Michigan State Sweeps Big Ten Gymnastics Weekly Awards
3/8/2023 3:05:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics
ROSEMONT, Ill. - Michigan State gymnastics freshman Nikki Smith and senior Jori Jackard have earned Big Ten Gymnastics Weekly honors, as announced by the conference Wednesday.
Smith receives Gymnast and Freshman of the Week honors while Jackard earns Event Specialist of the Week. Smith shares the Gymnast of the Week award with Michigan's Gabby Wilson and Jackard shares Event Specialist honors with Minnesota's Halle Remlinger.
Smith and Jackard highlighted MSU's historic win over Bowling Green and LIU on Sunday, March 5, where the Spartans broke five program records en route to a school-record 198.225 team performance. MSU set the team vault (49.575), bars (49.550) and beam (49.600) records while also breaking the individual all-around record. The Spartans first broke the bars record on Friday, March 3 in a tri-meet at Eastern Michigan before breaking it for the second time over the weekend in East Lansing. MSU became the eighth team in the NCAA this season to record a team score above 198.000 with its performance on Sunday, while the Spartans' 198.225 was also the highest score earned during the week of Feb. 27.
Smith used a program-record 39.775 to win the all-around on Sunday, breaking the previous record of 39.675 set by sophomore teammate Skyla Schulte on March 5, 2022. The rookie kicked off the day with a 10.000 on vault, tying Rhiannon Banda-Scott (2008) and Rochelle Robinson (2007) as the only two MSU gymnastics to record a perfect 10.0 on any event. She also scored a 9.950 on bars, a career-high 9.925 on beam and 9.900 on floor. At Eastern Michigan on March 3, she won the bars title with a career-high 9.975 and earned a 9.925 on vault and 9.850 on floor. She is the only freshman in the NCAA to earn a 10.000 on vault this season and one of 11 gymnasts overall.
IT'S A 10.0!!!
— MSU Gymnastics (@MSU_Gymnastics) March 5, 2023
NIKKI SMITH GETS A 10.0!!!!! pic.twitter.com/JNBJkilebM
The Bloomfield Hills, Michigan native earns Gymnast and Freshman of the Week honors in the same week for the second time this season, first collecting both honors on Jan. 24. The Freshman of the Week honor marks her fifth time receiving the award this season, the most of any freshman in the league.
Jackard continued the record-breaking performances for the Spartans on Sunday, scoring a 10.000 on bars to become the first MSU gymnast to earn a perfect score on bars and fourth to score a 10.000 on any event shortly after Smith became the third. She is one of eight gymnasts in the NCAA to score a 10.000 on bars this season.
IT'S A 10.0!!!
— MSU Gymnastics (@MSU_Gymnastics) March 5, 2023
JORI JACKARD SCORES OUR FIRST EVER 10 ON BARS!!!! pic.twitter.com/ApGzGUzXI1
Jackard, a native of Haslett, Michigan, earns her second career Specialist of the Week nod, her first coming during her freshman campaign on Feb. 18, 2020.
MSU wraps up the regular season on Saturday, March 11, hosting Northern Illinois for Senior Night at 7 p.m. in Jenison Field House.
Players Mentioned
