Friday, March 11
Lexington, Ky.
Michigan State University
at
Kentucky
Spartan Gymnastics Travels to Kentucky for Regular-Season Finale
3/10/2022 11:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
| MICHIGAN STATE (13-3, 6-3 B1G) Dual Meet at Kentucky (7-3, 4-3 SEC) | |
| DATE | Friday, March 11, 2022 |
| TIME | 7 p.m. ET |
| LOCATION | Lexington, Kentucky • Memorial Coliseum |
| TICKETS | Tickets |
| STREAMING | SEC+ |
| ROSTERS | Michigan State | Kentucky |
| RESULTS | Live Results |
| MEET NOTES | Michigan State | Kentucky |
| SOCIAL MEDIA |  @MSU_gymnastics |  MichiganStateUniversityGymnastics |  @msu_gymnastics |
EAST LANSING, Mich. – No. 12 Michigan State gymnastics wraps up the regular season by heading to Lexington, Kentucky for a non-conference dual meet at No. 9 Kentucky on Friday, March 11. The Spartans take on the Wildcats inside Memorial Coliseum beginning at 7 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
Michigan State won 197.575-196.725 over Western Michigan on Saturday night as the team honored its graduating seniors in the final home meet of the season.
The Spartans celebrated five special seniors following the meet in Sydney Ewing, Ashley Hofelich, Lea Mitchell, Alaina Raybon and Alyssa Wiedeman.
The team's final score broke the previous all-time high of 197.425 set earlier this season.
Michigan State won at least a share of all four events along with all-around, placing at least one gymnast on top of the podium on vault, bars, beam and floor. Freshman Skyla Schulte broke the MSU all-around record with a 39.675, scoring a 9.950 on both beam and floor. Four Spartans put up scores of 9.925 or higher on floor, capped off by a program-best 9.975 by Ashley Hofelich. Junior Nyah Smith posted a career-high 9.925 with her routine, while Delanie Harkness tied her career-best with an identical score.
The Spartans put up the third-best team score in the conference this weekend and hold a National Qualifying score of 196.980 looking ahead to the postseason.
SOARING TO RECORD HEIGHTS
The Spartans continue to improve as the season goes on, putting up program-high scores both individually and as a team on Saturday against Western Michigan.
Michigan State's final score of 197.575 broke the school record set earlier this season when the team earned a 197.425 at home against Illinois on Feb. 13. The record was secured by another school high when the Spartans ended the meet with a 49.675 on floor. The previous school record was 49.575, also set at the Illinois meet.
A total of nine scores of 9.900 or higher were achieved by six different Spartans on the night. Freshman Skyla Schulte put up career-high numbers on vault, beam, and floor, her score of 9.950 on both beam and floor tying for second-highest in MSU history, finishing with her program all-around record.
Senior Ashley Hofelich capped off an impressive six-straight meets with a floor score of 9.925 with a new career-high, scoring a 9.975 from her routine. She received a perfect 10.0 from one of two judges and tied for the all-time best Spartan floor score. Sophomore Delanie Harkness notched a new career-high on the uneven bars with a 9.950, tying for the second-highest program bar score.
SCHULTE RECIEVES FRESHMAN, GYMNAST OF THE WEEK HONORS
For the second-straight week and the fourth time in her Spartan career, Michigan State gymnast Skyla Schulte was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week by the Big Ten conference on March 7. She also received her first Gymnast of the Week nod, in a three-way tie with Michigan's Natalie Wojcik and Minnesota's Ona Loper.
It was the first Gymnast of the Week nod for the Spartans since Rhiannon Banda-Scott received the honor on March 11, 2008.
On Saturday against Western Michigan, Schulte broke the Michigan State all-around record when she wrapped up the meet with a final score of 39.675 over four events. Schulte bested then-senior Kristen Coleman's all-around record of 39.625 set in 2007, also against Western Michigan. En route to her fourth all-around title of the season, Schulte also won or shared the crown on two individual events, boasting new career-highs on vault, beam and floor.
After earning the vault title with a career-best score of 9.900, Schulte earned two-straight scores of 9.950 in the final two events of the night. Her beam performance tied for first-place with Western Michigan's Amanda Gruber, and was a personal best for Schulte on the apparatus. The score also ties for the second-highest beam score in MSU history. Schulte's floor routine earned her a 9.950 score and a spot at second place overall. The mark was another personal best and tied for the fifth-highest floor score in program history.
The Spartans have collectively earned six Freshman of the Week accolades this season with Schulte earning four nods, while fellow first-year Gabrielle Stephen has received the award three times. Both were also named Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch prior to the start of the season. The pair are currently ranked 25th and 31st, respectively, in the nation all-around.
QUOTING COACH ROWE
"We are excited to get on the road to Lexington on Thursday to compete against our only SEC opponent, No. 9 Kentucky. The Wildcats traditionally has a very strong program, and this year has proven to be one of their best. I am a firm believer that the Spartans have taken these types of opportunities on the road to rise to the occasion and bring their best gymnastics.
We have had a productive week in the gym, focusing on consistency as usual, whether it be on performance quality or stuck landings. These next two weeks on the road for us are still great opportunities to replace a couple of lower road scores that would help our NQS for post-season qualification and placement."
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
No. 9 Kentucky is ranked fifth in the SEC with a 7-3 overall record to go along with a 4-3 mark in conference competition. They are led by head coach Tim Garrison, in his 11th season at the helm of Kentucky gymnastics. The Wildcats finished the 2021 season ranked No. 11 in the national standings.
The Wildcats pulled off a big upset this weekend as they defeated No. 5 LSU in Baton Rouge on Friday, March 4. Kentucky tied for its fourth-highest overall score, posting a 197.500 to LSU's 197.450. En route to the victory, the Wildcats also broke their all-time uneven bars record, posting a team score of 49.475. UK ranks eighth in the country on the uneven bars, while senior Raena Worley leads the Wildcats in the all-around, ranking third in the country with an average score of 39.659.
UP NEXT
With a third-place spot secured in the Big Ten standings, MSU will compete in the night session of the Big Ten Championships next weekend along with Michigan, Ohio State and Minnesota. The conference championships begin on Saturday, March 19 at 5:30 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio and will air live on the Big Ten Network.
Players Mentioned
Vault, Bars, Floor
/ Women's Gymnastics
All-Around
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All-Around
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