10th-Ranked Spartans Host No. 25 Illinois Friday Night

EAST LANSING, Mich. - 10th-ranked Michigan State gymnastics (6-3, 3-0 B1G) returns home to host No. 25 Illinois (6-3, 1-2 B1G) on Friday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. in Jenison Field House. The meet will celebrate National Girls & Women in Sports Day.

Friday's meet will stream on B1G+ with live scoring on MSUSpartans.com.

NOTABLES
The Spartans enter Friday's meet at a season-high No. 10 ranking in the NCAA after defeating then-No. 13 Michigan, 198.050 -197.625, in Ann Arbor on Feb. 4. The win marked the first victory in Ann Arbor for MSU since 1990, while the Spartans' 198.050 was its highest road score in program history and second-best score overall.

MSU has faced seven ranked opponents, including four top-10 opponents, through its first five meets of the season. Illinois will be the eighth ranked foe for the Spartans in 2024.

In addition to its 198.050 in Ann Arbor, MSU also tied its program-high scores on vault (49.575) and beam (49.600) while recording its second-best floor performance (49.500) and third-best bars outing (49.375) of the season. The Spartans now hold top-10 rankings in the NCAA on vault (sixth, 49.320 average) and bars (sixth, 49.370 average) and rank first in the Big Ten on both events.

Individually, sophomore Sage Kellerman made headlines for the second time this season with her second perfect 10.000 on vault at Michigan, becoming the first Spartan in program history to score multiple perfect 10.000s on the same event. She also scored a season-best 9.900 on bars to earn Big Ten Specialist of the Week honors for the second time this season. She has either ranked first or shared the top spot in the NCAA on vault every week this season.

Freshman MaKayla Tucker joined Kellerman in this week's Big Ten weekly awards, collecting Freshman of the Week honors after putting up three career highs in three events at Michigan. The rookie scored a 9.925 on vault and 9.900s on beam and floor to become MSU's second Freshman of the Week honoree after Gabi Ortiz on Jan. 23 this season.

Junior Skyla Schulte continued her impressive start to the season at Michigan, scoring her second-consecutive 9.950 on floor while also earning her third-straight beam title with a 9.950. She ranks 11th on beam in the NCAA this season and 27th on floor.

THE MATCHUP
The Spartans and Illini last met in dual action on Feb. 27 last season in the final Big Ten matchup of 2023. MSU earned a 197.450-196.425 victory in Champaign to clinch its first Big Ten Regular Season title in program history. Illinois finished fifth at last year's Big Ten Championships and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Norman Regional.

Illinois ranks 25th in the Week 5 Road to Nationals rankings with an average of 196.110. The Illini earned their first conference win of the season in a 195.600-194.925 home victory over Rutgers on Feb. 4.

UP NEXT
MSU hosts Maryland on Sunday, Feb. 18 in Jenison Field House at 2 p.m. for its final Big Ten dual meet of the season before heading to University Park, Pennsylvania, for the Big Five Meet on Feb. 23.

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Players Mentioned

Sage Kellerman

Gabi Ortiz

Skyla Schulte

MaKayla Tucker