Gymnastics Hosts No. 25 NC State Saturday

A FULL ROTATION . . .
What you need to know about the Spartans
Michigan State gymnastics opens the 2019 season hosting the No. 25-ranked NC State Wolfpack for a 2 p.m. start at Jenison Field House Saturday.

Saturday's meet will be streamed on BTN Plus and results can be found at msuspartans.com.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL MEET NOTES

GYMNASTS TO WATCH . . .
Sophomore Lea Mitchell and junior Gabriella Douglas have been named Michigan State's Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch for the 2018-19 season.

The Spartans were picked to finish ninth as a team in the preseason coaches' poll.

A native of Boynton Beach, Fla., Mitchell is coming off a strong freshman season after being named a Big Ten Gymnast to Watch before the year. She won the all-around four times in her rookie campaign, including competitions against Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois and in a quad against Eastern Michigan, Pitt and Rutgers. Mitchell also placed second in the all-around against UIC and Oregon State. She was named a WCGA Scholar All-American in 2018.

"Lea is one of this year's co-captains and is coming off of an extremely successful freshman year," MSU gymnastics head coach Mike Rowe said. "She worked diligently all summer to upgrade every event. She has a no-nonsense work ethic and with her newly found voice, has made an immediate impact on helping her teammates understand accountability. Lea's dance background is also exhibited in her performance and she is a competitor from the word go. Ella and Lea will set the pace and continue to raise the standard for this year's Spartans' with everyone on board."

Douglas, a native of Toronto, Ontario, was also named a Big Ten Gymnast to Watch a year ago, but missed the entire 2018 season with a knee injury. She was selected to the Academic All-Big Ten team and became a WCGA Scholar All-American. In 2017, Douglas set a personal record and placed first on beam vs. Arkansas with a 9.900. She also tied a personal record on the floor exercise with a 9.850 against Bowling Green.

"Ella has had an amazing preseason, dedicating the majority of her time rehabbing and progressing back after last season's injury," Rowe said. "She is now stronger than ever, returning with a vengeance and a vision with a path to the all-around. Her beautiful artistry and lines make her exciting to watch, and as one of this year's co-captains she has helped everyone raise their own bar by her example."

GREEN AND WHITE . . .
Michigan State gymnastics opened the 2018-19 competition season with the annual Green and White Meet at Jenison Field House on December 8.

"We had some great performances by some of our freshmen and some of our veterans," Rowe said. "We know the details we want to work on, need to work on and are constantly working on every day. I think we have more depth on floor and beam than we've ever had, which is exciting because they're literally having to fight for a spot in the lineup. We can go eight or nine deep in different areas."

Freshman Ashley Hofelich won the vault competition, while sophomore Lea Mitchell and freshman Alaina Raybon tied for first on the uneven parallel bars. Raybon and fellow freshman Alyssa Wiedeman were co-champions on the balance beam and Mitchell took medalist honors in the floor exercise. Mitchell also won the all-around competition.

"We'll watch video, critique some of the things we saw and get consistency that needs to fall into place," Rowe said. "We're going to have intersquads where they're judged. They'll have a score every time and they're going to know their score. They'll know where we took the tenths and the half-tenths. We're addressing all of that because we're coming down to the wire. The girls are all on the same page when it comes to being aggressive, being enthusiastic, and the dynamics of this team are really special. They really want to have each other's back and support each other. They know if someone bobbles or wobbles they know the next person has to get up and make up for that."

NEWCOMERS . . .
Michigan State welcomes six new gymnasts to the roster this season, including five freshmen and one transfer.

Sydney Ewing (Frisco, Texas), Ashley Hofelich (Novi, Mich.), Alaina Raybon (Mount Pleasant, S.C.), Shannon St. Jean (New Fairfield, Conn.) Jenna Wicker (Allen, Texas) and Alyssa Wiedeman (Springboro, Ohio) join the Spartans rotation in 2019.

"This year's freshman class, including junior transfer Shannon St. Jean, has the unbridled talent, passion, work ethic and leadership that is already contributing to molding and redefining the culture of Michigan State gymnastics. They are intelligent, and all like to have fun, while still getting down to business. They appreciate our process, believe in making a difference, and setting new milestones for our program while also being fantastic students!"

WOLFPACK NOTES . . .
NC State is ranked No. 25 in the preseason Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association poll.

The Wolfpack ended 2018 ranked No. 20 in the nation, its highest end-of-season ranking since 2012 in the first year with head coach Kim Landrus at the helm. It was the second time in 18 years NC State finished as a top-20 team.

Landrus took over the Wolfpack program after 15 years on the coaching staff at Illinois, including seven as head coach.

QUOTABLE WITH COACH ROWE . . .
"We are really excited to get the 2019 season underway this weekend, facing a strong opponent in NC State," MSU head coach Mike Rowe said. "They finished 20th in the 2018 season final rankings and are consistent in bringing great competition. On another note, our girls have had a fantastic preseason and are hungry to get on the floor and compete. We've got some new faces, new upgrades and more depth to each event then we have had in many years. The girls are competing daily for positions in the lineups and it has been thrilling to watch! It should be an exciting afternoon in Jenison Field House. We're looking forward to being reunited with all of our amazing Spartan fans!"

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Gabriella Douglas

Sydney Ewing

Ashley Hofelich

Lea Mitchell

Alaina Raybon

Shannon St. Jean

Jenna Wicker

Alyssa Wiedeman