Michigan State University
NCAA Championship Semifinals
Harkness and Stephen Conclude Season at NCAA Gymnastics Championships
4/13/2023 6:54:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics
FORTH WORTH, Texas – Michigan State gymnastics junior Delanie Harkness and sophomore Gabrielle Stephen wrapped up the 2023 season for the Spartans at the NCAA Championships in Fort Worth on Thursday afternoon in Fort Worth at Dickies Arena.Â
Both making their first-career appearances at the NCAA Championships, the pair competed in the first semifinal session of the day and rotated alongside Cal throughout the meet. Harkness competed in the first rotation at the end of Cal's floor lineup, scoring a 9.875 to finish in a four-way tie for 13th place in the first session. Stephen, competing at the end of Cal's beam lineup in the fourth rotation, scored a 9.700 to finish 24th. Stephen's routine was the final routine of the meet.Â
"Gabi and Delanie represented the Green and White with enthusiasm, pride, class, proficiency and foreshadowing for the program's future," said head coach Mike Rowe. "They will continue to be the extremely talented, focused and driven leaders that they are, lending this experience at the Big Dance in many ways to make their Spartan sisters stronger. We will continue to improve and grow as a program and take each of these amazing opportunities as learning experiences that will enable and guide us in our growth."
Thursday marked the second-straight year the Spartans have qualified an individual competitor to the NCAA Championships and the first time since 1997 that MSU had multiple individual qualifiers. Â
The meet marked the official end to the 2023 season for the Spartans, who finished the season ranked 11th in the country. Following its record-breaking 2022 season, MSU rewrote the record books again in 2023, breaking the team overall score record three times and setting team-high scores on vault, bars and beam. The Spartans also eclipsed the 198.000 team score mark for the first time in program history, earning a 198.225 in a tri-meet win over Bowling Green and LIU on March 5. Harkness and Stephen also wrapped up record-breaking individual seasons, both earning First-Team All-Big Ten honors. Â
Players Mentioned
