Saturday, February 19
Toledo, Ohio
7 PM
Michigan State University
196.975
vs
196.500
Minnesota
Spartans Post Season-High Road Score in Big Five Victory
2/19/2022 11:20:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics
TOLEDO, Ohio – No. 14 Michigan State gymnastics took first place at the Saturday Session of the Big Five Meet hosted by Elevate the Stage on Saturday night in Toledo, Ohio, posting a season-best road score of 196.975. With the victory in the second night of the two-part Big Five meet, the Spartans now sit at second-place overall in the Big Ten standings.
MSU posted its second-highest score of the season and the third-best in program history to take home the win. The Spartans tallied a 49.200 on vault, 49.000 on bars, 49.300 on beam and a road-best score of 49.475 on floor en route to the victory.
"We're just so thrilled with how we're progressing," MSU head coach Mike Rowe said. "It was a good field of competition and a lot was expected of every team. Everybody had a foot in it, everyone had good things going on. Our goal was to do our best and see what happens. It's the same philosophy for us every meet: 'one at a time.' We're just going to keep working hard and see that it pays off. That's all we can ask for."
No. 36 Nebraska came in second place with a final score of 196.750. No. 6 Minnesota took third with a 196.500. Penn State placed fourth, scoring a 196.125, and Rutgers rounded things out with a fifth-place 195.475.
No. 1 Michigan took first place Friday night with a 197.950, and clinched the Big Ten regular season title. No. 22 Ohio State finished in second with a 196.900, followed by No. 26 Illinois (196.375), No. 17 Iowa (196.225), and No. 39 Maryland (195.725).
Spartan freshman Gabrielle Stephen placed second in the all-around competition, tallying a career-high 39.475. Stephen scored two 9.900s on the night and earned a spot on the podium in two events. Fellow freshman Skyla Schulte took third with a 38.450. Minnesota's Lexy Ramler won the all-around with a score of 39.575.
The Spartans followed a home-team rotation order and got things started on vault. Stephen led the pack and tied for second overall with a 9.875 in the anchor spot. Schulte and fellow freshman Lauren Hsu each scored a 9.850, Hsu setting a new career-best score for the event. Baleigh Garcia placed seventh overall with a score of 9.825, while Alyssa Wiedeman rounded out MSU's top-five with a 9.800.
Moving on to bars, Stephen led off with a 9.800, tying her career-best score. Garcia followed up with a 9.750, while Lea Mitchell tied her season-best score and finished tied for second on the podium with a 9.875. Jori Jackard put up a 9.700, and Schulte added to her all-around score with a 9.750. Delanie Harkness anchored with a 9.825.
Starting out beam with a bang, Wiedeman posted a career-best 9.875. Close behind was Giana Kalefe with a 9.850. Stephen picked up MSU's first 9.900 score of the night with her beam routine, tying for third overall. Mitchell finished with a 9.850, and Garcia scored a 9.825.
After a bye during the fourth rotation for the Green & White, the squad finished up the meet with big numbers on floor for the grand finale. Sydney Ewing led off in her first event of the night, totaling a 9.750. With the second Spartan 9.900 of the night, Stephen kicked off a streak of high-scoring routines to help MSU seal the win. Mitchell posted a 9.850, while Harkness and Schulte followed it up with a pair of 9.900s. With the highest score of the night for Michigan State, senior Ashley Hofelich posted a 9.925 to tie her career-best and earn her fifth-straight 9.925 on floor this season. She landed in a tie for second overall with Ona Loper and Halle Remlinger of Minnesota.
The Spartans return to Ohio next Saturday, February 26 for a dual meet with Ohio State. Competition is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. inside the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio.
MSU posted its second-highest score of the season and the third-best in program history to take home the win. The Spartans tallied a 49.200 on vault, 49.000 on bars, 49.300 on beam and a road-best score of 49.475 on floor en route to the victory.
"We're just so thrilled with how we're progressing," MSU head coach Mike Rowe said. "It was a good field of competition and a lot was expected of every team. Everybody had a foot in it, everyone had good things going on. Our goal was to do our best and see what happens. It's the same philosophy for us every meet: 'one at a time.' We're just going to keep working hard and see that it pays off. That's all we can ask for."
No. 36 Nebraska came in second place with a final score of 196.750. No. 6 Minnesota took third with a 196.500. Penn State placed fourth, scoring a 196.125, and Rutgers rounded things out with a fifth-place 195.475.
No. 1 Michigan took first place Friday night with a 197.950, and clinched the Big Ten regular season title. No. 22 Ohio State finished in second with a 196.900, followed by No. 26 Illinois (196.375), No. 17 Iowa (196.225), and No. 39 Maryland (195.725).
Spartan freshman Gabrielle Stephen placed second in the all-around competition, tallying a career-high 39.475. Stephen scored two 9.900s on the night and earned a spot on the podium in two events. Fellow freshman Skyla Schulte took third with a 38.450. Minnesota's Lexy Ramler won the all-around with a score of 39.575.
The Spartans followed a home-team rotation order and got things started on vault. Stephen led the pack and tied for second overall with a 9.875 in the anchor spot. Schulte and fellow freshman Lauren Hsu each scored a 9.850, Hsu setting a new career-best score for the event. Baleigh Garcia placed seventh overall with a score of 9.825, while Alyssa Wiedeman rounded out MSU's top-five with a 9.800.
Moving on to bars, Stephen led off with a 9.800, tying her career-best score. Garcia followed up with a 9.750, while Lea Mitchell tied her season-best score and finished tied for second on the podium with a 9.875. Jori Jackard put up a 9.700, and Schulte added to her all-around score with a 9.750. Delanie Harkness anchored with a 9.825.
Starting out beam with a bang, Wiedeman posted a career-best 9.875. Close behind was Giana Kalefe with a 9.850. Stephen picked up MSU's first 9.900 score of the night with her beam routine, tying for third overall. Mitchell finished with a 9.850, and Garcia scored a 9.825.
After a bye during the fourth rotation for the Green & White, the squad finished up the meet with big numbers on floor for the grand finale. Sydney Ewing led off in her first event of the night, totaling a 9.750. With the second Spartan 9.900 of the night, Stephen kicked off a streak of high-scoring routines to help MSU seal the win. Mitchell posted a 9.850, while Harkness and Schulte followed it up with a pair of 9.900s. With the highest score of the night for Michigan State, senior Ashley Hofelich posted a 9.925 to tie her career-best and earn her fifth-straight 9.925 on floor this season. She landed in a tie for second overall with Ona Loper and Halle Remlinger of Minnesota.
The Spartans return to Ohio next Saturday, February 26 for a dual meet with Ohio State. Competition is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. inside the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio.
Players Mentioned
Vault, Bars, Floor
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