). The Green and White will not see another Big Ten opponent until Feb. 3, where they face in-state rival Michigan at the State of Michigan Classic, hosted by Central Michigan University.
TOP THREE IN THREE Michigan State Junior Victoria Iakounina had an outstanding meet against Ohio State placing in the top three in each of the three events in which she participated. Iakounina placed first on the vault with a 9.825, tied for second on the bars with a 9.700, and finished third on the beam with a 9.750. Her scores on the vault and bars were each season highs for Iakounina.
ALL-AROUND FINISHER For the second week in a row junior Kristen Coleman has placed in all-around competition. Coleman posted a 38.950 against the Buckeyes to earn second in the all-around competition following an individual title in the all-around on Jan. 14 against Pittsburgh and Western Michigan. En route to her second place finish, Coleman tied her season highs on both the vault (9.775) and floor exercise (9.850).
