Spartans Travel to 2015 Big Ten Championships
3/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
| Michigan State at the 2015 Big Ten Championships | |
| Dates | Saturday, March 21, 2015 Ann Arbor, Michigan | Crisler Center |
| TV | Big Ten Network |
| Video Stream | BTN2Go |
| Live Scoring | http://www.mgoblue.com/livestats/w-gym/ |
| Download Game Notes | Michigan State |
| Social Media | @MSUgymnastics  | Facebook  |
SERIES NOTES
• Michigan State will compete in the first session of the 2015 Big Ten Championships on Saturday, March 21 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Competition will begin at 11:30 a.m. ET in the Crisler Center.
• Live coverage of both sessions will be televised live by the Big Ten Network and be shown live on mobile devices via BTN2Go. Bernie Guenther (play-by-play) and 2008 Olympic medalist Shawn Johnson (analyst) will be on the call.
• Michigan State will face Rutgers, Iowa and Maryland in the first session. The Spartans have faced all three teams in the regular season, posting a perfect record (4-0) against the Big Ten foes.
• Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Minnesota and Illinois will compete in the second session of the day, which will take place at the Crisler Center at 4:30 p.m. ET. After the conclusion of both sessions, all scoring will be finalized.
• Earlier this season, the Spartans posted a 195.625-193.350 victory over the Hawkeyes (Jan. 18). MSU has faced Rutgers twice this season, outscoring the Scarlet Knights on both occasions, 194.950-194.350 (Jan. 31) and 196.275-194.850 (Feb. 27). The Spartans saw Maryland at the inaugural Big Five Meet (March 14), where they posted a 195.250-194.875 victory over the Terrapins.
• The Spartans will face a home-meet format at the Big Ten Championships, starting on vault before heading to bars, beam and floor.
Rutgers: Bars, beam, floor, vault Iowa: Beam, floor, vault, bars Maryland: Floor, vault, bars, beam
TEAM NOTES
• The Spartans currently rank 28th in the nation, averaging a 195.073 alongside a 195.610 RQS. As a team, they rank seventh in the Big Ten heading into the weekend.
• Floor has proven to be the most consistent event for the Spartans, who have tallied a 49.210 RQS and rank 16th in the nation and third in the conference as a team.
• Junior Lisa Burt and sophomore Elena Lagoski were both named First Team All-Big Ten, as announced by the Conference on Tuesday. This is the first time MSU has had two gymnasts named to First Team All-Big Ten since the 2007-08 season.
• Named a Big Ten Gymnast to Watch for 2015, Burt has proven her consistency, taking the all-around crown in five meets this season. A career high 39.475 came in the home opener against Minnesota (Jan. 25), where Burt posted a career high 9.825 on vault and a then-career-best 9.900 on bars.
• Burt has been ranked in the all-around top 25 nationally throughout the entire 2015 season, most recently tallying a 39.345 RQS and ranking 23rd in the national all-around poll.
• Lagoski earned Spartan record book honors when she set a career best 9.950, the second-highest score in school history, on floor at Iowa (Jan. 18). She went on to reach that mark twice more this season (Feb. 15 and Feb. 27). A native of Kingston, PA, Lagoski holds eight floor crowns and has placed among the top three in 10 of the 11 regular season competitions.
• Lagoski is currently tied for first in the Big Ten and 11th in the nation on floor with a 9.920 RQS.
• Last weekend, the Spartans tied the Buckeyes for third place at the inaugural Big Five Meet with a 195.250. MSU fell to the Buckeyes in the tiebreaker, and will therefore compete in the first session of the Big Ten Championships.
• As a team, MSU posted a 49.000 on beam last weekend, the second-highest team score of the season. Freshman Hailee Westney led the way and tied her career high 9.850 on beam for the second straight week.
• Kathie Klages is in her 25th season as head coach of the MSU gymnastics program. She is the longest-tenured head coach in the athletic department. The Spartans welcomed assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Mike Rowe to the program this season after coaching nine years at the University of Pittsburgh. Both Rowe and assistant coach Nicole Curler are MSU alumni.
• With a 195.610 RQS as a team, the Spartans have secured their spot in the top 36 and will compete as a team at Regionals for the first time since 2012. Time and location are yet to be determined.
