Spartan Gymnastics Begins Competition at NCAA Regionals Thursday

MICHIGAN STATE at 2022 NCAA Regionals Second Round - Afternoon Session with Alabama, BYU and Washington

DATE	Thursday, March 31 2022
TIME	4 p.m. ET
LOCATION	Seattle, Washington • Alaska Airlines Arena
TICKETS	Tickets
TELEVISION	ESPN+
ROSTERS	Michigan State \| Washington \| Alabama \| BYU
RESULTS	Live Results
MEET NOTES	Michigan State
SOCIAL MEDIA	@MSU_gymnastics \| MichiganStateUniversityGymnastics \| @msu_gymnastics

EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 12 Michigan State gymnastics is headed to its first appearance at NCAA Regionals as a team since 2016 this week. The Spartans received a bid to the West Regionals in Seattle, Washington and are the No. 3-seed in their bracket behind Utah and Alabama.

NCAA Regionals occur over four regional sites, with four sessions of competition taking place over three days. Competition begins on Wednesday, March 30 with 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 4 p.m. ET. The evening session at 10 p.m. ET will include Utah, Illinois, Oregon State and the winner of Wednesday night's dual meet.

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.

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
The Spartans will compete alongside No. 5 Alabama, No. 21 BYU and No. 25 Washington in Session I of the NCAA Regionals on Thursday.

Alabama took second at the SEC Championships on March 19 behind No. 2 Florida, and finished the season with a NQS of 197.790 to earn the second-highest seed in the Seattle regionals. The Crimson Tide saw four gymnasts named both All-SEC and All-American, led by junior Luisa Blanco, who ranks eighth in the nation on the uneven bars and ninth on beam. Fifth-year Lexi Graber rounds out the team's ranking with the 12th-highest score nationally on floor.

No. 21 BYU boasts national rankings of 17th on beam, 18th on floor, 23rd on bars and 25th on vault, with a NQS of 196.460. Their high-ranking beam game was aided by junior All-American Elease Rollins, while senior all-around gymnast Sadie Miner-Van Tassell earned All-American honors as the 12th-ranked all-arounder in the nation.

Host school Washington is also a standout on the beam, ranking 15th in the nation behind All-PAC 12 Beam Team star and freshman Skylar Killough-Wilhelm. As the only all-arounder for the Huskies, Killough-Wilhelm was also a PAC-12 All-Around honorable mention. Washington rounds out the top 25 teams with a NQS of 196.550.

Session II features No. 4 Utah, No. 13 Oregon State, Illinois and the winner of Wednesday's Stanford/San Jose State dual. The top two teams from each session will advance to the regional finals on Saturday.

SPARTANS PLACE SECOND AT B1G CHAMPIONSHIPS
Michigan State finished second overall at the Big Ten Championships on March 19, posting their highest championship score in program history with a 197.050.

MSU's second-place finish was the team's best performance in the Big Ten Championships since 2006's second-place showing. The conference championships were hosted by the Spartans that year, with MSU earning a team score of 194.975.

The Spartans' total score was the highest team score in a B1G Championship meet in program history, dethroning the previous all-time high of 196.025 set at 2004's championships. It was MSU's fourth score of 197.000 or higher this season and the fourth-best in team history.

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.

Freshman standout Skyla Schulte took fifth overall in the all-around with a final score of 39.500, the third-highest all-around score of her Spartan career. The current MSU all-around record holder scored a 9.875 on vault and bars, a 9.850 on beam and a 9.900 on her floor routine to secure the fifth-place showing.

Freshman Gabrielle Stephen tied for sixth overall on vault, earning her a spot on the podium with a score of 9.900.

Three Spartans landed in a tie for sixth overall on beam, with sophomore Giana Kalefe, senior Lea Mitchell and Schulte all scoring a 9.850. With three 9.900s scored on floor, seniors Sydney Ewing and Ashley Hofelich as well as Schulte tied for seventh overall. A total of six Spartans earned top-ten scores over four different events on the day.

MSU GYMNASTICS' MIKE ROWE EARNS COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD, SCHULTE NAMED FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
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 of the B1G Championships.

Through the course of the regular season, Schulte was a five-time B1G Freshman of the Week and a Gymnast of the Week. She has earned career-highs of 9.950 on bars, beam, and floor, with a personal-best 9.900 scored on vault.

In her rookie season with the Green & White, Schulte earned 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.

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).

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.

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.

SCHOOL-RECORD SIX GYMNASTS NAMED ALL-B1G
Freshmen duo Skyla Schulte and Gabrielle Stephen received First Team All-B1G honors while sophomores Delanie Harkness, Baleigh Garcia, Giana Kalefe and senior Ashley Hofelich all were named to the Second Team, making for a record number of Spartans placed on the All-B1G list.

Schulte hails from Bolingbrook, Illinois and began the season as a 2022 Big Ten Gymnast to Watch, going on to win five Freshman of the Week honors and a Gymnast of the Week award in her rookie season with the Green & White.

She boasts a career-high of 9.950 on bars, beam, and floor, with a 9.900 on vault. 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. On March 5 against Western Michigan, she broke the Michigan State individual all-around record set by senior Kristen Coleman in 2004, a 39.625, and replaced it with her own career-high 39.675.

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). Schulte has racked up four all-around titles and nine individual titles: three on beam, three on bars, two on vault and one on floor, over the course of the season.

Stephen is an Elgin, Illinois native who was also named a 2022 Gymnast to Watch prior to the start of the season, and has earned Freshman of the Week accolades three times this year. Primarily as an all-arounder, Stephen has competed in all 11 meets this season, setting a career-best all-around score of 39.475 on Feb. 19 at the Big Five Meet. Two of Stephen's all-around scores rank in the top 10 all-time for Michigan State.

Stephen wrapped up the regular season with four individual titles on beam, three on vault and one all-around crown. She posted a career-best 9.950 on vault on Jan. 22, tying for the third-highest score in MSU history. She claimed a career-high also of 9.950 on beam Feb. 5 against Maryland, tying the second-highest beam score in Michigan State's record books. Stephen's beam scores combined are the fourth-highest in the B1G and 23rd-best in the nation.

Harkness, a sophomore from Leslie, is a resident bars star for the Green & White, boasting a career-high of 9.950 with five event titles under her belt.

On floor, she has posted four scores of 9.900 or better and set her career-high of 9.925 on Feb. 13 against Illinois. On Feb. 15, she was named the Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week for her performance in that meet, which also included a 9.900 score on bars and two event titles.

A sophomore from Boynton Beach, Florida, Garcia also earns her first All-B1G award. Garcia has led the beam squad with eight scores of 9.900 or better this season on the apparatus. Her career-high of 9.925 was set on Jan. 15 and has since been tied three times and is the third-highest beam score for MSU all-time. Garcia owns eight career beam titles, five of which she has earned this year.

Fellow sophomore Kalefe hails all the way from Corona, California and picks up her first All-B1G accolade. Kalefe started out the season with a bang, posting a 9.900 on beam in her debut and earning the event title. Since then, she has scored a 9.900 or better on beam five time, with a career-high 9.925 being earned twice. She owns a total of four beam titles, all earned this season, and holds a NQS of 9.895.

Senior gymnast Hofelich has made an appearance in the lineup for every meet this season, primarily competing on vault and floor. The Novi native earned a new career-high 9.925 on floor Jan. 15 and proceeded to score a 9.925 on her routine in six straight meets. On March 5, she scored a 9.975 with her near-flawless floor routine. The senior's new career-best ties for the best floor score in MSU history and is just the fifth time ever that a Spartan gymnast has achieved the score. Hofelich ranks seventh in the Big Ten and 19th in the nation on floor with a NQS of 9.925, with five floor titles to her name from this season.

SPARTANS AT REGIONALS: 2016 TEAM APPEARANCE
Michigan State's last qualification as a team to NCAA Regionals was in 2016, when the No. 36 Spartans earned the sixth seed in the Athens Regional hosted by Georgia.

The squad placed sixth after the first round of Regionals, led by Lisa Burt, who qualified for the National Championships as the top individual all-arounder not tied to an advancing team.

The Spartans' 195.350 final team score was accumulated from a 48.575 on vault, a 48.950 on bars, a 48.675 on beam and a 49.150 on floor. MSU's 195.350 was its second-highest score ever at an NCAA Regional, just shy of 2015's 195.375, as the Spartans were making their second NCAA Regional appearance in a row and then-23rd in program history.

Since 2016, the Spartans have not qualified as a team until now, but has sent individuals to compete at the Regionals, including four in 2017, two in 2018 and three in 2019. Current fifth-year senior Lea Mitchell was among those Spartans to compete in both 2018 and 2019, making an appearance as an all-arounder in both competitions.

RECORD-SETTING REGULAR SEASON
Michigan State wrapped up the regular season with scores the likes of which the program has never seen before. Three times this season the squad has broken the previous highest team score, a 197.075 set in 2004.

Starting with a record-setting 197.425 scored against Illinois on Feb. 13, the Spartans have since re-set the record twice with a 197.575 on March 5 against Western Michigan and 197.500 put up on March 11 at Kentucky.

The Spartans have also come up with the top beam, bars, and floor score in program history. The meet with Illinois brought MSU its highest-ever beam score, a 49.500. Seven of MSU's top-10 highest beam scores have all been posted this season. Likewise on floor, the top three team scores all came from meets in 2022, the new No. 1 being posted on Feb. 13 at 49.575 and quickly being re-set on March 5 as a 49.675.

Michigan State recently blasted its previous bars record out of the water. At Kentucky on March 11, the team scored a 49.500 to dethrone the previous all-time high of 49.450 set in 1998.

The squad has also padded the record book individually this season, with 25 new top-10 scores being posted across all four events and the all-around. Schulte broke the all-around record on March 5 with a career-high 39.675 and now holds three spots in the top-10 in all-around. Four Spartans have scored a 9.950 or better this season in one or more of the individual events.

IN THE RANKINGS
The Spartans wrapped up the regular season with a No. 12 ranking in Road to Nationals, the national gymnastics poll that determines seeding and placement for the NCAA Championships. Michigan State peaked at a ranking of No. 10, the highest national ranking for the Green & White in program history.

The Spartans are the ninth-ranked team in the nation on the floor event, holding a NQS of 49.470. The team's highest floor score of the season, a 49.675, marked the highest floor score in program history, with two other scores this season ranking in the top-ten all time.

Michigan State holds a tenth-place ranking on beam and are 15th in the nation on bars and 19th on vault, respectively. The Green & White topped the Big Ten rankings for the last three weeks of competition on beam.

QUOTING COACH ROWE
"We're really excited to get out to Regionals. We think we're in a good field. There's some great competition out there. We keep saying, 'Just do what you've been doing.' We're gonna tweak it a little bit every day and see how far we can go. We're really trying to gear them to compete against themselves and just do better than they did at past meets. As a team, they are just trying to get better as a program every day and every weekend.

We're really excited how they've been doing. We won our session of the Big Five meet, we came in second at the Big Ten Tournament and made it into the premier session to begin with, so that was that was huge. That was a goal of ours, and I think they really want to step up to the challenge and just do better and see where it takes them. The sky's the limit is our mentality, to just see what happens. We're ready to step right through any doors that open up for us. This team could qualify for Nationals.

We've been so successful at achieving historical, record-breaking moments this year and are so grateful that we've been able to do that. Everything that we've done since the conference season has been more than we imagined, and we're so ecstatic with what we've done and what the program has done this year that we can build off for next year."

Spartan Gymnastics Begins Competition at NCAA Regionals Thursday

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Players Mentioned

Sydney Ewing

Baleigh Garcia

Delanie Harkness

Ashley Hofelich

Giana Kalefe

Lea Mitchell

Skyla Schulte

Gabrielle Stephen

Spartan Gymnastics Begins Competition at NCAA Regionals Thursday

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Sydney Ewing

Baleigh Garcia

Delanie Harkness

Ashley Hofelich

Giana Kalefe

Lea Mitchell

Skyla Schulte

Gabrielle Stephen

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