Gymnastics Concludes Season in NCAA Semifinals, Four Spartans Earn Podium Finishes

FORT WORTH, Texas - No. 8 Michigan State wrapped its historic season in the semifinals of the NCAA Championships, scoring a 197.3625 to finish fourth Thursday night at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.

MSU ends its season at 29-8, tying its program-high win total set last season. Utah won the semifinal with a 197.7625 and UCLA finished second to punch the second ticket to the finals, scoring a 197.7375. LSU finished third with a 197.525.

The Red Rocks and Bruins will join Oklahoma and Missouri in the NCAA Championships Final on Saturday, April 18.

Four Spartans earned podium finishes Thursday afternoon – two on vault, with junior Sage Kellerman collecting runner-up honors, and freshman Amy Doye finishing fourth – while senior Gabrielle Stephen earned bronze on bars and senior Skyla Schulte finished fifth on floor.

"We've known we can hang with the big dogs," said head coach Mike Rowe. "When we do what we did at Big Tens this year, when we do what we did at the regional final, it helps instill that confidence. We're developing amazing leaders. I couldn't be more proud of them. I'm just so genuinely proud of them and everything they've done and how they've been consistent and stayed with it. Lots of blood, sweat and tears."

MSU put up a 49.3875 on vault to sit in second place after the first rotation behind UCLA, which scored a 49.525 on floor. Kellerman led the way with a stuck 9.950 in the anchor spot to earn co-runner-up honors alongside Olympic silver medialist Grace McCallum of Utah. Freshman Amy Doyle also stuck her vault for a career-high 9.9125 in the No. 2 spot, reaching the 9.900 mark on the event for the first time in her career to secure her podium finish. Junior Olivia Zsarmani scored a 9.8625, senior Gabrielle Stephen added a 9.8375 and sophomore MaKayla Tucker led off with a 9.825. A 49.325 on bars put LSU in third after the first rotation, while Utah's sat in fourth after a 49.2125 on beam.

A 49.450 helped on bars helped the Spartans take the lead at the halfway point over Utah, who moved into second after a 49.5625 on floor to sit at a 98.7750 behind MSU. Three Spartans scored a 9.900 or better, with Stephen posting the highest score in the lineup with 9.9375 in the third spot to capture bronze. Zsarmani added a career-high 9.925 in the fourth spot, receiving a 10.000 from one judge. Kellerman tallied her second 9.900-plus score of the day with a 9.9125 in the anchor spot. In the leadoff spot, Doyle scored a 9.8625 and Tucker, who made just her second-career appearance in the bars lineup and first since January this season, earned a 9.8125.

The third rotation had the top team, UCLA, and fourth-place MSU, just 0.1875 apart after MSU scored a 49.1625 on beam. Freshman Cady Duplissis put up the highest score in the lineup for MSU, tallying a 9.8625 in the No. 2 spot. Senior Skyla Schulte scored a 9.8125 in the leadoff spot and was matched by junior Nikki Smith in the third spot. Sophomore Emma Misenheimer earned a career-high-tying 9.850, fifth-year senior Delanie Harkness scored a 9.800 and Stephen anchored with a 9.825.

MSU ended the night with a 49.3625 on floor. Despite a strong rotation from the Spartans, Utah and UCLA were able to pull away in the final rotation, taking down defending champion LSU for the final two spots in the finals. Schulte led the Spartans, anchoring with a 9.9375 in her final routine in the Green and White to finish in fifth place. Smith added another 9.900 in the fifth spot. Stephen scored a 9.8625 and Tucker earned a 9.875.

The Spartans' 197.3625 was the fifth-best score of the semifinal field.

MSU concluded its season Thursday night in its first NCAA Championships appearance since 1988 and just second championships appearance in program history. This season, the Spartans eclipsed the 198.000 team score mark twice, including a program-high road score of 198.150 en route to a second-place finish at the Big Ten Championships. MSU also broke its team vault record twice, posted three of its top 10 all-time team bars scores and scored two perfect 10.000s.