Jan. 24, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
Livestats
Spartan Meet Notes
Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Website
The Spartan gymnastics team is ranked No. 21 in the most recent GymInfo Top 25 Poll that was released on Jan. 22, following a second-place finish at the Pittsburgh quad meet with a combined team score of 192.150. Michigan State returns to Jenison Field House to host fellow Big Ten opponent No. 23 Ohio State and UIC on Saturday at 7 p.m. MSU holds a slight 28-25 lead in the all-time series with the Buckeyes, while the Green and White lead the all-time series with the Flames, 14-3.
This Saturday's meet versus the Buckeyes and Flames will serve as MSU's 2007 Breast Cancer Awareness Meet. The meet is dedicated to Jan Howard, mother of former Spartan gymnast, and current Associate Director/Director of CHAMPS/Life Skills Program for MSU athletics, Angela Howard. The Spartan gymnastics team will hold a special auction of all 15 leotards that the team will wear during the meet. All proceeds from the auction will benefit the American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer cause.
Pittsburgh Recap
Despite three Spartans finishing in the top five of the all-around competition, the ninth-ranked Michigan State gymnastics team posted a 192.150, finishing second to No. 11 West Virginia (193.150) and defeating host Pittsburgh (190.725) and Maryland (189.375) last Friday. Freshman tumbler Rochelle Robinson was the top finisher in the all-around for the Green and White, posting a 38.825 to finish second, while teammates Katlyn Roggensack (38.450) and Kristen Coleman (38.425) finished third and fourth, respectively.
Scouting The Buckeyes
The Ohio State University gymnastics team most recently took fourth in a quad meet hosted by N.C. State on Jan. 21. OSU ranks two spots behind the Spartans at No. 23 in the Jan. 22 GymInfo Top 25 poll after posting a combined team score of 193.250 at N.C. State. Head coach Carrie Fagan is in her third season at the helm of the Buckeye program and welcomes back nine letterwinners from the 2006 squad.
Scouting The Flames
In its most recent competition, UIC finished second with a combined team score of 189.550 at a quad meet with Centenary, Illinois State and SEMO on Jan. 20 hosted by the Redbirds. The duo of Peter and Mary Jansson enter their 17th season at the helm of the UIC program where the Flames return nine letterwinners from a year ago, and welcome three newcomers to the gym in 2007.
Three Of The Top Five
The Spartans placed three competitors in the top five of the all-around competition at the Pittsburgh quad meet last Friday, including freshman Rochelle Robinson who took second with a score 38.825. Katlyn Roggensack (38.450) and Kristen Coleman (38.425) took third and fourth, respectively, for the Green and White.
Freshmen Impact
Through the first two meets of the 2007 season, the freshmen class has accounted for five first-place individual event finishes and one top score in the all-around competition. In the national rankings, newcomer Nicole Curler ranks sixth on the balance beam (9.850) in the Jan. 22 report, and classmate Rochelle Robinson ranks 24th in the uneven bar category (9.8520).
Big Ten Gymnast Of The Week
Freshman tumbler Nicole Curler earned her first-career Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honor on Jan. 17. Curler picked up the weekly honor after winning both the balance beam (9.925) and floor exercise (9.875), while also tying for first in the all-around against No. 16 Arizona on Jan. 12. The Bay City, Mich., native tied with teammate Kristen Coleman in the all-around competition, tallying a mark of 39.400. Curler helped MSU achieve its highest team mark on the uneven bars since the 2000 season and the third-highest in Spartan history (49.325).
Strong Start
At least three freshmen competed on each event for MSU in the season opener versus Arizona. Nicole Curler tumbled her way to a first-place finish on both the balance beam (9.925) and floor exercise (9.875) events, while her score of 39.400 tied for first in the all-around competition with teammate Kristen Coleman. Freshman Kelly Moffitt also contributed for the Green and White with a 9.825 on the vault (third place), while Megan Bergland finished third on the uneven bars with a 9.850 in her collegiate debut.
Record Breakers
Both Kristen Coleman and sophomore Katlyn Roggensack set career-highs on the uneven bar event in the season opener against Arizona. Coleman captured first place with a 9.925, while Roggensack contributed a 9.800 for the Green and White. MSU's score of 49.325 ranks as the third-highest total in school history, and the highest mark since the 2000 campaign.
2007 Schedule
Michigan State will face six teams ranked in the GymInfo Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll, and also will compete against nine additional teams that received votes by the panel of coaches during the 2007 season. MSU opens the season against No. 16 Arizona and will face No. 3 Florida, No. 6 Michigan, No. 14 Penn State and No. 24 West Virginia during the dual-meet season.
Looking Back
The Spartans ended the 2006 season with a second-place finish at the Big Ten Championship Meet at Jenison Field House and a trip to the NCAA Central Regionals held on the campus of Louisiana State University. The Big Ten finish was the highest since 1996, and the regional meet appearance was the 15th in Spartan history, and eighth under Klages. Kristen Coleman was the Spartans' top scorer on all-four events at the Regional Championship, as the Green and White wrapped up its season with a fifth-place finish and a score of 193.575. In addition to her third-place finish in the all-around (39.125), Coleman added a sixth-place finish on the uneven bars, scoring a 9.800 to clinch her spot at the national meet and prolong her season as an individual competitor.
Conference Honors
Prior to the 2006 conference championship meet, junior Kristen Coleman and classmate Victoria Iakounina were named to the All-Big Ten First and Second Teams, respectively. The honor was Coleman's first All-Big Ten selection, while Iakounina also earned second-team honors and was named Freshman of the Year in 2004. Senior Sarah Alexander was also recognized as Michigan State's sportsmanship award honoree. In addition, Spartan head coach Kathie Klages was named the 2006 Big Ten Co-Coach of the Year, at a post-championship awards ceremony. It was the third-such honor, and the second in three seasons, for Coach Klages.
Head Coach Kathie Klages
Kathie Klages is in her 17th season at the helm of the Michigan State gymnastics program in 2007. She is a three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year award winner, and has been named Central Region Coach of the Year four times. Klages' teams have been consistently successful, as she has posted a winning record in each of her previous 16 seasons leading the Green and White. In 2006, Klages guided MSU to a second-place finish at the Big Ten Championship Meet, mentored the 10th Big Ten individual event champion in school history (Chayla Hill, vault) and led State to its 15th appearance in NCAA Regional competition.
Big Ten Champion
At the 2006 Big Ten Championship Meet, Chayla Hill garnered a 9.800 on vault to finish in a five-way tie for first place, the first MSU gymnast to capture an individual event title since the 1996 season. Hill also captured three vault titles during the dual-meet season, including a season-high performance of 9.850 versus Pittsburgh and Western Michigan on Jan. 14.
Strong Leadership From The Veterans
Veterans Sarah Alexander, Kristen Coleman, Chayla Hill and Victoria Iakounina anchored the Michigan State rotation in 2006. The quartet combined for 54 top-three finishes and 14 trips to the podium in the all-around last season. Big Ten Championship competition saw Hill tie for first-place on vault with a score of 9.800, while Coleman placed second in the all-around competition, scoring a 39.100.
Academic Success
Four members of the 2006 gymnastics squad - Sarah Alexander, Kristen Coleman, Victoria Iakounina and Megan McNally - were honored with Academic All-Big Ten accolades in 2006. Additionally, seven gymnasts - Dani Fanning, Leia Langhoff, McNally, Jamie Miles, Katlyn Roggensack and Jenna Russell - received NACGC/W Academic All-America honors.
Balancing Act
Michigan State's 49.475 balance beam performance versus Northern Illinois during the 2006 season set a Spartan benchmark as the highest team score on the apparatus in program history. Senior Sarah Alexander and junior Chayla Hill led the way, each scoring a season-best 9.925, tying for first-place honors.
Scoring Rundown
Unlike other collegiate athletic rankings, collegiate gymnastic rankings are not based on wins and losses or votes. Gymnastic teams are ranked by their meet scores alone. Teams are ranked by their highest score during the opening portion of the season and are then ranked by their total season average. The teams finish the dual-meet season ranked by their Regional Qualifying Score (RQS). A RQS is based on a team's top six regular-season scores, with three scores coming from away meets. To obtain the RQS, the team's or gymnast's highest score is dropped and the remaining five scores are averaged.
Spartan Gymnastics Signs Two For 2008
Two gymnasts have signed National Letters of Intent to attend Michigan State, beginning with the 2007 fall semester. Nicole Argiros (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson High School/Michigan Academy of Gymnastics) and Kathryn Mahoney (Western Spring, Ill./Lyons Township High School/Illinois Gymnastics Institute) will don the Green and White for the 2008 season.
