EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 8 Michigan State gymnastics scored a 197.475 to defeat Bowling Green in its final home meet of the season Sunday afternoon at Jenison Field House.
MSU concludes the regular season at 14-3 and heads to next week's Big Ten Championships as the No. 2 seed in the Saturday evening session against No. 1 seed UCLA, No. 3 Minnesota and No. 4 Michigan.
The Spartans captured every event title and the all-around title while sweeping the podium on all four events. Junior Nikki Smith won the all-around, captured the vault title alongside senior Gabrielle Stephen and shared the bars title with junior Sage Kellerman, while fifth-year senior Giana Kalefe and freshman Cady Duplissis won the beam title and sophomore Elle Beaufait took top honors on floor.
"It's nice that today we hit a little more on all cylinders," said head coach Mike Rowe. "When it comes down to the details, it's the stuck landings, like always. We stuck more today than we have been. It's a good home score for us."
MSU opened the meet with a 49.250 on vault to take a 49.250-47.400 lead over the Falcons after the first rotation. The Spartans took the top five spots on the event, led by Smith and Stephen, who both scored 9.900s. Smith's title was her sixth of the season and Stephen's was her third, while Stephen's 9.900 tied a season high on the event. Freshman Amy Doyle finished third with a 9.850 and sophomore MaKayla Tucker and junior Olivia Zsarmani scored 9.800s.
A 49.425 on bars helped MSU take a 98.675-96.125 lead over Bowling Green at the halfway point. All six Spartans in the lineup took the top six spots, with Smith and Kellerman scoring matching 9.925s to share the event title. Kellerman's title was her seventh of the season. Stephen added her second 9.900 of the night to take third, while fifth-year senior Delanie Harkness scored a 9.850 and Doyle scored a 9.825 in the leadoff spot.
The Spartans scored a 49.225 on beam in the third rotation, increasing their lead over the Falcons to nearly three points with one rotation remaining. Kalefe led off with a 9.875 in to capture her second beam title of the season and shared the title Duplissis, who tied her career high and won the first event title of her career. Senior Skyla Schulte scored a 9.850, Smith posted a 9.825 and sophomore Emma Misenheimer earned a 9.800.
MSU wrapped up the meet on floor with a 49.475 in the final rotation, the Spartans' highest event score of the night. Competing in the anchor spot for the first time in her career, Beaufait captured her first-ever event title with a career-high 9.950. Tucker and Schulte tied for second with 9.900s, with Tucker notching a season high. Stephen finished fourth with a 9.875, Smith scored a 9.850 and Harkness earned a 9.825 in the leadoff position.
Smith scored a 39.500, her third-best total this season, in the all-around to earn her sixth all-around title of the season.
"This senior class specifically, through their leadership, got others to jump on board and go along the ride with us. This senior class is a big chunk of not only leadership but character, they pull people in, they are their true authentic selves, and I think that helps our culture because it encourages them to be who you are," concluded Rowe. "They are very good technicians when it comes to the sport so they can be coaches on the side. Their leadership is beyond any that I could ask for, I just hope we can get people to emulate what they have done to be able to keep this tradition going. They carry the bulk of that. It's bittersweet, but we are happy for everyone to move on and do whatever they are doing in their futures, but it is a big loss to us."
Michigan will host all three sessions of the Big Ten Championships on March 21 and 22 inside Crisler Center. The Spartans, the defending champions, will compete in the third and final session on March 22 at 5 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
Recap courtesy of MSU Athletics.
