Saturday, January 22
East Lansing, Mich.
7 PM
Michigan State University
196.350
vs
196.475
Iowa
No. 15 Michigan State Gymnastics Edged by No. 16 Iowa in Big Ten Opener
1/22/2022 9:46:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics
EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 15 Michigan State gymnastics was edged by No. 16 Iowa Saturday night at Jenison Field House in the 15th annual Jan Howard Breast Cancer Awareness pink meet, 196.475-196.350.
MSU suffered its first loss of the season, falling to 4-1 overall and 0-1 in Big Ten action, while the Hawkeyes improve to 3-0 this season and 1-0 in league play. Freshman Skyla Schulte captured her first collegiate all-around title with a score of 39.225.
"We're ecstatic with our result," Head Coach Mike Rowe said. "We know what we have to do back in the gym. You know, we can still improve. We can get more stuck landings, we can get tighter handstands, and we still have kids contributing that haven't cracked the lineup yet, so we got some fuel left in the tank to really do some big things. We're really excited for the future."
The Spartans started the meet on vault, winning the event with a score of 49.100. Freshman Gabi Stephen continued her stellar freshman campaign, earning an event-winning score of 9.950. Her personal-best score tied for third all-time on vault, matching current volunteer assistant coach Alina Cartwight, who scored 9.950 on three occasions, lastly on March 6, 2015 in a tri-meet. Freshman Lauren Hsu and senior Ashley Hofelich finished tied for fourth with scores of 9.800.
Michigan State took its success to bars, capturing the event with a team season-high score of 49.300, which is tied for fourth-best all-time. The last time MSU reached that mark was at the B1G Five Meet in 2018. The Spartans took the top four spots on bars with Schulte and sophomore Delanie Harkness tying for first with matching scores of 9.925. The 9.925 scores tied for fifth all-time, with teammate junior Jori Jackard being the last Spartan to earn the score, coming in 2020. Jackard finished third Saturday night with a score of 9.900, while senior Lea Mitchell finished fourth with a 9.825.
As the action turned to beam, the Spartans began to struggle slightly. Iowa captured the event with a score of 49.200. Marissa Rojas of Iowa won the event with a score of 9.925, while Spartan sophomore Baleigh Garcia took second with a score of 9.900. Garcia has scored at least a 9.900 on beam in all three meets this season.
The Hawkeyes secured the win with a slight edge on floor, defeating the Spartans, 49.350-49.325. Both teams had some stellar performances on floor with Iowa's Lauren Guerin winning the title with a 9.950. MSU senior Sydney Ewing set a new personal best with a 9.900, which was good for a tie for second with Hofelich and Iowa's Jerquavia Henderson. Stephen finished tied for fifth with a 9.875.
Schulte won the all-around with a 39.225, while Stephen was second with a 38.700.
"We compete better with better competitors," Rowe commented. "We know [Iowa] is always going to bring it and it raises the bar for us. I'm just thrilled with some of the event winners for us and where we placed on the podium. I'm excited about what we're doing, and this team has a lot of heart."
The Spartans now hit the road to take on in-state rival No. 1 Michigan on Sunday, Jan. 30 at 2 p.m. on ESPNU.
MSU suffered its first loss of the season, falling to 4-1 overall and 0-1 in Big Ten action, while the Hawkeyes improve to 3-0 this season and 1-0 in league play. Freshman Skyla Schulte captured her first collegiate all-around title with a score of 39.225.
"We're ecstatic with our result," Head Coach Mike Rowe said. "We know what we have to do back in the gym. You know, we can still improve. We can get more stuck landings, we can get tighter handstands, and we still have kids contributing that haven't cracked the lineup yet, so we got some fuel left in the tank to really do some big things. We're really excited for the future."
The Spartans started the meet on vault, winning the event with a score of 49.100. Freshman Gabi Stephen continued her stellar freshman campaign, earning an event-winning score of 9.950. Her personal-best score tied for third all-time on vault, matching current volunteer assistant coach Alina Cartwight, who scored 9.950 on three occasions, lastly on March 6, 2015 in a tri-meet. Freshman Lauren Hsu and senior Ashley Hofelich finished tied for fourth with scores of 9.800.
Michigan State took its success to bars, capturing the event with a team season-high score of 49.300, which is tied for fourth-best all-time. The last time MSU reached that mark was at the B1G Five Meet in 2018. The Spartans took the top four spots on bars with Schulte and sophomore Delanie Harkness tying for first with matching scores of 9.925. The 9.925 scores tied for fifth all-time, with teammate junior Jori Jackard being the last Spartan to earn the score, coming in 2020. Jackard finished third Saturday night with a score of 9.900, while senior Lea Mitchell finished fourth with a 9.825.
As the action turned to beam, the Spartans began to struggle slightly. Iowa captured the event with a score of 49.200. Marissa Rojas of Iowa won the event with a score of 9.925, while Spartan sophomore Baleigh Garcia took second with a score of 9.900. Garcia has scored at least a 9.900 on beam in all three meets this season.
The Hawkeyes secured the win with a slight edge on floor, defeating the Spartans, 49.350-49.325. Both teams had some stellar performances on floor with Iowa's Lauren Guerin winning the title with a 9.950. MSU senior Sydney Ewing set a new personal best with a 9.900, which was good for a tie for second with Hofelich and Iowa's Jerquavia Henderson. Stephen finished tied for fifth with a 9.875.
Schulte won the all-around with a 39.225, while Stephen was second with a 38.700.
"We compete better with better competitors," Rowe commented. "We know [Iowa] is always going to bring it and it raises the bar for us. I'm just thrilled with some of the event winners for us and where we placed on the podium. I'm excited about what we're doing, and this team has a lot of heart."
The Spartans now hit the road to take on in-state rival No. 1 Michigan on Sunday, Jan. 30 at 2 p.m. on ESPNU.
Players Mentioned
Vault, Bars, Floor
/ Women's Gymnastics
All-Around
/ Women's Gymnastics
All-Around
/ Women's Gymnastics
All-Around
/ Women's Gymnastics
All-Around
/ Women's Gymnastics
All-Around
/ Women's Gymnastics
All-Around
/ Women's Gymnastics
All-Around
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