COLUMBUS, Ohio - No. 4 Michigan State gymnastics travels to Columbus, Ohio, for its Big Ten road opener on Friday, Jan. 24 at 6:30 p.m, taking on 14th-ranked Ohio State at the Covelli Center.
Friday's meet will stream on B1G+.
NOTABLES
MSU enters Friday's meet at 4-1 (1-0 B1G) after knocking off then-No. 20 Michigan, 197.500-196.975, in its conference opener at home on Jan. 17. The Spartans competed at the Breslin Center for the first time in program history and set an attendance record with 6,251 fans against the Wolverines.
The Spartans are ranked fourth in the Week 3 RoadtoNationals rankings with an average team score of 197.000. MSU's 197.500 against Michigan was a season high and the 10th-best score in the NCAA so far this season. MSU also set season highs on beam (49.325) and floor (49.500) against Michigan.
Junior Nikki Smith earned at least a share of three titles against the Wolverines, capturing her second all-around title of the season with a season-high 39.525 while also earning the outright vault title with a 9.950. Smith shared the floor title (9.925) with senior Skyla Schulte, who made her return to the MSU lineup after missing the first two meets of the season with an injury. Junior Sage Kellerman scored a 9.900 on bars to win a share of her first title on the event of the season. Senior Gabrielle Stephen joined Smith in the all-around, posting a season-high 39.450 to finish second.
Kellerman ranks in the NCAA top 25 on both vault and bars, while Smith ranks in the top 25 on vault and Schulte in the top 25 on floor. As a team, MSU ranks sixth on vault (49.258) and bars (49.300), seventh on beam (49.242) and 12th on floor (49.200) in the Week 3 RoadtoNationals standings. The Spartans also have a pair of gymnasts in the NCAA top 25 all-around standings - Smith (14th, 39.433) and Olivia Zsarmani (19th, 39.313).
THE MATCHUP
The Buckeyes sit at No. 14 in the Week 3 RoadtoNationals standings with a team score average of 196.350. Ohio State is 2-2 (1-0 B1G) after most recently defeating Iowa, 196.275-195.200, at home on Jan. 18. The Buckeyes' season high score of 196.425 came in their season opener at the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad.
Redshirt junior Tory Vetter leads the Big Ten all-around standings this season, scoring a 39.475 and 39.575 in the Buckeyes' first two meets. She was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week earlier this week and is a First Team All-Big Ten honoree. Ohio State also returns two-time First Team All-Big Ten gymnast Payton Harris.
MSU and Ohio State have not met in a dual meet since a 197.075-196.850 win for the Buckeyes in Columbus on Feb. 26, 2022, but the Spartans have finished ahead of Ohio State in all four meetings since (2023 and 2024 Big Five Meets and 2023 and 2024 Big Ten Championships).
UP NEXT
MSU visits conference newcomer UCLA on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 5:30 p.m. ET in Los Angeles. The meet will broadcast nationally on FOX.
Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.
