MSU gymnastics wins in Illinois
NORMAL, Ill.—Michigan State gymnastics traveled to Normal, Ill. on Sunday for their second quad-meet of the season, beating Illinois State, UW-Stout and Western Michigan with a 195.100. With the win, the Spartans are now 6-6 overall.
MSU commanded the all-around competition, where senior Lisa Burt won with a 39.250. Senior Brittany Holmes competed all-around for the first time this season, posting a career-high 38.775 for a third-place finish.
“Lisa Burt had another stellar meet,” head coach Kathie Klages said. “Though we did not count a fall throughout the meet, we struggled with a lot of wobbles on beam and need to work on beam performance. We had a lot of adversity with some line up changes but the team was strong and showed some mental toughness throughout the competition. It is great to get the W's and improve our RQS.
The Spartans started on beam, where sophomore Victoria Huehn tied for the event win, which marks her first-career individual event title on beam, posting an impressive season-high 9.800, just missing her career-high of 9.825. Sophomore Hailee Westney also garnered a season-high on the event, posting a 9.650.
On floor, the Spartans strongest event coming into the meet, both Burt and fifth year senior Ashley Noll matched their season-highs, logging a 9.850 and a 9.800, respectively. Burt’s finish tied for first place. Freshman Drew Hendershot also had a stellar outing with a 9.825 to tie for second overall, while Holmes and junior Elena Lagoski both notched a 9.800.
The team moved on to vault in the third rotation, where graduate student Haley Sedgewick achieved a career-high 9.800 to place second overall. This was the first top-three finish of her Spartan campaign. Burt, Hendershot and senior Nicola Deans all posted 9.725’s, just edging Holmes’ 9.700.
For the last rotation, MSU impressed on bars, collecting a team score of 49.050. Burt sparkled in the event, matching her career-high with a 9.925, to earn her fourth crown on the event of the season and ninth of her career. Freshman Jessica Ling just missed her career-high of 9.875 with her 9.850 on Sunday to place second on the event. Lagoski earned a 9.825, just missing her season-high 9.850 at home last week.
The Spartans will travel to Berkley, Calif., next Friday, March 4 to compete against No. 14 California at 10 p.m. They will continue their weekend in Boise, Idaho, facing No. 11 Boise State on Sunday, March 6 at 4 p.m., which will be their final meet of the regular season.
