Women's Gymnastics Releases 2017 Schedule
9/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State women's gymnastics program has announced its 2017 schedule, which features five home meets against UIC, Minnesota, Michigan, Arkansas and Bowling Green. The Spartans face a tough 2017 campaign, as five opponents on MSU's schedule finished in last season's GymInfo.com top-25.
Michigan State head coach Kathie Klages, who enters her 27th year and is the longest tenured head coach at Michigan State, is excited about the upcoming season.
"The team has come back with a renewed spirit and commitment to making improvements for the program," said Klages. "I am really excited about that, and it feels like there is something special about this group. It is a tough schedule for us, which I think is always wonderful, because you always want to challenge your athletes during the season. That is something that I think is important for us."
Two exhibition events will be held before Michigan State starts its regular season. The Green and White Meet will be an intrasquad competition slated for Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016 at 2 p.m.
Meet the Spartans will be held on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016. There will be a Gymnastics 101 session where Spartan gymnasts will perform and coaching staff will provide helpful insight into the world of gymnastics and judging standards.
The Spartans officially begin the 2017 season at home on Friday, Jan. 6 when they welcome UIC for a dual meet slated to start at 7 p.m.
MSU then jumps right into Big Ten action, as the next five meets will pit the Spartans against Big Ten opponents in the opposite division. MSU will travel to Iowa on Friday, Jan. 13 before returning home on Friday, Jan. 20 to take on Minnesota, who qualified for the National Championships last season. The meet against the Golden Gophers features both the MSU women's gymnastics and wrestling teams in the second annual "Tumbles and Take Downs" event, with the wrestlers taking on Central Michigan.
"It is always great to go against tough opponents," said Klages. "The Big Ten conference is getting so much stronger. We meet five opponents in the Big Ten on the other side of our division and those teams are always a difficult competition for us. We jump right into it, and it is always a tough go, so I am looking forward to seeing us compete."
The following weekend, MSU travels to Rutgers to take on the host Scarlet Knights along with Cornell and Ursinus on Saturday, Jan. 28. MSU remains on the road when it travels to Penn State on Saturday, Feb. 4.
Michigan State then returns home to take on in-state rival Michigan in Jenison Field House on Saturday, Feb. 11. That will also be the Alumni Meet and all alumni are invited back to Jenison Field House to be recognized at the end of the meet.
On Friday, Feb. 17, the Spartans take on the University of Illinois in a non-conference matchup. Despite not counting towards Big Ten records, the teams will be battling for the `Victory Plank.' The trophy is in its eighth season of existence, with it being awarded to the winner between the two schools each season.
The Spartans then welcome Arkansas to East Lansing for the first ever meeting between the two schools. Arkansas finished 13th in last season's final poll.
MSU has a quad meet at Pittsburgh with West Virginia and Towson on Friday, March 3 and closes out non-conference competition at home against Bowling Green at 2 p.m. The team will honor seniors Nicola Deans, Kira Frederick, Elena Lagoski and Holly Ryan in Senior Day celebrations.
The Spartans return to Champaign, Illinois, for the Big Five Meet on Saturday, March 11 to take on the five schools on their side of the conference. The meet will air on Big Ten Network.
This year's Big Ten Championship will be hosted in Piscataway, N.J. on Saturday, March. 18 on the campus of Rutgers University.
"We are striving to make the podium this year at the Big Ten Championships," said Klages. "That is one of our team's goals. It is something that we feel - and this is always this case in our sport - if we can stay healthy, we have got a real shot at that."
Players Mentioned
