Thursday, March 31
Seattle, Wash.
1 PM PT / 4 PM ET
Michigan State University
197.325
vs
No. 5 Alabama, BYU, Washington
Spartan Gymnastics Advances to NCAA Regional Final
3/31/2022 6:17:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics
MSU finishes second with dramatic floor finish.
SEATTLE, Wash. – Michigan State gymnastics is moving on to the NCAA Regional Final in Seattle after a stellar showing in Session I of Thursday's second regional round.
The No. 12-ranked Spartans put up a team score of 197.325, placing second behind No. 5 Alabama's score of 197.900, and overcoming host Washington with a late charge, as the Huskies came in third with a 197.175, while BYU scored 196.625. It was MSU's fifth score of 197 or higher over the course of a record-shattering season for the Green & White, and the fourth-highest team score in program history.
"We knew we had to bring our game, and it was very back and forth for a while there with us and Washington," Head Coach Mike Rowe commented. "We try to teach our athletes not to watch the score, control only what you can control. It was a good atmosphere and there was a lot of good gymnastics going on, so we knew we had to just keep bringing it on every event. I was confident that we could come back and win the battle on floor, and fortunately, that's what happened."
The meet went down to the wire with Michigan State and Washington fighting for the second-place spot to advance to the finals. Both teams were within one-tenth of a point of each other after the first three rounds. But in typical fashion, the Spartans excelled on floor in their final rotation, finishing with a team score of 49.550, the third-highest floor score in program history, to pull ahead of the Huskies.
The Spartans easily put up some of their best team event scores in postseason history. The squad's vault score of 49.200 topped the previous record of 49.075 set in 2009, and on bars, Thursday's score of 49.225 surpasses 2016's program-high of 48.950 set at MSU's last regionals appearance. On beam, the final team score of 49.350 was the seventh-highest in program history and the new best in NCAA postseason competition. The previous high floor score of 49.175, set at regionals in 2003, was blown out of the water by Thursday's score of 49.550.
Six Spartans earned event titles on the day, with all four events including multiple ties for the top three spots. Senior Ashley Hofelich and freshman Skyla Schulte tied for first on floor with Alabama's Lilly Hudson and Lexi Graber, all four gymnasts scoring a 9.950 on their routines. Schulte also tied for second place on beam with a 9.925, just short of her career-high. Freshman Gabrielle Stephen tied for third on both vault and beam, earning a score of 9.900 on each. On bars, sophomore Delanie Harkness scored a 9.900, good for third place overall. Harkness also tied for fifth on floor with another 9.900.
Schulte placed third all-around, totaling a 39.400 over four events with two scores of 9.950 in her final two routines. It was the fifth-highest all-around score this season for Schulte, who holds the MSU program record score.
Again starting out on vault, Michigan State totaled a 49.200, led by Stephen with a 9.900 in the anchor spot. Junior Nyah Smith placed second for the Spartans with a 9.850, nearly tying her career-best. Sophomore Baleigh Garcia and Hofelich each had scores of 9.825.
Moving on to bars, the Spartans put up another handful of consistent scores. Stephen led off with a 9.825, while juniors Tori Loomis and Jori Jackard each scored a 9.850, Loomis tying her career-best. Harkness anchored with a 9.900, just shy of her career-high.
The Spartans were battling to the wire with host Washington after two rotations, with MSU totaling a 98.425 and the Huskies a 98.252. Alabama led with a 98.900, while BYU had a 98.325.
On beam, senior Alyssa Wiedeman made her first appearance of the night, scoring a 9.800 on her routine. Stephen put up her second 9.900 of the night in the three-spot on beam. Fellow freshman standout Schulte scored a 9.925, just a hair shy of her career-high on the apparatus. Garcia wrapped up the rotation for the Spartans with a 9.850.
With one rotation remaining, Alabama held onto its lead with a 148.450. Washington stood in second with a 147.875, followed by MSU totaling 147.775 and BYU 147.550.
The battle for the Regional Final spot was won on the floor, when the Spartans exploded for three scores of 9.900 or higher. After a shaky start, Michigan State scored the trio of near-perfect routines that sealed the win. Smith and Lea Mitchell put up back-to-back scores of 9.875. Harkness earned the first 9.900 on floor of the night for the Green & White. In the two anchor spots, Schulte and Hofelich both scored a 9.950, Schulte tying her career-best floor mark. The pair earned the highest individual scores for MSU of the night, tying for first overall for the floor title with a pair of Alabama gymnasts.
"We're thrilled and ready to go to the next step on Saturday," Rowe added. "We're going to rest really good tomorrow to be ready to go. We'll need to clean up a couple things, work on our landings, but I think we can pull out an even higher score than we did today. I keep telling them, the sky's the limit."
The Spartans await results from Session II to find out their fellow opponents at the regional finals. The evening session includes Utah, Illinois, Oregon State and Stanford. The top two teams from each session advance to the finals on Saturday, April 2, with the top two teams out of that round qualifying for nationals on April 14 in Fort Worth, Texas.
The No. 12-ranked Spartans put up a team score of 197.325, placing second behind No. 5 Alabama's score of 197.900, and overcoming host Washington with a late charge, as the Huskies came in third with a 197.175, while BYU scored 196.625. It was MSU's fifth score of 197 or higher over the course of a record-shattering season for the Green & White, and the fourth-highest team score in program history.
"We knew we had to bring our game, and it was very back and forth for a while there with us and Washington," Head Coach Mike Rowe commented. "We try to teach our athletes not to watch the score, control only what you can control. It was a good atmosphere and there was a lot of good gymnastics going on, so we knew we had to just keep bringing it on every event. I was confident that we could come back and win the battle on floor, and fortunately, that's what happened."
The meet went down to the wire with Michigan State and Washington fighting for the second-place spot to advance to the finals. Both teams were within one-tenth of a point of each other after the first three rounds. But in typical fashion, the Spartans excelled on floor in their final rotation, finishing with a team score of 49.550, the third-highest floor score in program history, to pull ahead of the Huskies.
The Spartans easily put up some of their best team event scores in postseason history. The squad's vault score of 49.200 topped the previous record of 49.075 set in 2009, and on bars, Thursday's score of 49.225 surpasses 2016's program-high of 48.950 set at MSU's last regionals appearance. On beam, the final team score of 49.350 was the seventh-highest in program history and the new best in NCAA postseason competition. The previous high floor score of 49.175, set at regionals in 2003, was blown out of the water by Thursday's score of 49.550.
Six Spartans earned event titles on the day, with all four events including multiple ties for the top three spots. Senior Ashley Hofelich and freshman Skyla Schulte tied for first on floor with Alabama's Lilly Hudson and Lexi Graber, all four gymnasts scoring a 9.950 on their routines. Schulte also tied for second place on beam with a 9.925, just short of her career-high. Freshman Gabrielle Stephen tied for third on both vault and beam, earning a score of 9.900 on each. On bars, sophomore Delanie Harkness scored a 9.900, good for third place overall. Harkness also tied for fifth on floor with another 9.900.
Schulte placed third all-around, totaling a 39.400 over four events with two scores of 9.950 in her final two routines. It was the fifth-highest all-around score this season for Schulte, who holds the MSU program record score.
Again starting out on vault, Michigan State totaled a 49.200, led by Stephen with a 9.900 in the anchor spot. Junior Nyah Smith placed second for the Spartans with a 9.850, nearly tying her career-best. Sophomore Baleigh Garcia and Hofelich each had scores of 9.825.
Moving on to bars, the Spartans put up another handful of consistent scores. Stephen led off with a 9.825, while juniors Tori Loomis and Jori Jackard each scored a 9.850, Loomis tying her career-best. Harkness anchored with a 9.900, just shy of her career-high.
The Spartans were battling to the wire with host Washington after two rotations, with MSU totaling a 98.425 and the Huskies a 98.252. Alabama led with a 98.900, while BYU had a 98.325.
On beam, senior Alyssa Wiedeman made her first appearance of the night, scoring a 9.800 on her routine. Stephen put up her second 9.900 of the night in the three-spot on beam. Fellow freshman standout Schulte scored a 9.925, just a hair shy of her career-high on the apparatus. Garcia wrapped up the rotation for the Spartans with a 9.850.
With one rotation remaining, Alabama held onto its lead with a 148.450. Washington stood in second with a 147.875, followed by MSU totaling 147.775 and BYU 147.550.
The battle for the Regional Final spot was won on the floor, when the Spartans exploded for three scores of 9.900 or higher. After a shaky start, Michigan State scored the trio of near-perfect routines that sealed the win. Smith and Lea Mitchell put up back-to-back scores of 9.875. Harkness earned the first 9.900 on floor of the night for the Green & White. In the two anchor spots, Schulte and Hofelich both scored a 9.950, Schulte tying her career-best floor mark. The pair earned the highest individual scores for MSU of the night, tying for first overall for the floor title with a pair of Alabama gymnasts.
"We're thrilled and ready to go to the next step on Saturday," Rowe added. "We're going to rest really good tomorrow to be ready to go. We'll need to clean up a couple things, work on our landings, but I think we can pull out an even higher score than we did today. I keep telling them, the sky's the limit."
The Spartans await results from Session II to find out their fellow opponents at the regional finals. The evening session includes Utah, Illinois, Oregon State and Stanford. The top two teams from each session advance to the finals on Saturday, April 2, with the top two teams out of that round qualifying for nationals on April 14 in Fort Worth, Texas.
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