Gymnastics Prepares To Take On The Panthers
3/12/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
March 12, 2003
Complete Gymnastics Release
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The Michigan State gymnastics team takes to the road for the last time during the regular season on Saturday, March 15, when they travel to Pittsburgh, Pa., to take on the University of Pittsburgh Panthers. The two schools will open the home-and-home competition at the Fitzgerald Field House at 7 p.m.
MSU DOMINATES THE EAST
Michigan State finished first at a four-team meet on Saturday, March 8, in Piscataway, N.J. The Spartans posted the second-highest score of the season (195.450) to easily defeat host Rutgers (193.700) and the visiting teams from Yale (191.900) and Brown (191.500).
ALEXANDER HAS RECORD SETTING NIGHT
Freshman Sarah Alexander posted a 9.975 on the floor exercise to win the event and match the school record. The mark was first set in 1998 by Briony Lecky and had been matched by Polly Kiker and Melissa Green - both during the 2000 season. Alexander also set the second-highest score in school history in the all-around with a 39.425 - just .025 off of the program's highest tally of 39.450 set by Carolyn Hecht in 1996 - and matching her career high set one week ago.
SPARTANS ALSO NUDGE TEAM RECORDS
As a team, Michigan State posted a 49.400 on the floor exercise. That is the third best score in program history - just .100 off of the program record, which was set in 1997 at the NCAA Regionals in Ann Arbor, Mich.
SWEEPING UP THE COMPETITION
Michigan State posted a 1-2-3 sweep of the floor exercise, led by freshman Sarah Alexander's first-place finish of 9.975. Senior Julie Devaty garnered a second-place finish with a 9.900 and Anna Hunsinger claimed third with a 9.875.
SPARTAN DUO TAKES TWO
Freshman Sarah Alexander and sophomore Lauren Simpson claimed two of the top three spots in the final standings for both the vault and the all-around. Simpson won the vault with a score of 9.850, while Alexander claimed third (9.775). In the all-around competition, Alexander garnered the title with a season-best 39.425, while Simpson took second with a 39.175.
MORE HIGHS GO LOW
While Sarah Alexander posted a pair of career best marks on the floor (9.975) and in the all-around (39.425), five other Spartans set or matched career high scores. Senior Julie Devaty matched her highest score on the floor exercise with a 9.900, while sophomore Anna Hunsinger did the same with a 9.875 on the same event.
Freshman Jaime Miles shattered her previous high on the balance beam, garnering a 9.775. Senior Ilene Cohen matched her personal best on the beam with a 9.825.
On the vault, sophomore Lauren Simpson set a new career high, posting a 9.850 on the apparatus, as senior Maurella Walls made her first competitive appearance of the season on the event for a career high score of 9.725.
BIG TEN BUSINESS
As a team, Michigan State ranks fourth in the conference on the floor exercise with a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 49.065. They are ranked fifth on both the uneven bars (48.855) and balance beam (48.685). Rounding out the events, the Spartans are ranked sixth on the vault (48.660). Michigan State posts a team RQS of 194.985 to rank sixth in the league.
Individually, Sarah Alexander has etched her name in the Top-10 of the Big Ten. Alexander holds the fifth-best RQS in the league on the bars with a 9.840. She is also ranked sixth on the beam with a 9.845. Alexander stands in seventh place in the all-around with a39.050, while Lauren Simpson is ranked 10th, with a 38.905.
NATIONAL RELATIONS
Sarah Alexander is ranked as the No. 50 gymnast is the country on the balance beam and is tied for ninth, regionally, with a RQS of 9.845. Alexander also holds regional rankings of No. 7 on the all-around, No. 9 on the floor, No. 10 on the bars and No. 20 on the vault.
Lauren Simpson holds 11th-place in the region on the all-around with a 38.905, while Julie Devaty is ranked 14th on the beam with an RQS of 9.825. Rounding out the Spartan representatives on the regional rankings is Diana Crea, who is tied for 15th in the Central Region with a 9.820.
Team-wise, the Spartans are ranked sixth in the region on the floor, bars and beam, while holding at seventh on total team score. MSU is currently No. 8 in the Central Region on the vault.
WELCOME BACK
Senior Christy Linder returned to the Spartan lineup after a long absence due to a back injury and made it seem as though she had never left. In her only event, Linder posted a 9.900 on the vault, the highest score of the season by any member of the team. In was also the highest vault score of the day, as Linder won the event.
SPARTANS WIN FOURTH STRAIGHT SPARTAN INVITATIONAL
Michigan State captured the 2003 Spartan Invitational, presented by Country Markett, for the fourth consecutive year, defeating Illinois, 194.900-193.600, on Saturday (Feb. 22) in Jenison Field House.
DEVATY NAMED CO-BIG TEN GYMNAST OF THE WEEK
Senior co-captain Julie Devatywas named the Co-Big Ten Gymnast of the Week on Tuesday, Feb. 5. Devaty matched her career-best mark of 9.925 on the balance beam to capture the event title at the State of Michigan Classic on Feb. 2. She also finished tied for second on the floor with a season-best mark of 9.875 and matched her personal-best score of 9.825 on the uneven bars to post the fourth-highest score of the day on that event. Devaty tied for the weekly honor with Calli Ryals of Michigan.
MSU EARNS STATE BRAGGING RIGHTS
The Spartans returned to Jenison Field House with a bang on Sunday, Feb. 2, winning the State of Michigan Classic. Michigan State posted a 195.075 to finish first, ahead of Central Michigan (194.900) and No. 11 Michigan (193.900). Eastern Michigan (192.525) and Western Michigan (192.000) rounded out the five-team event. MSU claimed the highest team score on the bars and beam, setting season-high marks on both.
ENDING A STREAK
With the victory at the State of Michigan Classic, Michigan State became the first Big Ten Conference team to defeat Michigan in over four years. Until the Spartans topped the No. 11 Wolverines on Feb. 2, Michigan had not lost a meet against a conference rival since Jan. 15, 1999. Since that date, Michigan had recorded 40 consecutive wins over conference rivals.
The Wolverines have not faced another Big Ten team since the State of Michigan Classic and do not face any other conference foes during the regular season - except for the Spartans on March 22 at Jenison Field House.
IF YOU WANT TO BE THE BEST...
Then you have to play the best. That is MSU gymnastics head coach Kathie Klages' motto when scheduling the teams for the Spartans to face. Nearly half of the teams that are on the MSU schedule are currently ranked in the GymInfo Top 25, including five Big Ten Conference teams.
Leading the list of ranked conference opponents is No. 9 Michigan - a team the Spartans will face two more times this season. Ohio State is ranked 16th, while Minnesota and Iowa are ranked 19th and 20th, respectively. Penn State rounds out the league teams with a No. 23 ranking.
Non-conference opponents of the Spartans include their season-opening duo of Oregon State (No. 10) and Auburn (No. 11). Iowa State is listed as No. 21, while two-time opponent, Central Michigan, is ranked 25th.
THE MORE THE MERRIER
When Michigan State is at a meet where there are at least three other teams competing, they have claimed the first-place title every time. MSU has won the State of Michigan Classic, the Fox Run Invitational and the Quad Meet at Rutgers, posting a 10-0 record at those events.
THE LEADERS OF THE PACK
The Michigan State women's gymnastics team announced that seniors Christy Linder and Julie Devaty have been selected as the captains for the 2003 season.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Spartans and Pittsburgh will meet again next week (March 22), when the Panthers travel to Jenison Field House to compete in a tri-meet with Michigan State and Michigan. It will be the final home competition for seniors Ilene Cohen, Diana Crea, Julie Devaty, Christy Linder, Kristina Petersen, Lindsay Trainham and Maurella Walls.
Players Mentioned
