Gymnastics Set For Elevate The Stage in Birmingham

Friday, March 8

Birmingham, Ala.

8:30 PM ET

Michigan State University

#20 Arkansas, #8 Georgia, #10 Minnesota

3/7/2019 2:57:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics

MEET NOTES (PDF)

The Spartans compete in their third of four podium meets this season on Friday.

A FULL ROTATION . . .
What you need to know about the Spartans
The Spartans travel to Birmingham, Alabama for a quad with No. 20 Arkansas, No. 8 Georgia and No. 10 Minnesota at 8 p.m. ET inside Legacy Arena. The meet will be streamed on FloGymnastics, with watch live and live results links available on msuspartans.com.

It will be the third of four podium meets for the Spartans, previously competing at the Collegiate Challenge and Big Five Meet, with the Big Ten Championships still to come in late March.

SPARTAN NOTES . . .
- Sophomore Lea Mitchell tallied a new career best all-around score of 39.350 to win her third title this season in the all-around at EMU on Mar. 1.

- Junior Gabriella Douglas has totaled six event wins this season after taking the floor (9.875) and the beam (9.825) titles at EMU on Mar. 1.

- Senior Roya Shirley posted a career-high of 9.875 on vault to tie for first at the Big Five meet on Feb. 22.

- Douglas set a new personal best on floor for third time this season with a 9.925 and tallied 9.775 on vault to earn first place in both events vs. Rutgers on Feb. 16.

- Freshman Sydney Ewing recorded her first career wins with personal bests on bars (9.850) and vault (9.775) vs. Rutgers on Feb. 16.

- Senior Molly Hoerner-O'Malley set a career-high 9.850 on beam to win her first event of the season vs. Rutgers on Feb. 16.

- Mitchell won her second all-around of the season with a 39.025 vs. Rutgers on Feb. 16.

- Mitchell set a new personal best (9.925) for the second time this season to tie for first on floor at Illinois on Feb. 8.

- Douglas tied for first, setting a new then-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.

- 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 Jessica Ling, who has recovered from three reconstructive surguries 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.

SEASON HIGHS . . .
- The Spartans posted a season-high 195.850 as a team against Eastern Michigan on March 1, topping the 195 mark for the third 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. MSU posted a new top score on the apparatus at the Big Five meet on Feb. 22, earning a 49.100.

- Michigan State set a new season-high of 49.200 on floor at Illinois on Feb. 2 and again vs. Rutgers on Feb. 16, the sixth time the Spartans have tallied 49.000 or better this season. At Illinois on Feb. 2 was the first 49.200 on floor for MSU since the Big Ten Quad meet on March 15, 2014.

ROAD TO NATIONALS . . .
MSU is currently ranked No. 39 in the week eight Road to Nationals standings, moving down two spots from last week's rankings.

The Spartans are No. 20 on the floor exercise, No. 29 on vault, No. 41 on bars and No. 53 on balance beam.

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION . . .
The Spartans are set to face three ranked teams at a quad meet for the second time this season after taking on No. 2 UCLA, No. 9 Cal and No. 14 UC Davis at the Collegiate Challenge in January.

No. 20 Arkansas is 1-7, but has faced a ranked opponent every week so far this season and boasts an average score of 195.767. The GymBacks are coming off a 197.225-196.350 defeat at the hands of No. 3 Florida last week. Sophomore Sophia Carter has earned three 9.95s on floor this season as the team's anchor.

No. 8 Georgia sits at 6-4 overall and 4-3 in the ultra-competitive Southeastern Conference. The GymDogs have an average score of 196.703 and high of 197.475 this season, and fell 197.900-196.325 at No. 4 LSU last week. Senior Sydney Snead is ranked eighth in the country in the all-around.

No. 10 Minnesota is 13-3 overall and in second place in the Big Ten conference at 8-1. The Gophers are averaging 196.281 this season and posted a 196.850 last time out in a win over Maryland. Sophomore Lexy Ramler is the reigning Big Ten Gymnast of the Week, the sixth time she has grabbed the honor so far this season.

QUOTABLE WITH COACH ROWE . . .
"We're looking forward to the challenge of facing three tough opponents Friday night in Arkansas, Georgia and Minnesota. The competitiveness and energy in Legacy Arena will be electric, and all the better for providing a perfect environment for great gymnastics! The Spartans are still improving weekly and this weekend the challenge is on."