Gymnastics Big Ten Home Opener vs. Minnesota
1/22/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
| Michigan State vs. Minnesota | |
| Dates | Saturday, January 24, 2015 East Lansing, Michigan Jenison Field House |
| Tickets | Spartan Ticket Office |
| Video Stream | http://www.msuspartans.com/collegesportslive/?media=481905 |
| Live Scoring | |
| Download Game Notes | Michigan State | Minnesota |
| Social Media | @MSUgymnastics  | Facebook  |
| Promotions | SATURDAY: Breast Cancer Awareness - wear PINK and get in for free! |
SERIES NOTES
• MSU hosts Minnesota for the second Big Ten matchup of the season. The home opener will take place on Saturday, January 24 at 4 p.m. in Jenison Fieldhouse and will serve as the annual Jan Howard Memorial Breast Cancer Awareness Meet.
• Michigan State is looking for it's 500th win as a program, sitting at 499 wins after defeating both Iowa and Ball State on Sunday. This is the second Big Ten matchup of the season for the Spartans, who currently hold a 1-0 mark in Big Ten competition.
• Minnesota, which currently sits at seventh in the Big Ten, leads the all-time series record against Michigan State by a 35-21 margin. The last head-to-head meeting between the two schools took place on Feb. 15, 2014, when the Spartans fell to the Gophers by a score of 196.025-193.700.
TEAM NOTES
• Michigan State is closing in on its 500th win as a program with an all-time record of 499-253-4 in its 40 years as a varsity program. Head coach Kathie Klages has been at the head of the program for 320 of those wins.
• Last week Spartan gymnasts opened up 2015 Big Ten competition against Iowa, earning 10 career highs in a tri-meet win over the Hawkeyes and Ball State on Sunday, scoring a season-best 195.625.
• At Iowa, Junior Lisa Burt led the Spartans, taking the all-around crown for the second straight week. Sophomore Elena Lagoski won the floor event title for the second meet in a row, earning a career-high 9.950. Lagoski's 9.950 puts her in the Spartan record book, tying for the second-highest score in program history.
• As of Jan. 19, MSU is tied for 20th in the nation and tied for fifth in the Big Ten alongside Ohio State. Lagoski is ranked fourth in the nation (second in the Big Ten) on floor, while Burt comes in at 21st nationally in all-around competition.
• Against UI and BSU, senior Ashley Noll earned a third-place finish in all-around competition, scoring a career-high 38.750. Junior Nicola Deans competed all-around for the first time this season, earning a 38.400 for the Spartans.
•Tori Huehn, who competed for just her second time as a Spartan at Iowa, notched a 9.525 on vault and a 9.775 on beam, a new career high for the freshman.
• Freshman Anna Gamelo earned two career bests against Iowa and Ball State with a 9.825 on floor and a 9.775 on vault. Gamelo tied for second overall on vault alongside teammate Burt.
• Three Spartans represented Michigan State at the 2014 NCAA Regional Championships. Alina Cartwright led the Spartans and tied for fifth in all-around competition with a score of 39.325. Lisa Burt followed Cartwright and tied for seventh in all-around competition, notching a score of 39.200. In her first appearance at the regional meet, Elena Lagoski earned a score of 9.875 to place ninth overall on the floor exercise.
• Cartwright is coming off of a successful 2014 season, being named First Team All-Big Ten. She is the first Spartan to be named First Team All-Big Ten since assistant coach Nicole Curler accomplished this in the 2010 season. Cartwright was voted the program's Outstanding Gymnast by her teammates in 2014.
• Kathie Klages is in her 25th season as head coach of the MSU gymnastics program. She is the longest-tenured coach in the athletic department. The Spartans welcome assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Mike Rowe to the program after coaching nine years at the University of Pittsburgh. Both Rowe and assistant coach Nicole Curler are MSU alumni.
• The Spartans finished the 2014 season ranked 39th in the country. MSU finished sixth in the Big Ten regular season, and eighth at the Big Ten Championship meet.
• The Spartans had seven gymnasts receive Academic All-Big Ten honors in the 2013-2014 school year. Klages has had 136 Academic All-Big Ten selections over her 25 years at the helm of MSU, as well as 115 student-athletes on the NACGC/W Scholar-Americans list.
• Cartwright and Burt have been selected as Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch for the 2015 season, as announced by the conference office in December.
• Up next, the Spartans travel New Brunswick, N.J. to face Big Ten newcomer Rutgers University on Saturday, Jan. 31. Competition will begin at 4 p.m. in the Livingston Recreation Center.
Players Mentioned
