Spartan Gymnastics Hosts Eastern Michigan for Senior Day Saturday

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State gymnastics will host Eastern Michigan on Saturday, March 7 for Senior Day, with the meet slated to begin at 2 p.m. at Jenison Field House.

Following the meet, the Spartans will honor senior Gabriella Douglas for Senior Day festivities.

Fans can follow live on BTN+ with subscription and live results at http://sidearmstats.com/michstate/gymnastics/20200307.html. Final results will be posted on MSUSpartans.com.

SPARTAN NOTES ...
- Michigan State is ranked No. 28 in the nation, with a team NQS score of 195.710.
- MSU earned the No. 4 seed at the 2020 Big Ten Championships on Saturday, March 21 and will compete in the evening session with No. 5 Michigan, No. 11 Minnesota and No. 19 Nebraska.
- Junior Lea Mitchell won her sixth all-around title of the season on the road at No. 17 Iowa State on Feb. 28.
- The Spartans eclipsed the 49.000 mark on floor for the seventh time this season in Ames.
- The Spartans earned seven podium finishes on the road in Ames, with Gabriella Douglas, Lea Mitchell and Nyah Smith representing the Green and White.
- MSU reached its season-best team road score at the Big Five - Elevate the Stage meet, tallying a 195.975.
- 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 their program-best floor score of 49.475, which was last reached at the 2017 Big Ten Championships.

LAST TIME OUT ...
Michigan State was stopped on the road in Ames, Iowa by No. 17 Iowa State on Feb. 28 in a top-25 match up. The Cyclones won the dual by a score of 196.225-194.175.

Gabriella Douglas, Lea Mitchell and Nyah Smith all made the podium in the non-conference dual on the road.

Douglas won her fourth beam title of the season, posting a 9.875 to earn top gymnast on balance beam. Douglas also tied for second on vault with Smith, posting matching scores of 9.825.

Mitchell earned her sixth all-around title of the season, posting a score of 39.225. Mitchell placed second on beam and third on bars with scores of 9.850.

This was the Spartans' seventh time eclipsing the 49.000 mark on floor exercise this season and fourth time on the road.

SPARTANS EARN FOUR SEED AT B1G CHAMPIONSHIPS . . .
Michigan State will be the No. 4-seed in the evening session of the Big Ten Championships on Saturday, March 21 in Columbus, Ohio.

After a four-way tie for fourth place, with the Spartans, Illinois, Ohio State and Penn State all standing at 4-5-0 against conference opponents following the Big Five meet, Michigan State won the tiebreaker to earn the four seed at the Championships next month.

MSU won the head-to-head among the three other teams as the Spartans defeated Ohio State on Jan. 18 and Illinois on Feb. 16.

The evening session is slated to begin at 5:30 p.m. on March 1. No. 1-seed Michigan will begin on bars, No. 2-seed Minnesota on vault, No. 3-seed Nebraska on beam and Michigan State will start on floor exercise.

SCOUTING EASTERN MICHIGAN . . .
Last time out, Eastern Michigan defeated Air Force, 194.700-192.575, on Feb. 29 in Colorado, to snap a four-meet losing streak.

Junior Jada Rondeau ranks in the top-10 in the MAC in all-around (third), on bars (third), and beam (tied for fourth). Rondeau is ranked 37th nationally in all-around.

Former Spartan assistant coach (2006-11) Katie Minasola is in her thrid season at the helm of the Eagles gymnastics program after a five-year stint as an assistant at Iowa State.

LAST TIME OUT VS. THE EAGLES . . .
MSU holds a 3-1 record over the in-state rival Eastern Michigan since 2010. The Spartans defeated the Eagles in Ypsilanti by a score of 195.850-194.650 in the last meeting on March 1, 2019.

LEAVING IT ALL ON THE FLOOR . . .
The Spartan floor squad continues to shine as they are ranked 22nd in the nation and 5th in the conference, with an NQS of 49.110.

Douglas, Mitchell and 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 24th in the nation and 5th in the conference, with a NQS of 48.980.

Douglas ranks fifth in the Big Ten, with a 9.875. 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. Most recently, she earned top gymnast honors on beam with a 9.875 in the Spartans' non-conference dual at No. 17 Iowa State.

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.

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 on Feb. 18.

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

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

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.

MSU's win over No. 23 Illinois on Feb. 16, 196.150-195.775, marked the Spartans' first win over a top-25 team this season. MSU finished one spot above No. 24 Maryland last weekend at the Big Five meet.

UP NEXT . . .
Michigan State gymnastics concludes the regular season next weekend in a tri-meet with Kent State and Eastern Michigan in Kent, Ohio on Friday, March 13 at 7 p.m.

Spartan Gymnastics Hosts Eastern Michigan for Senior Day Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Chloe Bellmore

Gabriella Douglas

Jori Jackard

Lea Mitchell

Nyah Smith

Hailee Westney