MSU Gymnastics Set for B1G Fives at Elevate the Stage in Toledo

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State gymnastics will compete at the Big Five - Elevate the Stage meet on Saturday, Feb. 22 at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio. The Spartans will take the stage with No. 24 Maryland, No. 7 Minnesota, No. 9 Michigan and Penn State.

All 10 conference teams compete for regular season title at the annual Big Five Meets, which will be hosted by Elevate the Stage.

The event will span over Friday and Saturday evening, with competition beginning at 7 p.m. each day.

Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio State and Rutgers will compete on Friday, while Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota and Penn State will compete on Saturday evening.

Fans can follow live on FloGymnastics with subscription and live results at http://bit.ly/3bPFe06. Final results will be posted on MSUSpartans.com.

SPARTAN NOTES ...
- Michigan State won its third Big Ten dual of the season against No. 23 Illinois on Feb. 16. MSU is now tied for third in the Big Ten standings with two other teams standing at 3-2.

- Junior Lea Mitchell won her fifth all-around title of the season and third-consecutive title, posting a score of 39.300 against No. 23 Illinois.

- Freshman Jori Jackard continues to show her dominance as an uneven bars specialist, as she posted her fifth-consecutive 9.800 or higher at Rutgers and second score of 9.900-plus with a 9.925 against the Fighting Illini for her third bars title of the season.

- MSU reached its second-best team score of 196.150, which is the second time the Spartans have eclipsed the 196.00-plus mark this season.

- The Spartans earned a season-high on bars with a stellar score of 49.125, which was the third time this season that MSU topped the 49.000 mark. The season-best score is the highest by the Spartans since the team scored a 49.300 at the Big Five meet on March 17, 2018.

- The Spartans' season-best team score of 196.550 on Jan. 26 was the fifth-best score in program history. The mark was led by the Spartans tying its program-best floor score of 49.475 which was last reached at the 2017 Big Ten Championships.

LAST TIME OUT ...
Michigan State reached its second-best team score of the season against No. 23 Illinois on Feb. 17, tallying a 196.150.

MSU also scored above 49.000 on floor for the fifth time this season. The Spartan floor squad was led by five scores of 9.800 or higher.

The Spartans won or earned a share of three event titles, led by Mitchell who won the all-around with a score of 39.300.

Freshman Jori Jackard earned the bars title outright with a 9.925, while sophomore Alaina Raybon earned a career-best 9.900 for second place.

On floor exercise, there was a three-way tie for first, with sophomore Ashley Hofelich and Mitchell tying for top honors on floor with Illinois' Arayah Simmons. All three gymnasts posted scores of 9.850.

JACKARD NAMED B1G EVENT SPECIALIST OF THE WEEK . . .
Jackard was named the Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week after her performance on Sunday, Feb. 16 against No. 23 Illinois, the conference announced Tuesday.

The Haslett, Michigan native set a new career-high on the uneven bars against the Fighting Illini, earning a 9.925 to capture the event title outright for her third bars title of the season. Jackard's mark tied for the fifth-best individual bars score in program history and highest since the 2018 season when Hailee Westney also captured a 9.925 at the Big Five meet on March 17.

Jackard has posted five-consecutive scores of 9.800 or higher and earned two scores of 9.900 or better during her freshman campaign on the uneven bars.

Jackard is the first Big Ten freshman to be awarded Event Specialist of the Week this season.

LEAVING IT ALL ON THE FLOOR . . .
The Spartan floor squad continues to shine as they are ranked 19th in the nation and third in the conference, averaging a 49.089.

Gabriella Douglas, Lea Mitchell and Ashley Hofelich have been the most consistent Spartans on floor, with all three posting at least one score of 9.900 or higher. Together, the trio has combined for nine floor exercise event titles.

SPARTANS REIGN ON BEAM . . .
Michigan State ranks 15th in the nation and third in the conference, averaging a score of 48.975.

Douglas ranks seventh in the Big Ten, averaging a 9.854. She captured a career-best 9.950 in a tri-meet with Central Michigan and Illinois State on Jan. 11 to tie for the second-best individual beam score in program history.

ROOKIES IN THE LINEUP . . .
Three freshmen have become fixtures in the Spartan rotation this season, including Chloe Bellmore (DeWitt, Mich.) on vault, beam and floor, Jori Jackard (Haslett, Mich.) on bars and Nyah Smith (West Bloomfield, Mich.) in the all-around competition.

O CAPTAINS! OUR CAPTAINS! . . .
Senior Gabriella Douglas and junior Lea Mitchell will serve as the co-captains for the 2020 season.

Douglas and Mitchell are serving as co-captains for the second-straight season. The duo were both named to the All-Big Ten Second Team and gathered Big Ten All-Championships Team accolades in 2019. Also, the co-captains both competed at the NCAA Regionals in Baton Rouge, Louisiana last season.

SCOUTING THE B1G FIVE COMPETITION . . .
No. 7 Minnesota and No. 9 Michigan stand atop the Big Ten standings with both teams remaining undefeated in conference meets. The Golden Gophers and Wolverines are averaging over a 196.800.

The Wolverines are ranked first in the Big Ten on vault, bars and floor while Minnesota tops the beam conference standings.

No. 24 Maryland holds a season-high score of 196.150, while Penn State sits just outside the top-25 at number 29.

LAST TIME OUT AT B1G FIVES . . .
Last season, the Spartans faced Iowa, No. 15 Nebraska, Maryland and Penn State at the Big Five Meet. Iowa won the meet with a 196.450 while the Spartans finished fifth with a 194.625.

TANGLING WITH RANKED OPPONENTS . . .
The Spartans face a strong competition field this season as seven 2020 opponents are currently ranked in the top-25 of the Road to Nationals poll.

Last week's meet with No. 23 Illinois marked the Spartans' second ranked opponent of the season and first win over a top-25 team this season.

This week, the Spartans will face three ranked opponents in the Saturday session of Elevate the Stage, including two top-10 teams in No. 7 Minnesota and No. 9 Michigan.

UP NEXT . . .
Michigan State gymnastics continues its match ups with ranked opponents as the team travels to Ames, Iowa for a non-conference dual meet with No. 17 Iowa State on Friday, Feb. 28 at 8:30 p.m. ET.

MSU Gymnastics Set for B1G Fives at Elevate the Stage in Toledo

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Chloe Bellmore

Gabriella Douglas

Ashley Hofelich

Jori Jackard

Lea Mitchell

Alaina Raybon

Nyah Smith

Hailee Westney