Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
Auburn
No. 11 Spartans Earn Season-High 197.700 in Win at No. 17 Auburn
3/6/2026 10:47:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics
AUBURN, Ala. - No. 11 Michigan State gymnastics posted a season-high team overall score to earn a 197.700-196.975 win over No. 17 Auburn Friday night inside Auburn's Neville Arena.Â
MSU moves to 9-5 overall with the win, while Auburn drops to 2-9. The Spartans' 197.700 is the eighth-best score in program history.Â
The Spartans set a season-high on vault with a 49.625 and earned at least a share of three out of four possible event titles. Senior Nikki Smith had a spectacular night, posting scores of 9.925 or better on all four events to total a 39.725 in the all-around and tie the third-best all-around score in program history.Â
"I'm really proud of what the team put out on the floor tonight," said head coach Mike Rowe. "The small details started showing up.  Vault crushed it like we know they can.  Bars started off fairly strong and landings improved definitely over last week. I thought our floor routines were great, and in my opinion, as an event, we were a couple of tenths shy. Beam did what they've been doing pretty much all season in finishing strong for us." Â
MSU opened the meet on bars and posted its second-highest score on the event of the season to take a 49.325-49.075 lead over the Tigers after one rotation. Smith led the Spartans with a season-high 9.925 in the fifth spot to earn the outright event title, her second of the season on the event. Juniors MaKayla Tucker and Kendall Abney scored 9.900s, with Tucker tying a career high and Abney setting a career high, to finish in a tie for second. Senior Sage Kellerman posted a 9.825 in the anchor spot and freshman Lilia Cosman and senior Olivia Zsarmani scored 9.775s.Â
The second-highest vault score in MSU history (49.625) helped the Spartans to a 98.950-98.200 lead at the halfway point. In a thrilling finish to the rotation, Zsarmani and Kellerman scored back-to-back 9.975s with stuck vaults in the fifth and sixth spots, respectively, to share the event title. Zsarmani's 9.975 tied her career high and Kellerman tied her season high. Smith scored a season-high 9.950 in the fourth spot to finish third and Tucker earned a season-high-tying 9.900 to finish fifth. Sophomore Cady Duplissis led off with a 9.825, while freshman Korynne Marquart scored a 9.800.Â
MSU kept the momentum going with a 49.400 floor to hold a 148.350-147.500 lead after three rotations. Smith and Tucker led the Spartans with 9.925s to finish in a tie for third, each posting their sixth score of 9.925 or better on the event this season. Junior Gabi Ortiz earned a 9.875 in the fourth spot, Marquart scored a 9.850 in the No. 2 spot and senior Stephanie Lebster led off with a 9.825.Â
A season-high-tying 49.350 on beam sealed the meet for the Spartans in the final rotation. Zsarmani and Smith scored season-high 9.925s, with Zsarmani tying a career high in her first beam appearance since Feb. 1 this season, to share the event title. Tucker posted her fourth score of 9.900 or better on the night with a career-high-tying 9.900 in the fifth spot. Cosman earned a 9.825 in the anchor spot, junior Isabella Trostel scored a 9.775 and freshman Isabel Biro posted a 9.700 in her first time in the lead off position.Â
Smith's 39.725 in the all-around helped her to her third all-around title of the season. She now owns five of the top 10 all-around scores in MSU history. Tucker finished second in the all-around with a career-high 39.625.Â
Up next, MSU hosts Brown for Senior Day on Sunday, March 15 at 2 p.m. inside Jenison Field House. The meet will stream on B1G+.Â
Players Mentioned
