Mike Rowe Named WCGA Coach of the Year, Assistants Named Coaching Staff of the Year
4/18/2022 10:52:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State gymnastics coaching staff received national recognition on Tuesday afternoon when head coach Mike Rowe was named the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics (WCGA) Coach of the Year. Associate head coach Nicole Jones and assistants Whitney Snowden and Alina Cartwright were voted the Assistant Coaches of the Year.
On April, 7 Rowe was named the WCGA Region Four Coach of the Year, while Jones and Snowden were named Region Four Assistant Coaches of the Year
This is the first national coaching award received by an MSU gymnastics head coach or coaching staff. The regional honor was Rowe's first and the fifth all-time for an MSU gymnastics head coach, while the assistant's award also marked the fifth for Spartan gymnastics coaches.Â
Michigan State qualified for the postseason as a team for the first time since 2016 and competed in the West Regionals in Seattle, Washington on March 31 and April 2. After advancing past the semifinals with a second-place finish, the Spartans fought down to the wire in the finals with top-ranked Alabama and Utah, taking third overall.
Rowe and his staff also coached freshman Skyla Schulte to an appearance as an individual qualifier for the NCAA Championships in Fort Worth, Texas competing on beam. Schulte went on to finish seventh overall in Session I of the Championships and earned Second Team All-America honors for her performance. She is the third All-American in Spartan history and the first to be an All-American on beam.Â
This season, MSU broke the overall team score three times over, eclipsing the 197.000 mark on five occasions in addition to setting new program highs on vault, bars (49.500), beam (49.500) and floor (49.675). The grand finale for the Green & White was a new program best score of 197.650 set in the Regional Finals. The Spartans concluded the season ranked ninth in the nation, boasting a ninth-place ranking on floor, 10th on beam, 15th on bars and 19th on vault.
A total of six gymnasts were named to the All-Big Ten team this year, with freshman duo Skyla Schulte and Gabrielle Stephen earning First Team marks and sophomores Delanie Harkness, Baleigh Garcia, Giana Kalefe and senior Ashley Hofelich being named to the Second Team. In addition, Schulte was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
The MSU coaching staff led the Spartans to a first-place finish at the Big Five meet on Feb. 19 and second-place finishes at the Big Ten Championships and NCAA Regionals Second Round to advance to the Finals, taking third place overall. The Green & White first set their new program-best team score on Feb. 13 against Illinois with a 197.425, going on to improve the record on two more occasions, the first on March 5 against Western Michigan (197.575) and last at Regionals (197.650).Â
Individually, the staff guided several gymnasts to record-setting scores throughout the season. Schulte broke the all-around record on March 5 with a 39.675, topping the previous record set by Kristen Coleman of 39.625 in 2007. Schulte holds five all-around scores in the top-ten of the Spartan record book. A tie for the top floor score in program history was achieved by Ashley Hofelich, a 9.975, on March 5, the first 9.975 on floor for a Spartan since 2003.
Jones is in her 10th season with the Spartan coaching staff and fifth season as associate head coach. A former MSU gymnast and four-time All-Big Ten honoree, Jones began as a volunteer assistant in 2011 before moving to the assistant coach and eventually associate head coach positions. She primarily works with Spartan gymnasts on beam.
Snowden began her third season as assistant coach this year, joining Michigan State from being an educational clinician and consultant for USA gymnastics. She primarily works with MSU gymnastics on the leg events, vault and floor.
Cartwright is also a former Spartan gymnast who is in her first year coaching at Michigan State. She designed the choreography for MSU's floor routines and assists in coaching floor events as well as videography for the Green & White. She joined Michigan State after serving as an assistant coach at Alaska-Anchorage for three seasons.
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On April, 7 Rowe was named the WCGA Region Four Coach of the Year, while Jones and Snowden were named Region Four Assistant Coaches of the Year
This is the first national coaching award received by an MSU gymnastics head coach or coaching staff. The regional honor was Rowe's first and the fifth all-time for an MSU gymnastics head coach, while the assistant's award also marked the fifth for Spartan gymnastics coaches.Â
Michigan State qualified for the postseason as a team for the first time since 2016 and competed in the West Regionals in Seattle, Washington on March 31 and April 2. After advancing past the semifinals with a second-place finish, the Spartans fought down to the wire in the finals with top-ranked Alabama and Utah, taking third overall.
Rowe and his staff also coached freshman Skyla Schulte to an appearance as an individual qualifier for the NCAA Championships in Fort Worth, Texas competing on beam. Schulte went on to finish seventh overall in Session I of the Championships and earned Second Team All-America honors for her performance. She is the third All-American in Spartan history and the first to be an All-American on beam.Â
This season, MSU broke the overall team score three times over, eclipsing the 197.000 mark on five occasions in addition to setting new program highs on vault, bars (49.500), beam (49.500) and floor (49.675). The grand finale for the Green & White was a new program best score of 197.650 set in the Regional Finals. The Spartans concluded the season ranked ninth in the nation, boasting a ninth-place ranking on floor, 10th on beam, 15th on bars and 19th on vault.
A total of six gymnasts were named to the All-Big Ten team this year, with freshman duo Skyla Schulte and Gabrielle Stephen earning First Team marks and sophomores Delanie Harkness, Baleigh Garcia, Giana Kalefe and senior Ashley Hofelich being named to the Second Team. In addition, Schulte was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
The MSU coaching staff led the Spartans to a first-place finish at the Big Five meet on Feb. 19 and second-place finishes at the Big Ten Championships and NCAA Regionals Second Round to advance to the Finals, taking third place overall. The Green & White first set their new program-best team score on Feb. 13 against Illinois with a 197.425, going on to improve the record on two more occasions, the first on March 5 against Western Michigan (197.575) and last at Regionals (197.650).Â
Individually, the staff guided several gymnasts to record-setting scores throughout the season. Schulte broke the all-around record on March 5 with a 39.675, topping the previous record set by Kristen Coleman of 39.625 in 2007. Schulte holds five all-around scores in the top-ten of the Spartan record book. A tie for the top floor score in program history was achieved by Ashley Hofelich, a 9.975, on March 5, the first 9.975 on floor for a Spartan since 2003.
Jones is in her 10th season with the Spartan coaching staff and fifth season as associate head coach. A former MSU gymnast and four-time All-Big Ten honoree, Jones began as a volunteer assistant in 2011 before moving to the assistant coach and eventually associate head coach positions. She primarily works with Spartan gymnasts on beam.
Snowden began her third season as assistant coach this year, joining Michigan State from being an educational clinician and consultant for USA gymnastics. She primarily works with MSU gymnastics on the leg events, vault and floor.
Cartwright is also a former Spartan gymnast who is in her first year coaching at Michigan State. She designed the choreography for MSU's floor routines and assists in coaching floor events as well as videography for the Green & White. She joined Michigan State after serving as an assistant coach at Alaska-Anchorage for three seasons.
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