Michigan State University Athletics
Saturday, January 15
East Lansing, Mich.
7 PM
Michigan State University
vs
Tri-Meet with Bowling Green & Illinois State
Spartan Gymnastics Hosts Bowling Green and Illinois State for Home Opener
1/14/2022 12:36:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics
| MICHIGAN STATE (2-0, 0-0 B1G) Tri-Meet with Bowling Green (0-2, 0-0 MAC) & Illinois State (0-2, 0-0 MVC) | |
| DATE | Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022 |
| TIME | 7 p.m. ET |
| LOCATION | East Lansing, Mich. • Jenison Field House |
| VACCINE INFO | MSU Athletics Vaccination Policy for Spectators |
| TICKETS | MSU Tickets |
| STREAMING | Big Ten Network+ {WATCH LIVE} |
| RESULTS | Live Results |
| ROSTERS | Meet Flipcard |
| MEET NOTES | Michigan State | Bowling Green | Illinois State |
| SOCIAL MEDIA |  @MSU_gymnastics |  MichiganStateUniversityGymnastics |  @msu_gymnastics |
EAST LANSING, Mich. – No. 11 Michigan State gymnastics hosts Bowling Green and Illinois State in the Spartans' 2022 season home-opener inside Jenison Field House on Saturday, Jan. 15. Saturday marks the team's first home meet since January of 2021. Action gets underway in East Lansing at 7 p.m.
Fans are welcomed back to Spartan gymnastics meets under Michigan State's Vaccination Policy for Spectators.
After a successful season-opening meet at UC Davis, the Spartans find themselves tied for No. 11 in the country. Their meet score of 195.875 was the 11th-best score in the nation in week one, tied with Alabama and Utah State. The squad's vault and beam team scores were the No. 2 best in the Big Ten and ranked within the top 10 in the NCAA.
LAST TIME OUT
Michigan State is 2-0 after defeating UC Davis and Sacramento State in a tri-meet on Jan. 9. The Spartans placed first with a 195.875 while host UC Davis was second with a 195.625, followed by a final score of 190.925 posted by Sacramento State.
MSU won outright or shared the top spot in all four individual events and posted the two best all-around scores, led by sophomore Delanie Harkness with a 39.175. Freshman Skyla Schulte came in second overall with a 39.125.
The Spartans shared the top score on beam with UC Davis, as both teams had two gymnasts each score a 9.900. Michigan State had the best event score of any team in all but the beam apparatus.
RECORD-BREAKING NIGHT
Sunday's final score of 195.875 is the highest season-opening score in program history for the second year in a row, topping last season's first meet score of 195.775. It marks the best opening score under head coach Mike Rowe and ties the No. 24 spot on the MSU's overall team score list. The Spartans posted the third-highest team score in the Big Ten in week one (Michigan, 197.750; Iowa, 195.950).
Two Spartans either tied or set new career-best scores in the meet. Sophomore Baleigh Garcia, en route to sharing the beam title with a 9.900, tied her career-high, which also stands as the 24th all-time beam score for Michigan State. Delanie Harkness tied her career-best score also on beam with a 9.875, and led the Spartans with a 9.9 in the uneven bars event, another tie of her current record score.
FIRSTS FOR EVERYONE
Five different Spartans made their debut on Sunday. Sophomore Giana Kalefe competed on bars after being sidelined last season. Junior transfer Tori Loomis made an appearance on bars and beam, while freshmen Gabi Stephen, Skyla Schulte, and Lauren Hsu also competed in several events for MSU.
Kalefe won a share of the beam title with a 9.900, while Loomis finished fourth on bars, posting a 9.650. Hsu scored a 9.775 in the vault event, while Stephen competed all-around, finishing the meet with a 38.550.
SCHULTE NAMED B1G FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Michigan State gymnast Skyla Schulte was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week, the conference announced earlier this week.
In her debut meet with the Spartans, Schulte competed in the all-around, finishing second overall with a score of 39.125. She shared the vault title with MSU's Gabrielle Stephen, posting a score of 9.875. In addition, Schulte had the third-best score on the uneven bars with a 9.700 and placed 12th on beam.
The Bolingbrook, Illinois native tied for the fifth-best vault score in the conference and 16th in the nation after the opening weekend.
QUOTING COACH ROWE
"It's so exciting to have the opportunity to return to Jenison and our Spartan fans, as it's been almost an entire year since we competed here last. Our sophomores have only competed at home once before our season was cancelled. We would love to see a great turnout for these young ladies as they've got a lot to prove and have worked their tails off getting to this point.
Make sure you bring your vaccination cards or have proof of a negative COVID test 72 hours prior to meet time and everyone must wear a mask through the entire meet.
We are fortunate to have three of our Spartans previously out returning to practice. Lea Mitchell will be returning to our line-ups in a partial capacity after missing Sunday's meet. Nyah [Smith] and Naomi [German] will be back on track in the next week or so. Fortunately, we have some good depth this year which is permitting us to do adjustments here and there to help through the unpredictability of the adversities that all teams are facing these days."
SKYLA SCHULTE AND GABI STEPHEN NAMED BIG TEN GYMNASTS TO WATCH
Freshmen duo Skyla Schulte and Gabrielle Stephen were selected as Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch by the Big Ten earlier this week.
Schulte enters her first year of competition for Michigan State. She is a five-year Level 10 gymnast from Elgin, Illinois and was rated as a top-15 five-star recruit by College Gym News in 2020. Training with Phenom Gymnastics Club, Schulte garnered four career top-five finishes at the J.O. Level 10 National Championships. Both of her parents are alumni of Michigan State.
"Skyla's signature is displaying her strength as a natural, relentless competitor. Combined with her artistry and performance attributes, her infectious personality draws you in, validating her passion and love for Spartan gymnastics."
Stephen is a native of Elgin, Illinois and trained at the Midwest Elite Gymnastics Academy. She spent four years as a Level 10 gymnast and won six events at her two meets in 2020. She swept all five titles at the Circle of Stars in spring 2020 and earned a first-place spot on vault at the Midwest Elite Gymnastics Academy Spring Invitational.
"Gabi's power and explosiveness on the leg events along with her dynamic approach on all four events demonstrates she has what it takes to be a strong consistent all-arounder," Rowe said. "Gabi too will be a fan favorite and we are excited to see what both gymnasts want to prove this season and in seasons to come."
UP NEXT
The Spartans are back at home next weekend, hosting Iowa on Saturday, Jan. 22 at 7 p.m.
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