Gymnastics Travels To Ohio State For Quad Meet
1/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Jan. 29, 2009
Spartan Sports Podcasts
Rochelle Kathryn Kathie
The MSU gymnastics team hits the road for the second-straight week, traveling to Ohio State for a quad meet with Illinois and Missouri. The meet begins at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 31 in St. John Arena. Ohio State will be the fifth Big Ten team the Spartans have faced this season. The meet will be recorded on tape-delay by the Big Ten Network and is set to air on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 1 p.m. Follow the action with
Last Time Out
The Michigan State gymnastics team fell to No. 22 Penn State, 195.875-194.175 on Saturday, Jan. 24 at Rec Hall. Senior Katlyn Roggensack continued her success on the vault, tallying a 9.825 for the second-straight meet. The score tied her career-high on vault and she finished third overall on the event.
The Spartans opened the meet on uneven bars, posting a score of 48.250. Senior Dani Fanning led the team, posting a 9.800 and tying her career-high on the apparatus. Junior Rochelle Robinson finished second on the team, recording a 9.750 on the uneven bars. MSU moved to vault for rotation two, finishing with a season high 48.800 and Roggensack leading the way. Robinson was second on the team after posting a 9.800 on vault and sophomore Nicole Argiros tallied a 9.775.
Junior Nicole Curler led the Green and White on floor exercise with a 9.825, placing third overall on the event. Sophomore Kelsey Morley was second on the team with a season-high 9.775, while Argiros recorded a 9.750. MSU recorded a 48.550 on floor, just behind Penn State (48.900).
With the strongest balance beam performance this season, the Spartans posted a team score of 48.575. Curler and Morley both recorded a 9.800 on the apparatus, tying for second overall. Roggensack posted a 9.775 and Mahoney tallied a 9.675 on beam, season-highs for both. Curler and Lopatofsky competed in the all-around for the third-straight meet this season. Curler finished third overall with a 38.250, while Lopatofsky posted a 37.950 for fourth.
The Buckeyes
No. 14 Ohio State currently sits atop the Big Ten Conference with a 194.742 average. Ohio State opened the season against No. 12 Arkansas finishing with a team score of 194.625. Freshman Nicole Krauter took top honors on balance beam and junior Beth Ann Ballard finished second on the uneven bars against the Razorbacks. The Buckeyes then topped Maryland and UIC. Freshman Taylor Jones has made an immediate impact on floor exercise, taking second overall against Arkansas and first at UIC with a career-high 9.850. Sophomore Rebecca Best took first and finished with a season-high 39.150 in the all-around against UIC. She also finished first on vault and uneven bars. The Spartans lead the all-time series against the Buckeyes, 48-33, and have won the last two meetings.
The Illini
The Spartans and Illini met in the first meet of the season for both teams, with Illinois finishing just ahead of the Spartans in the quad meet. The Illini kept their momentum, picking up a 195.500-192.925 win over Penn State before falling to Iowa 194.950-194.400. Senior Marijka Botterman earned the title on vault and uneven bars and freshman Kelsey Joannides took home honors on the balance beam against Iowa. In the win over Penn State, junior Nicole Cowart claimed the all-around title and classmate Sarah Schmidt placed first on uneven bars and floor exercise with a 9.900 on both. Schmidt earned Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honors after her performance against the Nittany Lions. Illinois is ranked 15th nationally and is second in the Big Ten. MSU holds a 52-23 all-time record against Illinois.
The Tigers
Missouri enters competition this weekend as the nation's 13th ranked team. The Tigers have posted wins over Iowa State, Arizona State and narrowly lost to No. 12 Nebraska. The Tigers come in boasting two of the top all-arounders in the nation in Sarah Shire and Adrianne Perry. Perry is a three-time NCAA national qualifier who has one all-around title on the season. Shire, in her second year with the program, has earned two all-around titles on the season and has been named Big 12 Gymnast of the Week twice so far. As a team, Mizzou ranks in the top 25 on every event, including a team-high eighth on the floor exercise. Perry leads the Tigers on the floor, ranking 11th. Two-time All-Big 12 selection Alicia Hatcher brings steady scores on both beam and bars for the Tigers. All-time, MSU leads the Tigers 20-5 and have won the last six against Mizzou.
Spartan Debut
Freshman Jackie Berg made her competitive debut in the season opener against Illinois, Michigan and Western Michigan. Berg competed on bars for the Spartans, recording a team-high 9.750, and has competed on the event at all three meets this season. Berg performed exhibition on balance beam against Iowa, Illinois State and West Virginia before rotating into the competition lineup against Penn State. She also performed exhibition on floor exercise at Penn State for the first time this season. Classmate Selina Rodriguez has competed exhibition on uneven bars twice this season, most recently posting a 9.675 at Penn State.
Scouting the Competition
The Spartans have already competed against four Big Ten teams, and will add Ohio State to the list this weekend. MSU will also face Illinois for the second time this season in Columbus.
Steady Improvement
Last season the Spartans opened the first three meets with a 193.392 average. So far this season, MSU has tallied a 193.567 team average and sit in the 26th position nationally. Both seasons the Green and White recorded 11 top-three finishes in the first three meets.
Senior Leadership
Senior Katlyn Roggensack posted a 9.825 on vault against Iowa, Illinois State and West Virginia setting a new career-high and tying for first overall. She tied the new career-high at Penn State last weekend, marking the second-straight week she's received a 9.825 on vault.
Senior Dani Fanning is following in Roggensack's footsteps with success of her own. Fanning tied her career-high on uneven bars at Penn State last weekend with a 9.800. In the meet against Iowa, Illinois State and West Virginia, she tied her career-high on floor exercise, recording a 9.775 and tying for third overall, her first honor on the apparatus.
Around We Go
Junior Emily Lopatofsky competed in the all-around for the first time in her career against Illinois, Michigan and Western Michigan. She has continued to perform all four events in the last two meets.
1, 2, 3...
Junior Nicole Curler leads the team with 47 career top-three finishes and has racked up five already this season. Classmate Rochelle Robinson is second on the team with 44 career top-three finishes, including a team-high 14 first-place finishes on vault.
Balancing Act
After a rocky start on balance beam this season, the Spartans have improved their score each week. Last weekend at Penn State, MSU recorded a 48.575 on beam and had Nicole Curler and Kelsey Morley tie for second overall on the event.
Cracking the Vault
The Spartans have been strongest on vault so far this season, posting a season-high 48.800 against Penn State last weekend. The vault was MSU's top event last season, with a season average on 48.854.
Players Mentioned
