Michigan State University Athletics
Sunday, January 25
East Lansing, Mich.
1 PM
Michigan State University
vs
UCLA
Photo by: Maya Kolton
No. 21 Gymnastics Hosts No. 5 UCLA in Home Opener at the Breslin Center
1/22/2026 2:13:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics
EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 21 Michigan State gymnastics hosts fifth-ranked UCLA for its home opener on Sunday, Jan. 25 at 1 p.m. inside the Breslin Center.
The meet will air nationally on FOX with Olivia Karas (analyst), Connor Onion (play-by-play) and Kylen Mills (sideline) on the call.
LEADING OFF
The Spartans are ranked 21st in the week three RoadtoNationals rankings with a team average of 195.950. MSU is 1-3 overall this season and dropped its conference opener at Iowa on Jan. 17, 196.400-195.675, suffering just its seventh Big Ten regular season loss since the 2022 season.
In the team event rankings, MSU sits inside the top 25 on three events - No. 13 on beam (49.125 average), No. 19 on vault (48.988) and No. 23 on floor (49.063). Individually, senior Sage Kellerman sits in a tie for 16th nationally on bars with a 9.888 average and senior Nikki Smith ranks 22nd on floor (9.888).
Smith was the first Spartan to capture an event title this season with a season-high 9.925 on floor at Iowa. Freshman Lilia Cosman also collected the first event title of her collegiate career against the Hawkeyes, scoring a 9.825 on beam to earn a share of the title. Kellerman earned a share of second place on both vault and bars with a 9.850 on both events in the anchor spot. Making her second-career appearance in the all-around, junior MaKayla Tucker finished third with a 39.175.
SCOUTING THE BRUINS
UCLA is fifth in this week's RoadtoNationals rankings with a three-week average of 197.100 and 5-2 overall (1-0 B1G) record. The Bruins have improved their season-high team score each week so far this season, most recently scoring a 197.325 in a 197.325-195.250 home win against Nebraska on Jan. 17 in their B1G opener.
The Bruins also rank seventh nationally on vault (49.225), fifth on bars (49.325), fourth on beam (49.425) and 15th on floor (49.125).
UCLA and MSU met three times last season, with the Bruins winning in a thriller in a 197.300-197.200 dual meet in Los Angeles on Feb. 1 before capturing the Big Ten title ahead of second-place MSU (198.450-198.150) at the conference championships on March 22. The two teams also met in the NCAA Championships Semifinals, where UCLA placed second in the session to advance to the national finals, while MSU finished fourth. Last season's dual meet at UCLA featured a then-vault record for the Spartans with a 49.600 and was the first-ever live gymnastics meet to air on FOX.
This weekend's meet will be UCLA's first trip to MSU since a 195.475-194.000 Bruin victory in Jenison Field House on March 11, 2001, and just the second-ever meet between the two teams in East Lansing.
Sunday's matchup will be a battle between the last two Big Ten gymnastics champions - UCLA won the regular season and conference championships titles in 2025, while the Spartans swept both titles in 2024. It will also feature two Olympians, MSU's Lilia Cosman (2024 Olympics, Romania) and UCLA's Jordan Chiles (2020 and 2024 Olympics, United States), and 2024 non-traveling U.S. Olympic alternate Tiana Sumanasekera from UCLA.
BACK IN THE BRES!
Sunday's meet will be just the second-ever inside the Breslin Center. The Spartans hosted Michigan for the first meet inside the Breslin Center on Jan. 17 last season and broke the program attendance record with 6,051 fans.
UP NEXT
MSU is back on the road to take on rival Michigan on Sunday, Feb. 1 at 4 p.m. on the Big Ten Network in Ann Arbor.
The meet will air nationally on FOX with Olivia Karas (analyst), Connor Onion (play-by-play) and Kylen Mills (sideline) on the call.
LEADING OFF
The Spartans are ranked 21st in the week three RoadtoNationals rankings with a team average of 195.950. MSU is 1-3 overall this season and dropped its conference opener at Iowa on Jan. 17, 196.400-195.675, suffering just its seventh Big Ten regular season loss since the 2022 season.
In the team event rankings, MSU sits inside the top 25 on three events - No. 13 on beam (49.125 average), No. 19 on vault (48.988) and No. 23 on floor (49.063). Individually, senior Sage Kellerman sits in a tie for 16th nationally on bars with a 9.888 average and senior Nikki Smith ranks 22nd on floor (9.888).
Smith was the first Spartan to capture an event title this season with a season-high 9.925 on floor at Iowa. Freshman Lilia Cosman also collected the first event title of her collegiate career against the Hawkeyes, scoring a 9.825 on beam to earn a share of the title. Kellerman earned a share of second place on both vault and bars with a 9.850 on both events in the anchor spot. Making her second-career appearance in the all-around, junior MaKayla Tucker finished third with a 39.175.
SCOUTING THE BRUINS
UCLA is fifth in this week's RoadtoNationals rankings with a three-week average of 197.100 and 5-2 overall (1-0 B1G) record. The Bruins have improved their season-high team score each week so far this season, most recently scoring a 197.325 in a 197.325-195.250 home win against Nebraska on Jan. 17 in their B1G opener.
The Bruins also rank seventh nationally on vault (49.225), fifth on bars (49.325), fourth on beam (49.425) and 15th on floor (49.125).
UCLA and MSU met three times last season, with the Bruins winning in a thriller in a 197.300-197.200 dual meet in Los Angeles on Feb. 1 before capturing the Big Ten title ahead of second-place MSU (198.450-198.150) at the conference championships on March 22. The two teams also met in the NCAA Championships Semifinals, where UCLA placed second in the session to advance to the national finals, while MSU finished fourth. Last season's dual meet at UCLA featured a then-vault record for the Spartans with a 49.600 and was the first-ever live gymnastics meet to air on FOX.
This weekend's meet will be UCLA's first trip to MSU since a 195.475-194.000 Bruin victory in Jenison Field House on March 11, 2001, and just the second-ever meet between the two teams in East Lansing.
Sunday's matchup will be a battle between the last two Big Ten gymnastics champions - UCLA won the regular season and conference championships titles in 2025, while the Spartans swept both titles in 2024. It will also feature two Olympians, MSU's Lilia Cosman (2024 Olympics, Romania) and UCLA's Jordan Chiles (2020 and 2024 Olympics, United States), and 2024 non-traveling U.S. Olympic alternate Tiana Sumanasekera from UCLA.
BACK IN THE BRES!
Sunday's meet will be just the second-ever inside the Breslin Center. The Spartans hosted Michigan for the first meet inside the Breslin Center on Jan. 17 last season and broke the program attendance record with 6,051 fans.
UP NEXT
MSU is back on the road to take on rival Michigan on Sunday, Feb. 1 at 4 p.m. on the Big Ten Network in Ann Arbor.
Players Mentioned
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