Spartan Gymnastics Qualifies for 2022 NCAA Regionals

EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 12 Michigan State women's gymnastics is headed west next week for the start of the 2022 NCAA Championships, competing in the Seattle Regional bracket beginning on March 30. The Spartans qualify for Regionals as a team for the first time since 2016 and will be the No. 3 seed in their region.

NCAA Regionals occur over four regional sites, with four sessions of competition taking place over three days. The first round on Wednesday, March 30 will be a 'play-in' dual meet featuring San Jose State and Stanford, with the winner receiving a spot in the second session on Thursday. The second round begins on Thursday, March 31 and will feature Michigan State, Alabama, BYU and host Washington in the afternoon session beginning at 1 p.m. The evening session at 7 p.m. will include Utah, Illinois, Oregon State and the winner of Wednesday night's dual meet.

NCAA Regionals Bracket

The top two teams from each session advance to the regional finals on Saturday, April 2. From there, the top two teams out of Saturday's competition will qualify for nationals beginning on April 14 in Fort Worth, Texas.

"This whole season has been a huge turning point for us," Head Coach Mike Rowe commented. "We've been trying to turn things around for our program for the past couple of years, and it seems like we finally flipped the switch. We have a bunch of different contributors on our team, and our staff is holding by them immensely and has helped to keep the ball rolling. I think that's what this season has been all about, competing with ourselves and improving each time out."

Michigan State finished second overall at the Big Ten Championships on March 19 with a final score of 197.050, the highest score in program history achieved at a B1G Championship and their best finish since 2006. MSU's vault (49.250) and bars (49.300) scores were also Spartan program-best championship highs, scoring above the previous top scores set in 1997 and 1998, respectively. At the conclusion of the meet, Head Coach Mike Rowe was named the Big Ten Coach of the year, and newcomer Skyla Schulte was the B1G Freshman of the Year.

"We have a bundle of talent, passion, grit and enthusiasm," Rowe added. "This team is hungry for more every day. We're grateful for every moment we get to be in the gym, every time that we get to compete. We're just trying to make the best of every moment on this journey."

The Spartans hold a NQS of 197.165 and hold rankings among the top 20 in the nation on all four events, with the ninth and tenth best beam and floor averages in the nation, respectively.

Players Mentioned

Skyla Schulte

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