Gymnastics Places Third Against Top-Ranking Opponents

Jan. 21, 2012

UNIVERSITY PARK, Penn. - The Michigan State gymnastics team traveled to University Park, Penn. on Saturday (Jan. 21) to compete in their only quad-meet of the season against top-ranked No. 5 Alabama, No. 9 Penn State and Cornell. Overall, the Spartans placed third with an improved team score of 192.875.

"We made major improvements in our performance tonight, but I still believe this team is better than how we've preformed so far this year," said head coach Kathie Klages. "I'm most proud of how mentally tough we stayed. We didn't let the errors one person affect the next person's performance."

Sophomore Dani Levy led MSU on the uneven bars with a 9.750 mark, which tied her with three others for ninth. Senior Jackie Berg placed 13th out of 24th in the event with a 9.700 score. Penn State took home first place with Sharaya Musser's 9.900 score and Alabama's Sara Demeo earned second place with a 9.850 tally. The Spartans earned a team-total of 48.225 in the rotation.

On the beam routine, Alyssa Brennan was the top Spartan. The senior earned a 9.750 mark, which was good enough for a tied ninth place finish. Sophomore Sarena Bumbarger followed behind in 13th place with a 9.725 score. The Nittany Lions sat atop the beam standings with Whitney Bencsko's and Sharaya Musser's identical scores of 9.900.

Levy also impressed in the floor exercise with a 9.800 score and a team-best sixth place finish. The Nittany Lions earned first and second in the rotation with marks of 9.900 and 9.850. The Green and White finished with a team score of 47.200.

In the vault rotation, redshirt sophomore Taira Neal posted a 9.825 score and finished tied for seventh in the event. Levy notched a 9.750 in the rotation, which tied her for 10th with Penn State's Kassidy Stauder. Alabama's Ashley Sledge and Marissa Gutierrez snagged the top two spots on the vault with scores of 9.925 and 9.900, respectively. MSU had the highest team score in the event with 48.550 points.

Michigan State will host Illinois State next Saturday (Jan. 28) in the annual Flip for a Cure Meet. Competition will begin at 7 p.m. (ET) at Jenison Field House in East Lansing, Mich.