Michigan State University
California
Spartans Open Season with Third-Place Finish at Sprouts Collegiate Quad
1/10/2026 10:59:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah – No. 6 Michigan State gymnastics put up a 196.225 in the second session of the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad to finish third behind No. 14 Michigan and No. 20 California Saturday night inside the Maverik Center in its 2026 season opener.Â
The Wolverines won the meet with a 197.225, while the Golden Bears finished as runners-up just ahead of MSU with a 196.350. No. 9 Kentucky scored a 194.925 to finish fourth. The Spartans' 196.225 is their fourth-best season-opening score in program history.Â
"We had a few uncharacteristic mistakes on vault and bars that unfortunately got us off to a rough start, but I was pleased that the team left those mishaps behind to improve moving forward to the next event," said head coach Mike Rowe. "Beam really stepped up and put up some of our best scores.  We were fortunate to give six of our newcomers lineup spots which proved to be great experience for them as each of them were successful. We've got some detail work and consistency issues to address, but all in all, we're sitting in a good place to continue with making those improvements."
MSU sat in third behind Cal (49.425, bars) and Michigan (49.150, floor) with a 48.950 on vault after the first rotation. Sophomore Cady Duplissis and senior Nikki Smith led the Spartans with 9.850s to share second place on the event, while freshman Korynne Marquart made her debut in the Green and White with a 9.775 in the fourth spot. Making her first career appearance in the vault lineup, junior Emma Miseneheimer put up a 9.750 in the leadoff spot, and junior MaKayla Tucker scored a 9.725 in the No. 2 spot. Â
The Spartans scored a 49.025 on bars to close the gap to three tenths behind first-place Cal (98.275) and second-place Michigan (98.150) with a 49.025 on bars in the second rotation. Senior Naya Howard led off with a 9.875 and was followed by Tucker in second, who matched Howard for a career high. Freshman Lilia Cosman made her Spartan debut with a 9.800 in the fifth spot and Kellerman scored a 9.925 in the anchor to finish in a four-way tie for second on the event.Â
A 49.275 on beam, MSU's highest-scoring event of the night, helped the Spartans move just a tenth behind Cal and 0.325 behind Michigan after three rotations. Junior Isabella Trostel put up the highest score by a Spartan on any event on Saturday with a team-leading 9.925 in her lineup debut on the event to finish second.  Junior Kendall Abney also made her lineup debut on the event, scoring a 9.875 in the second spot. Smith also added a 9.875 in the No. 4 spot, while Tucker scored a 9.850 and Duplissis opened with a 9.750 in the leadoff.Â
MSU closed the meet on floor with a 48.975. Senior Stephanie Lebster led off the rotation with a 9.850 in her first career appearance in the lineup. Cosman and Duplissis also made lineup debuts on the event with a 9.700 and 9.750, respectively, in the second and third spots, while junior Gabi Ortiz scored a career-high 9.800 in the No. 4 position. Tucker posted a 9.750 and was followed by a team-high 9.850 anchor from Smith.Â
Tucker made the first appearance of her collegiate career in the all-around, finishing second behind Kentucky's Delaynee Rodriguez with a 39.200. Smith placed fifth in the all-around.Â
Overall, six Spartans – Abney, Cosman, Howard, Marquart, Lebster and Trostel – made their first lineup appearances for MSU Saturday night. Â
Up next, MSU opens Big Ten action at Iowa on Saturday, January 17 at 5 p.m. ET at Iowa's Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The meet will stream on B1G+.Â
Players Mentioned
