The Spartans (6-4 overall, 2-3 Big Ten) defeated Pittsburgh 195.150-194.275 on Sunday but for the third consecutive meet, MSU was outscored on beams.

“Beam was again really rough,” head coach Kathie Klages said and even went as far as to call the event MSU’s “nemesis.”

In the ten team Big Ten conference, the Spartans are ranked 8th in balance beam event, which is tied for vault as their worst event.

“We changed the lineup on beam to try and see if we could get someone to stay on the beam and we definitely had our issues,” Klages said.

Senior Alina Cartwright, who was voted a 2015 Big Ten gymnast to watch before the season, has returned to the lineup and could be the answer the MSU is looking for, but she has only competed in the bars event so far.

“We’re really excited to have Alina back,” Klages said. “We’re hoping to progress her this week and get her into another event or two, hopefully doing all-around within the next couple of weeks.”

Cartwright was voted All-Big Ten first team last year after placing in the top three in the all-around competition seven different times in 2014.

However, for the immediate future the struggles on beams still persist but it isn’t because of a lack of effort during practice.

“They look awesome in the gym, it’s a mental thing,” Klages said. “They have to transfer that competitiveness that they have in the gym down here to the competition.”

The head coach, in her 25th season, is pulling out all the stops in an attempt to improve the Spartans’ weak area and will evaluate herself during practice.

“Everyday I’m going to judge, they have to earn their spot based on that,” Klages said. “That should put a little more pressure on them and hopefully get them more prepared for next weekend.”

MSU will begin their three game road trip with a matchup against Illinois (4-1 overall, 3-1 Big Ten) on Friday at 8 p.m.

The Fighting Illini are currently rank 13th in the national poll, averaging 195.996 points per meet. The Spartans sit at 28th in the national poll, averaging 194.832 points per meet.