Michigan State University Athletics
MSU Gymnastics’ Mike Rowe Earns Coach of the Year Award, Schulte Named B1G Freshman of the Year
3/19/2022 7:50:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State gymnastics head coach Mike Rowe was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year, while first-year Skyla Schulte received the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award during the awards ceremony following Saturday's B1G Championships.
Rowe earns his first Big Ten Coach of the Year award and is the fifth in Michigan State history, with Schulte becoming the third MSU gymnast all-time to earn Freshman of the Year honors.
Schulte hails from Bolingbrook, Illinois and earns the Freshman of the Year award on the heels of being named First Team All-Big Ten on Tuesday. Through the course of the regular season, Schulte was a five-time B1G Freshman of the Week and a Gymnast of the Week, while also being named a 2022 Gymnast to Watch prior to the start of the season. She has earned career-highs of 9.950 on bars, beam, and floor, with a personal-best 9.900 scored on vault.
"Skyla came to Michigan State with many accolades from her DP gymnastics career, including being the 2021 USAG Level 10 beam, floor and all-around champion," Rowe commented. "Her standards, work ethic, competitiveness, enthusiasm and leadership hasn't faltered or changed once. She's possibly become even more focused, detailed and performance-driven as the season goes on!"
In her rookie season with the Green & White, Schulte has amassed four all-around titles and a team-high nine individual event crowns, including three wins each on bars and beam, two on vault and one on floor. Competing all-around in ten meets this season, Schulte owns a NQS of 39.420 and is the ninth-best all-arounder in the conference.
Schulte exploded for a record-setting night on March 5 against Western Michigan. She won the vault and beam titles with career-high scores of 9.900 and 9.950, while finishing second overall on floor with another personal-best 9.950. Her all-around score of 39.675 broke MSU's previous top score, a 39.625, set by Kristen Coleman in 2004.
The freshman holds the top and third-highest all-around scores in Michigan State history, as well as a tie for the second-highest beam score (9.950) and third-highest bars score (9.950).
"I believe Skyla has successfully acclimated to collegiate gymnastics, our changing culture, and her role within our program, and continues to crave more," Rowe added. "All of this has played a significant part in her success, and we are so proud and excited to hear that the Big Ten coaches agree and have voted Skyla as Freshman of the Year!"
After competing in just two meets in 2021, Coach Rowe led Michigan State to a 13-4 overall record this season and a third-place finish in the B1G regular season standings.
In Saturday night's Big Ten Championships, the Spartans took second place overall with a 197.050, the highest score achieved at the B1G Championships in program history. MSU's vault (49.250) and bars (49.300) scores were also all-time championship highs. Freshman Schulte took fifth overall in the all-around with a 39.500, while fellow first-year Gabrielle Stephen tied for third on vault with a 9.900. A total of six Spartans finished within the top-ten over the four individual events.
Michigan State peaked at a ranking of No. 10 nationally, the highest national ranking in Spartan gymnastics history, and have been holding steady at the No. 12 spot for the past three weeks. The team ranks sixth in the nation and first in the conference on beam, ninth on floor, 17th on bars and 19th on vault.
The Spartans set program-bests on bars (49.500), beam (49.500) and floor (49.675) this season, and twice set the new all-time best team score, first against Illinois on Feb. 13 (197.425) and again on March 5 against Western Michigan (197.575). In addition, the all-around record was broken by Skyla Schulte, and the top individual score in MSU history on floor, a 9.975, was achieved for the first time since 2003 by senior Ashley Hofelich.
A record-high six MSU gymnasts were named All-Big Ten at the conclusion of the regular season, with freshmen Schulte and Gabrielle Stephen receiving first-team honors while sophomores Baleigh Garcia, Delanie Harkness, Giana Kalefe and senior Ashley Hofelich all earned second-team nods.
"It's hard to put into words," Rowe commented on his Coach of the Year honor. "I rely on my staff entirely. I used to have a really hard time delegating, and now I just unload so much on them and they're always ready to step up and do more. They're great technicians when it comes to the sport. We just have the ultimate coaching package with coach Nicole [Jones] and Whitney [Snowden] and Alina [Carwright], and I wouldn't have it any other way. It just feels like the cherry on top of a great Big Ten season."
MSU will now await its NCAA Regional placement, with NCAA announcements coming during the 2022 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Selection Show on March 22 at noon.
Rowe earns his first Big Ten Coach of the Year award and is the fifth in Michigan State history, with Schulte becoming the third MSU gymnast all-time to earn Freshman of the Year honors.
Schulte hails from Bolingbrook, Illinois and earns the Freshman of the Year award on the heels of being named First Team All-Big Ten on Tuesday. Through the course of the regular season, Schulte was a five-time B1G Freshman of the Week and a Gymnast of the Week, while also being named a 2022 Gymnast to Watch prior to the start of the season. She has earned career-highs of 9.950 on bars, beam, and floor, with a personal-best 9.900 scored on vault.
"Skyla came to Michigan State with many accolades from her DP gymnastics career, including being the 2021 USAG Level 10 beam, floor and all-around champion," Rowe commented. "Her standards, work ethic, competitiveness, enthusiasm and leadership hasn't faltered or changed once. She's possibly become even more focused, detailed and performance-driven as the season goes on!"
In her rookie season with the Green & White, Schulte has amassed four all-around titles and a team-high nine individual event crowns, including three wins each on bars and beam, two on vault and one on floor. Competing all-around in ten meets this season, Schulte owns a NQS of 39.420 and is the ninth-best all-arounder in the conference.
Schulte exploded for a record-setting night on March 5 against Western Michigan. She won the vault and beam titles with career-high scores of 9.900 and 9.950, while finishing second overall on floor with another personal-best 9.950. Her all-around score of 39.675 broke MSU's previous top score, a 39.625, set by Kristen Coleman in 2004.
The freshman holds the top and third-highest all-around scores in Michigan State history, as well as a tie for the second-highest beam score (9.950) and third-highest bars score (9.950).
"I believe Skyla has successfully acclimated to collegiate gymnastics, our changing culture, and her role within our program, and continues to crave more," Rowe added. "All of this has played a significant part in her success, and we are so proud and excited to hear that the Big Ten coaches agree and have voted Skyla as Freshman of the Year!"
After competing in just two meets in 2021, Coach Rowe led Michigan State to a 13-4 overall record this season and a third-place finish in the B1G regular season standings.
In Saturday night's Big Ten Championships, the Spartans took second place overall with a 197.050, the highest score achieved at the B1G Championships in program history. MSU's vault (49.250) and bars (49.300) scores were also all-time championship highs. Freshman Schulte took fifth overall in the all-around with a 39.500, while fellow first-year Gabrielle Stephen tied for third on vault with a 9.900. A total of six Spartans finished within the top-ten over the four individual events.
Michigan State peaked at a ranking of No. 10 nationally, the highest national ranking in Spartan gymnastics history, and have been holding steady at the No. 12 spot for the past three weeks. The team ranks sixth in the nation and first in the conference on beam, ninth on floor, 17th on bars and 19th on vault.
The Spartans set program-bests on bars (49.500), beam (49.500) and floor (49.675) this season, and twice set the new all-time best team score, first against Illinois on Feb. 13 (197.425) and again on March 5 against Western Michigan (197.575). In addition, the all-around record was broken by Skyla Schulte, and the top individual score in MSU history on floor, a 9.975, was achieved for the first time since 2003 by senior Ashley Hofelich.
A record-high six MSU gymnasts were named All-Big Ten at the conclusion of the regular season, with freshmen Schulte and Gabrielle Stephen receiving first-team honors while sophomores Baleigh Garcia, Delanie Harkness, Giana Kalefe and senior Ashley Hofelich all earned second-team nods.
"It's hard to put into words," Rowe commented on his Coach of the Year honor. "I rely on my staff entirely. I used to have a really hard time delegating, and now I just unload so much on them and they're always ready to step up and do more. They're great technicians when it comes to the sport. We just have the ultimate coaching package with coach Nicole [Jones] and Whitney [Snowden] and Alina [Carwright], and I wouldn't have it any other way. It just feels like the cherry on top of a great Big Ten season."
MSU will now await its NCAA Regional placement, with NCAA announcements coming during the 2022 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Selection Show on March 22 at noon.
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