Michigan State University
Arkansas
Gymanstics Defeats No. 21 Arkansas
2/25/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
EAST LANSING, Mich. -Michigan State scored a big win over No. 21 Arkansas on Saturday afternoon, downing the Razorbacks 195.550 â€" 185.275. The Spartans scored their second highest meet score for the season, behind the 195.625 MSU recorded in its meet vs. Michigan two weeks ago. The Spartans improve to 4-6, while the No. 21 Razorbacks fall to 2-6 overall.
Nicola Deans scored the All-Around and vault titles, while Kira Frederick (floor), Molly Hoerner-O'Malley (floor), Elena Lagoski (bars), Hailee Westney (beam) and Gabriella Douglas (beam) all established new career highs on the afternoon.
"There were some excellent individual performances up and down the lineup today with several career highs," said interim head coach Mike Rowe. "On the floor, we scored a 49.1, which was a season-high for us, so that was another positive. What was best about today was that we warmed up with ease and they were clean and effortless. The message was to go out there and do just exactly that and perform how we did in warm-ups and come out and compete. We wanted to do what we do and they stepped up and did it."
The Spartans had a slow start on vault, but got better with each athlete, which included a first-place overall finish by Nicola Deans, as she posted a 9.825 â€" giving her a fifth vault title of the season. Elena Lagoski was tied for third with a 9.725, the fourth time in her career and first time this season that she earned a top-three finish on the board. Roya Shirley (9.700), Alex Hoyer (9.675), Gabriella Douglas (9.550) and Brittini Chappel were the other four Spartan competitors. Braie Speed scored a 9.800 for the visiting Razorbacks, who edged the Spartans in team score, 48.500-48.475.
On bars, Elena Lagoski posted a career- best 9.875 to win the event title, her first-ever in her career. Hailee Westney tied for second place with a 9.850 with a routine capped with an impressive dismount. Speed was tied with Westney for second, while Arkansas also took third (Hailey Gardner) and fourth (Leah McMoyle) place in the event. Lindsey Lemke was fifth (9.750), followed by Deans (9.725), Roya Shirley (9.700), and Molly Hoerner O'Malley (9.675). The 48.900 was the second-highest score for the Spartans on the bars this season.
"With the week that we had, there wasn't as much consistency we would have liked with the training, but the kids stepped up today when it was important and did it," said Rowe. "Throughout the week, we weren't' really sure what the bars lineup was going to look like, so for them to go 48.9 was good to see for us in terms of picking up some steam and putting it back together."
The Spartans posted a 49.075 on the beam, tied for the 16th-best team score on the event in program history. The team score was highlighted by a pair of 9.900 performances from Westney and Douglas, which was the career high for both gymnasts. Deans anchored the event with a 9.800, and Alex Hoyer scored a 9.775. The Spartans won the event 49.075-48.925, as Westney and Douglas tied for first. The Razorback duo of Samantha Nelson and Michaela Burton tied for third with a 9.825.
"I liked our focus coming into today," said Rowe. "After we finished beam, we came to floor and knew we could score 49 on the floor, we just had to do what we do and have fun with it. Our expectations were even higher today. We are still not hitting on all cylinders, but to go 24-for-25 on our routines tonight was a great way to start to build some momentum. We are very excited and extremely proud of the girls, because I think this is going to really help their confidence and they truly believed in themselves tonight."
On floor, Lindsey Lemke led off with a 9.750, matched by Hoerner-O'Malley, which was a career best for the sophomore. Gabriella Douglas scored a 9.625, followed by a strong effort from senior Elena Lagoski, who recorded a 9.875 â€" just off her season high of 9.9 set vs. Penn State on Feb. 4. Kira Frederick matched her career best with a 9.925, her highest score of the season, to set up the final routine by Deans, who scored a 9.75. Frederick took the title â€" her third of the season â€" and Lagoski tied for second with Arkansas' Heather Elswick for second place. MSU scored a season-high 49.1 in the event, while Arkansas â€" riddled with injury â€" was forced to go with just four competitors and finished with a 39.150.
Michigan State is headed to Pittsburgh for a Friday meet with West Virginia and Towson, then returns home next Sunday (March 5) for Senior Day festivities when the Spartans take on Bowling Green at 2 pm.
Players Mentioned
