Gymnastics to Host Minnesota in Flip for Cure Meet
1/21/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Jan. 21, 2011
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State gymnastics team will once again host its annual "Flip for a Cure" meet on Saturday, Jan. 22 when it welcomes No. 14 Minnesota to East Lansing. The fifth annual Jan Howard Flip for a Cure Breast Cancer Awareness meet will be held in Jenison Field House with action scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. The competition will be televised on the Big Ten Network on a tape delay basis and will air on Jan. 29 at 11 a.m. ET.
This meet marks the first competition the Spartans have competed in at home since the opening weekend, having been on the road for two consecutive competitions. MSU enters the weekend with an average team score of 191.867, while the Golden Gophers have averaged 194.625 on the year.
The Spartans are 30th in the nation on floor with an average score of 48.400. MSU is also currently ranked 35th in the nation on bars with an average score of 48.333. Jackie Berg ranks 29th in the nation, and second in the conference on the bars with an average score of 9.833. Daneen Haba is 43rd in the nation on the bars, and sixth in the conference, with an average score of 9.808. Within the conference, MSU is seventh overall (191.867) while sitting fifth in the conference in the floor exercise (48.400). The Spartans are also sixth on the bars (48.333), while ranking seventh on both the vault (47.967) and the beam (48.019).
The Green and White also sees several members ranking in the top-20 within the conference. In the all-around, Shanthi Teike is 10th with an average score of 38.508 while also ranking 17th on the floor (9.758). Teike is joined by Dani Levy in the all-around with her 18th-ranked score of 37.125.
Last weekend, the Spartans traveled to Morganstown, W.Va., for a showdown with the Mountaineers and followed that up with a meet in Pittsburgh, Pa., against Pitt. MSU battled strong in both competitions, but were unable to pull out the win. The Green and White fell 194.00 to 192.575 against WVU, and 192.175 to 191.175 against the Panthers.
This marks the third-consecutive conference meet for Minnesota this season, boasting a 1-1 mark overall as well as in the conference. The Golden Gophers enter the meet ranked 12th in that nation on the uneven bars and floor exercise with scores of 48.838 and 48.800, respectively. UM's floor mark leads the conference so far this season. Minnesota comes in ranked third in the conference on the balance beam with a 48.500 mark. The Golden Gophers are the fifth-best team in the conference on the vault, tallying an average score of 48.488.
Within the conference, Minnesota sees several members ranking within the top-20 in several events. In the all-around, Dusti Russell is currently in seventh-place with a score of 38.888. Russell is also third in the floor, posting an average score of 9.825, and fourth on the beam with a 9.825 mark. Kristin Furukawa is ranked sixth on the uneven bars with a 9.825 mark. Kayla Slechta rounds out the Golden Gophers in the top-20 as she currently ranks seventh on the vault with a score average of 9.813.
Last weekend, Minnesota hosted Iowa for its first home meet of the season. The Golden Gophers got the best of the Hawkeyes, winning 195.325 to 194.825.
This weekend also is MSU's alumni weekend. The Spartans welcome back several former members of both the men's and women's squads to the floor following the meet to be introduced to the crowd.
Players Mentioned
