Spartans Host Maryland; Welcome Back Alumnae Saturday Afternoon in Jenison
2/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Feb. 7, 2008
Head Coach Kathie Klages' Weekly Press Conference
Meet Notes v. Maryland
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State gymnastics team returns home after a pair of road contests to host Maryland on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in Jenison Field House. The Spartans, who are 5-2 on the season with their lone losses coming to No. 5 Michigan, have improved upon their team score in every meet this season. Their 193.712 average is No. 23 in the country and fifth in the Central region and fourth in the Big Ten.
Saturday's meet is Alumni Appreciation Day with numerous former Spartans coming back to campus and being recognized after the competition. Also, former MSU head coaches Mike Kasavana and Jill Hough will be the honorary awards presentators.
The Spartans have six student-athletes ranked in the top-100 of an event this season. Topping the list is sophomore Nicole Curler on the beam, whose 9.806 average is tied for 25th in the nation, along with sitting in third in both the region and the Big Ten. Curler also ranks nationally on the floor and in the all-around.
Classmate Rochelle Robinson's score of 9.844 on the vault moved up to a tie for 27th in the nation, fifth in the region and a tie for fourth in the conference. This past weekend at the State of Michigan Classic, she set a MSU season-high on the vault with a 9.900 to tie for third. Robinson has at least a share of first in nine of 17 career starts on the vault, including the first two meets this season, and has been a top-three finisher in 13 of those meets.
Freshman Kelsey Morley also cracks the top-50 nationally, tying for 48th on the beam with a 9.775 average. That mark, which is highlighted by a season-high 9.875 in a first place finish against Pittsburgh, is also tied for eighth in the region and alone in sixth in the Big Ten.
Maryland (3-5) is coming off a third place finish in the Governor's Cup last Friday and is currently ranked 38th in the country with a 191.950 team average. At the Governor's Cup, the Terrapins had four second place finishes, including three by sophomore Brandi George (all-around, bars, beam). George, who also has three first place finishes earlier in the season, is 50th in the nation in the all-around (38.833) and tied for 53rd (9.775) on the beam. Classmate Michelle Brenner was second on the floor and currently is in a tie for 40th in the country on the event with a 9.812 average. Fellow sophomore and Lansing native Allison Dama won the bars in Maryland's first two meets against Ohio State and West Virginia.
MSU has won all four meetings with the Terrapins. The Spartans topped Maryland at last season's Pittsburgh's quad meet, but prior to 2007, the last meeting was back at the 1997 Spartan Invitational. The two schools met for the first time in 1988 at the University of Florida and both returned to UP the following season.
Players Mentioned
