Gymnastics Hosts Rutgers Saturday at Jenison Field House

A FULL ROTATION . . .
What you need to know about the Spartans
Michigan State gymnastics returns to East Lansing for its only Big Ten home dual of the month as Rutgers visits Jenison Field House on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 2 p.m.

The Spartans welcome back former gymnasts on Alumni Day with recognition taking place after the meet. Saturday's dual will be streamed live on BTN Plus. Links to the stream and live stats can be found at msuspartans.com.

SPARTAN NOTES . . .
- Sophomore Lea Mitchell set a new personal best (9.925) to tie for first on floor at Illinois on Feb. 8.

- Junior Gabriella Douglas tied her career-highs of 9.850 on vault and 9.900 on floor to tie for third in both events at Illinois on Feb. 8.

- Douglas tied for first and set a new career-high on floor (9.900) and set a new season-high of 9.875 on the beam vs. No. 21 Minnesota on Feb. 2.

- Sophomore Tristan Brown set a new career-high on floor (9.825) and Ashley Beatty set a new top mark on vault (9.825) at No. 21 Minnesota on Feb. 2.

- Mitchell won the all-around vs. No. 14 Ohio State on Jan. 27, posting a season-high 39.100. She started the season placing second (38.675), third (39.025) and third (38.500) in the all-around.

- Mitchell posted a then-personal best on floor (9.900) against OSU on Jan. 27. She also tied her personal best on vault with a 9.825, on the way to tying for the meet's top honors on floor and vault.

- Senior Molly Hoerner O'Malley posted a personal best of 9.800 to lead the Spartans on bars against No. 14 Ohio State on Jan. 27.

- Freshman Ashley Hofelich tied her personal best on floor against No. 14 Ohio State on Jan. 27, posting a 9.825.

- Senior Roya Shirley received a season-high 9.750 on vault against No. 14 Ohio State on Jan. 27.

- Senior Jessica Ling, who has recovered from three reconstructive surgeries to her ACL throughout her career, tied her personal-best and posted the Spartans top bars score of the season with a 9.875 to take second place at No. 9 Michigan on Jan. 18.

- Brown posted a new career-high on bars at No. 9 Michigan on Jan. 18, tallying a 9.850 to finish in fourth place.

- Freshmen Ashley Hofelich and Alaina Raybon both won events in their collegiate debuts on Jan. 5 vs. NC State. Hofelich won the vault with a score of 9.800, while Raybon took top honors on the floor with a 9.850.

SEASON HIGHS . . .
- The Spartans posted a season-high 195.225 as a team against No. 14 Ohio State on Jan. 27, topping the 195 mark for the first time this season.

- The Spartans have improved their team vault score as the season has progressed. Since posting a 48.550 against the Wolfpack on Jan. 5, MSU tallied a 48.750 at the Collegiate Challenge on Jan. 12, a 48.775 at No. 9 Michigan on Jan. 18, followed by a 48.800 vs. No. 14 Ohio State on Jan. 27 and again against No. 21 Minnesota on Feb. 2, before earning a 49.000 at Illinois on Feb. 8.

- Michigan State set a new season-high of 49.200 on floor at Illinois on Feb. 2, the fourth time the Spartans have tallied 49.000 or better this season. It was the first 49.200 on floor since the Big Ten Quad meet on March 15, 2014.

SPECIALIST OF THE WEEK . . .
Junior Gabriella Douglas was named the Big Ten Conference Event Specialist of the Week after her performance Saturday, Feb. 2 at No. 21 Minnesota the league announced on Tuesday, Feb. 5.

The Toronto, Ontario native set a new career-high on the floor exercise against the Golden Gophers, earning a 9.900 to tie for first after posting two-straight weeks of 9.875 on the apparatus. It's the first-career Event Specialist of the Week honor for Douglas, and first Weekly Big Ten Honor for MSU since Shanthi Teike was named Co-Freshman of the Week on Feb. 22, 2010.

Douglas also set a new season-high on the balance beam, tallying a 9.875 to tie for third. She tied her career-high with a 9.800 on the vault, after setting a new mark twice this season.

Douglas is a two-time Big Ten Gymnast to Watch, earning the honor prior to the 2018-19 season and the 2017-18 season. She missed the entire season a year ago with a knee injury. Douglas is one of two captains for the Spartans this season, along with sophomore Lea Mitchell.

SCOUTING THE SCARLET KNIGHTS . . .
Rutgers is 2-8 overall and 1-3 in the Big Ten after last week's 196.050-195.825 win against No. 25 Penn State and is ranked No. 50 in the Road to Nationals standings.

Last week's win marked the second time in program history the Scarlet Knights reached 196 or better, posting a season-high on three events. Belle Huang tallied a career-high 39.300 in the all-around, helping Rutgers pull off the upset.

Rutgers is coached by Umme Salim-Beasley, who's in her first year at the helm after being hired as the eighth coach in program history in May. She was an assistant coach for the Scarlet Knights from 2012-15, before spending the last three seasons leading Temple. Each of the top 10 team scores in Temple history came under Salim-Beasley's watch.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ashley Beatty

Tristan Brown

Gabriella Douglas

Ashley Hofelich

Jessica Ling

Lea Mitchell

Alaina Raybon

Roya Shirley