Michigan State University
UIC
Michigan State Defeats UIC in Season Opener
1/6/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State opened its 2017 season with a 194.175-191.475 victory over visiting Illinois-Chicago on Friday night at Jenison Field House. The Spartans combined several career-best performances from returning veterans with strong debuts from its freshman class to secure the commanding victory, earning event victories in each of the four disciplines.
Freshman Gabriella Douglas earned a pair of event titles in her first collegiate meet -- on floor exercise and balance beam -- while senior Nicola Deans (vault) and junior Hailee Westney (bars) took the other two victories. UIC did feature the All-Around medalist, as Mikaila Northern finished her night with a 38.675 score. Deans was second with a 38.475, and Douglas took third with 38.325.
"We are pretty thrilled with what we saw tonight," said head coach Kathie Klages. We knew coming in that there were a couple of athletes that we had planned on utilizing that got injured in the preseason, so we had to fill in with a lineup that may not have had as much experience, but we were ready to compete. They needed to get onto the competition floor. It is a long preseason, so they needed this and I am absolutely thrilled with how they performed."
MSU started off on vault, rolling out a very young lineup - three athletes made their collegiate debut on the apparatus. Sophomore Brittini Chappell stuck her first collegiate vault with a score of 9.600. Freshman Alexandra Hoyer followed with a 8.925, and Drew Hendershot came in with a 9.675 in the third spot. Junior Anna Gamelo followed with a 9.675 and redshirt senior Nicola Deans posted a 9.75. Freshman Gabriella Douglas posted a 9.60 to round out MSU's performances, pushing the team score for the Spartans to 48.300, while UIC later finished with a 48.100. Deans took the event title with her 9.75, while Hendershot took third --Northern finished second with a 9.725 for UIC.
Douglas started off the Spartans on their second rotation -- bars. The freshman scored a 9.05, and Drew Hendershot followed her with a 9.725, to that point of the competition the highest score of the night. Frederick and Deans each then bettered the night's high on the apparatus - Frederick posted a 9.775, and Deans moved to the front of the pack with a 9.825. Lindsey Lemke made her Spartan debut in the fifth spot, and tied Deans' score with a 9.825, impressing the crowd with her first routine in the Green and White. Hailee Westney closed it out with an exclamation point for the Spartans, scoring a 9.875 to take the event title. The Spartans ended up taking the top five spots in the event and they helped MSU to a 49.025 team score -- just outside a top-25 all-time score for the Spartans. It was also a sizeable lead over the Flames on the apparatus, as UIC scored a 47.650.
On beam, MSU started off with matching 9.675's from Holly Ryan and Hoyer, and after Frederick had a bit of a wobble to score an 8.950, Westney followed the senior with a 9.750 to take the event lead for MSU. Douglas made her debut with a 9.825 to pull ahead for MSU, and Deans anchored the event and scored a 9.0. The Spartans scored a 48.050 on beam, ahead of the 47.700 for UIC.
MSU entered the final rotation -- traditionally, its strongest -- with a 145.375-143.775 lead. MSU's depth in the event was again on display - Ryan was the first performance, scoring a 9.675 -- which tied UIC's top scorers in the event. Hoyer stumbled a bit at the end of a tumbling pass and scored a 9.175 in the second spot, and Hendershot moved to the front of the pack with a 9.700. Douglas made her collegiate floor debut with a powerful routine that scored her a 9.85, which stood as the high score of the night to give the first-year her first event title. Two MSU seniors closed it out with Frederick scoring a 9.800, and Deans wrapped up MSU's night by debuting an up-tempo routine that scored her a 9.775. The Spartans secured the top five scores on floor, each contributing to a team score of 48.800, compared to a 48.025 for the Flames.
The Spartans return to action next Friday, opening their Big Ten schedule with a meet at Iowa.
Players Mentioned
