Friday, January 6
Tuscaloosa, Ala.
7 p.m. ET
Michigan State University
at
Alabama
Photo by: Jack Moreland
No. 12 Michigan State Travels to No. 7 Alabama for Season Opener
1/5/2023 2:42:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics
| #12 MICHIGAN STATE at #7 ALABAMA | |
| DATE | Friday, Jan. 6 |
| TIME | 7 p.m. ET |
| LOCATION | Tuscaloosa, Ala. • Coleman Coliseum |
| TELEVISION | SEC Network |
| ROSTERS | Michigan State | Alabama |
| RESULTS | Live Results |
| MEET NOTES | Michigan State | Alabama |
| SOCIAL MEDIA |   @MSU_gymnastics |   MichiganStateUniversityGymnastics |   @msu_gymnastics |
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -Â No. 12 Michigan State travels to No. 7 Alabama on Friday, January 6 for its 2023 season opener. Action gets underway at 7 p.m. ET in Tuscaloosa, Alabama at Alabama's Coleman Coliseum. The meet will air live on the SEC Network with Steve Schlanger and Bridget Sloan on the call. Live results will be available on MSUSpartans.com.
QUOTING COACH ROWE
"We have been grinding out the details in preparation for Friday night's meet in Tuscaloosa. The team has been great in competing for line-up spots, yet being great supporters of each other's success, and I think that's what I've been most proud of. It has been a long but productive pre-season and we are more than ready to get in front of some spectators. By raising our bar right out of the gates, we are anticipating having one of our better starts than season's past. Â Team number 49 wants to prove that we are even better than we were before!"
THE MATCHUP
The Spartans and Crimson Tide last met in the Spartans' record-setting final meet of 2022, where MSU posted a program-best 197.650 team score to finish third at the NCAA West Regional Finals on April 2. Alabama finished second overall (198.175) to advance to the NCAA Championships, placing seventh as a team to conclude the 2022 season.Â
The Spartans are led by sixth-year head coach Mike Rowe, who earned WCGA National and Region Four Coach of the Year, as well as Big Ten Coach of the Year honors in 2022. MSU returns 17 of 24 (four VT, five UB, four BB, four FX) routines from the program-best 197.650 at the NCAA West Regional Finals.Â
Alabama is led by first-year head coach Ashley Johnston, who takes over for the Crimson Tide after a four-year stint as associate head coach at Auburn. Johnston was a 10-time All-American and two-time team national champion with Alabama from 2009-13.
The Tide's 198.175 from the 2022 NCAA West Regional Finals was the team's season-high last season and second-highest team score in program history. Alabama returns three championship All-Americans from its 2022 team - senior Louisa Blanco, who is a 12-time All-American, 2021 NCAA balance beam champion, and four-time SEC champion, fifth-year Shallon Olsen, a two-time Olympian for Canada and two-time All-American, and sophomore Lilly Hudson, who earned SEC All-Freshman honors in 2022. Senior Makarri Doggette, a 2022 WCGA regular-season All-American, also returns for the Tide.
RECORD WATCH
MSU looks to break its highest season-opening team score for the third consecutive year on Friday. The Spartans set the current highest season-opening score last season against UC Davis and Sacramento State on Jan. 9, posting a 195.875, which topped the previous high score of 195.775 from 2021.Â
2022 IN REVIEW
MSU is coming off its best season in program history, qualifying for the postseason as a team for the first time since 2016 and finishing the season with a program-best final ranking of No. 9 in the nation. The Spartans' 197.650 in the NCAA West Regional Finals was the third time breaking the overall team score in 2022. MSU also set new program-highs on every event during the season (49.400 on VT, 49.500 on UB and BB and 49.675 on FX) and ended the year ranked ninth nationally on floor, 10th on beam, 15th on bars and 19th on vault.
TOP RETURNERS
The Spartans return five All-Big Ten honorees from last season. Sophomore Skyla Schulte, a first-team selection and Big Ten Freshman of the Year, became the first Spartan to advance to the NCAA Championships since 2016, earning Second-Team All-American honors on beam. She became just the third Spartam gymnast in history to be named an All-American and the first in program history on beam.
Sophomore Gabi Stephen, MSU's second first-team selection, was three-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week selection in 2022 and posted scores of 9.9 or higher on vault, beam and floor. Her scores on beam (9.950) and vault (9.950) tied for second and third all-time at MSU, respectively, while her all-around best of 39.475 is tied for seventh all-time. Â
Juniors Baleigh Garcia, Delanie Harkness and Giana Kalefe earned second-team All-Big Ten honors in 2022. Garcia posted nine scores of 9.9 or higher on beam, while Harkness was the Spartans' top performer on bars during the season, averaging a 9.827 and posting a career-high score of 9.950 against Western Michigan on March 5, 2022. Kalefe was a beam specialist for MSU in 2022, posting a career-high of 9.925 twice.
PRESEASON HONORS
MSU's WCGA preseason ranking of No. 12 is the highest preseason rank under Mike Rowe. The ranking is also the Spartans' best preseason ranking dating back to 2000, topping the previous-best mark at No. 17 in 2009.Â
Additionally, the Spartans were selected to finish second in the 2023 Big Ten Preseason Coaches' Poll on Dec. 14. The rank is also the highest under Rowe. Gabi Stephen was named a Big Ten Gymnast to watch, her second time earning the honor, while freshman Nikki Smith also made the list.Â
SPARTAN NEWCOMERS
MSU adds six newcomers to its 2023 roster, including five freshmen and one transfer. Elle Beaufait, Sage Kellerman, Stephanie Lebster, Nikki Smith and Olivia Zsarmani make up the Spartans' freshman class, while Tara Walsh joins the Spartans as a junior transfer from Auburn.
Nikki Smith, a West Bloomfield, Michigan, native was a seven-year level 10 gymnast at EuroStars gymnastics and rated as a top-10 five-star recruit by College Gym News. She is a two-time USA Gymnastics Development Program all-around champion and three-time Nastia Liukin Cup qualifier, tying for first in the all-around in 2022.
Walsh was a frequent member of Auburn's vault lineup in 2022, posting a career-high at LSU on Feb. 5 of 9.825. She is originally from Waterford, Michigan.
Zsarmani is the Spartans' lone non-Michigan native newcomer, hailing from Statesville, N.C. where she trained at Kristie Phillips Athletic Center. She finished second in the all-around at the 2022 USA Gymnastics Development Program Championships.
Beaufait, Kellerman and Lebster are Michigan natives and multi-year level 10 gymnasts. All three qualified for at least one USA Gymnastics Development Program Championship during their club careers.
UP NEXT
The Spartans stay on the road to face No. 31 N.C. State in Raleigh, North Carolina on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 4 p.m. The meet will stream on ACC Network Extra.
Players Mentioned
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VT, BB, FX
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