Michigan State University
Minnesota
Gymnastics Falls To Minnesota
1/20/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State fell to visiting Minnesota on Friday night at Jenison Field House, edged by the Golden Gophers by a score of 193.875-193.000. The Spartans were battling a rash of illnesses and a few injuries that continued to challenge the depth of their lineup, but still got first-place finishes on three of the four events. It was the second annual Tumbles and Takedowns event, paired with the MSU wrestlers who took on CMU simultaneously.
"Tumbles and Takedowns is a very fun and exciting event," said head coach Kathie Klages. "The girls have a lot of fun with it, coming out with the guys in the march in, so it is exciting and I think the fans really enjoy it. I was very disappointed about the competition tonight. We started out extremely rough on vaulting and then we fought back and tried, but we just aren't performing the way we do in the gym. I thought we finished strong on floor, so it was good to see us keep fighting, but we are better than this and we need to start proving it on the competition floor."
Senior Nicola Deans won a pair of event titles, winning the vault and tying for first place on floor. It was her second vault crown of the year, and her first floor title. Deans also finished second in the All-Around, scoring a 38.375. Junior Hailee Westney took the bars title for her third straight meet, and senior Kira Frederick shared the floor title, her second of the season.
MSU began its night on vault, and posted a team score of 47.775. It was a promising start for MSU, as Drew Hendershot delivered a 9.675. Anna Gamelo (9.525) and Elena Lagoski (9.275) followed, before Nicola Deans (9.775) posted MSU's top score of the night on the table. Lindsey Lemke anchored the Spartans with a 9.525. Minnesota had a strong night, posting a 48.750. Deans shared the win in the event with Gophers Abby DeMuse and Bailey Abernathy.
Kira Frederick gave MSU a strong start on their second rotation â€" bars. The senior scored a 9.725, and Drew Hendershot followed with a 9.550. Molly Hoerner-O'Malley had a tough night on the apparatus (8.175), and Nicola Deans followed with a 9.500. Lindsey Lemke scored a 9.7, and Hailee Westney closed it out with a strong routine, posting an event-best 9.850 to tie for first. For the Gophers, their scores varied greatly, with a high of 9.85 for Bailie Holst and a pair of sub-nine scores, forcing Minnesota to keep an 8.475, and the team posted a 47.450. MSU took the team event title with a 48.325, with Westney tying Holst for first on the event.
On beam, MSU had a couple of rough spots â€" Holly Ryan scored a 9.35 and Kira Frederick a 9.075, but got a strong 9.800 from junior Victoria Heuhn, her best score of the season to date. Hailee Westney and Nicola Deans each scored a 9.775 to round out the Spartan competitors, giving the Spartans a team score of 48.100. Minnesota took the team event with a 48.800, as well as boasting the event medalist â€" Abby DeMuse scored a 9825, and Heuhn and Westney took the second and third spots.
MSU entered the final rotation trailing the Gophers, but a traditionally strong rotation for MSU, floor, was still to come. Holly Ryan opened MSU's scoring with a 9.750, and Lindsey Lemke scored a 9.675 in the second spot. Drew Hendershot in the third slot scored a 9.725. Kira Frederick and Nicola Deans followed with matching 9.825 scores to tie for the top spot on the night. Elena Lagoski, competing for the second time this season, was MSUs final competitor, and a small miscue early in her routine led to a 9.300. As a team, the Spartans recorded a 48.800, and were just edged by the Gophers, who scored a 48.875. Holst was Minnesota's top scorer on the floor with a 9.825 - tying Deans and Frederick for first, and helping bolster her All-Around score to take that title home for the Gophers.
The Spartans return to action next Friday, when they participate in a quad meet at Rutgers with Cornell and Ursinus.
Players Mentioned
