The MSU gymnastics team (0-2, 0-1 Big Ten) welcomed the Iowa Hawkeyes (1-1, 1-0 Big Ten) in the inaugural "Tumbles and Takedowns" event at Jenison Field House Friday night. The gymnastics and wrestling teams competed side-by-side in the first-year event as fans were treated to nearly non-stop action.
The Spartans looked to bounce back after they opened their season on the road at No. 18 Arizona on Jan. 8, where they lost by a final score of 195.700-193.775
Unfortunately, though, the Spartans would drop their home opener against Iowa by a final score of 194.900-192.575. Iowa went on to sweep all four events on the floor as the all-around winner Mollie Drenth led the Hawkeyes.
The Spartans would start off strong in both the vault and the uneven parallel bars. After two rotations, the gymnasts were down 97.525-96.825 as the two teams alternated events.
On the first rotation at the vaults, freshman Roya Shirley made her Spartan debut. She scored 9.700 helping the home team’s cause.
“I was definitely very excited, a little nervous. I thought it went very well,” Shirley said, the Virginia native.
The two teams would then go on to compete in the beam and floor, both events accompanied by music in a display of skill and elegancy. A couple falls on the beam led to the Spartans scuffling, as the Hawkeyes started to separate themselves on the scoreboard.
While the Spartans lost the meet, senior Lisa Burt led the Spartans with her impressive performance.
“I actually felt pretty relaxed. It’s always fun to compete at home because we always have our fans. It’s pretty calming to be in here,” Burt said.
As Burt begins her senior season she has high goals, not just for herself, but also for her team.
“I would like to make it to Nationals. Team and individual (goals) are together, since I want everyone to go. Making it to Nationals is the priority.”
Throughout her career, Burt has collected impressive accolades in being voted Most Valuable Gymnast of her team last season. Burt was also named to the First-Team All-Big Ten and Academic All-Big Ten in 2015.
While the loss was a bit disappointing, head coach Kathie Klages looks forward to the season as a whole.
“(Getting to Nationals) is our goal for the season and we can’t compete like this and get there,” Klages said. “We have got to find ways to make major improvements and do it quickly. The team is talented enough to be there, but they have to do it on the competition floor.”
The gymnastics team will look to earn its first win Jan. 23 to take on Minnesota. The next home meet for the team will be the Autism Awareness and Alumni Meet against Rutgers, Towson, and Pittsburgh Jan. 30.
The wrestling team dropped their meet 29-15 to drop to 0-9 overall and 0-3 in the Big Ten.
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