Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
NCAA Regional Second Round
Smith’s Perfect 10.000 Sends No. 11 Spartans to Fifth-Straight NCAA Regional Final
4/2/2026 7:43:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics
TEMPE, Ariz. - Behind three stuck vaults and a 10.000 from Nikki Smith in the final rotation, 11th-seeded Michigan State gymnastics scored a 197.350 to secure a come-from-behind victory and advance to its fifth-straight regional final Thursday afternoon in the second round of the NCAA Tempe Regional inside Arizona State's Desert Financial Arena.
MSU advanced alongside second place and No. 6 Georgia (197.150) and will compete against the top two teams from Thursday's second session featuring No. 3 Florida, No. 14 California, Penn State and host Arizona State in the regional final on Saturday, April 4 at 8 p.m. ET. BYU finished third with a 196.250 and Southern Utah scored a 195.725 to finish in fourth.
"We're feeling great," said head coach Mike Rowe. "I'm so proud of them because they started decent and just built and finished really strong. We've been working on that all year and they've shown so much growth. Very proud of what they did and coming away with the win is great."
Smith scored the fifth perfect 10.000 of her career and third on vault to win at least a share of the regional title. She also shared the top scores of the session on bars (9.925) and floor (9.950) and finished first in the all-around with a 39.625. Junior Gabi Ortiz put up a career-high 9.950 on floor to share the top spot with Smith on the event.
MSU opened the meet with a 49.200 on bars to sit in third behind Georgia, which scored a 49.250 on vault, and second-place Southern Utah (49.225, floor). Smith led the Spartans with a season-high-tying 9.925 in the fifth spot and senior Sage Kellerman anchored with a 9.900. Junior MaKayla Tucker posted a 9.825 in the No. 3 spot, junior Kendall Abney scored a 9.800 in the fourth position and senior Naya Howard led off with a 9.750.
The Spartans moved into second ahead of BYU (98.175) and behind Georgia (98.675) with a 49.075 on beam to total a 98.275 after two rotations. Tucker and junior Isabella Trostel led the Spartans with 9.850s to earn a share of second place in the session, with Tucker anchoring the beam lineup for the first time in her career. Abney led off with a 9.825 and sophomore Cady Duplissis and freshman Isabel Biro scored 9.750s.
A 49.500 on floor propelled the Spartans into first place after three rotations after the Bulldogs were forced to count a fall on beam. Smith scored a 9.950, her 10th score of 9.925 or better on the event this season, to lead MSU in the anchor spot alongside Ortiz, who matched the 9.950 in the fourth spot. Freshman Korynne Marquart put up the third score of 9.900 or better for the Spartans with a 9.900 in the second spot. Senior Stephanie Lebster and Duplissis posted 9.850s.
MSU put an exclamation mark on the meet with a 49.575 on vault in the final rotation. The Spartans ended the rotation with three-straight stuck vaults from Tucker, Smith and Kellerman, with Tucker and Kellerman scoring 9.950s and Smith adding the third vault 10.000 of her career. Making just her second-career appearance in the vault lineup, Trostel also scored a career-high 9.875 in the No. 3 spot, and Duplissis led off with a 9.800.
Smith finished first in the session in the all-around with a 39.625 and Tucker scored a 39.400 to finish third.
Saturday's regional final will stream on ESPN+. The top two teams from the regional final will advance to the NCAA Championships, set for April 16 and 18 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
Players Mentioned
