MSU scored a 48.625 on the difficult balance beam, and were dominant on the other three events to secure victory.

“We were thrilled with the performance (Saturday),” head coach Kathie Klages said.

“I’m definitely happy with the team’s performance on the balance beam. That’s the toughest event since you can just drop a shoulder and be on the ground, so we’re really pleased with how the team has done on the balance beam this whole year.”

The Spartans began strong on the vault, led by senior Rochelle Robinson’s 9.85 performance and good secondary performances from freshman Shanthi Teike and senior Nicole Curler, who each recorded scores of 9.80 and 9.775, respectively.

Robinson incorporated a stellar finale to her bars performance as she twisted in the air to finish with a 9.90 and place first in the event. Curler and junior Nicole Argiros wrapped up second and third place finishes, respectively, as the Spartans swept the first two events.

The Spartans then secured the top two spots in the balance beam, using performances from Curler and Morley to take a 146.350 to 142.875 lead in the running score.

The Spartans held the advantage in the running score throughout the match.

The floor exercise marked MSU’s lowest-scoring event, but the Spartans still managed a 48.525 score, as Argiros drew loud applause for her first-place finish and career-best 9.875 score in the event as the Spartans swept the top three spots.

Teiki finished second in the floor exercise with a career-high score of 9.850, while senior Emily Lopatofsky finished third with a score of 9.800.

A third-place finish by Ohio State’s Colleen Dean on the balance beam was the Buckeyes’ only top three placement in any of the events, as the Spartans reserved the rest of the podium slots with good performances in each event.

“The way we went in and just tackled it — we were on a mission,” Morley said. “We had this calm confidence coming in and we knew what the job we had to do.”

Morley placed second in the all-around competition behind Teike, who scored 39.025, while Curler finished third.

As a team, the Spartans hit 22 of 24 performances, improving to 6-2 on the season and 3-2 in the Big Ten.

Competing in three consecutive road contests prior to Saturday’s meet, the Spartans again will start a long road swing this week as they travel Sunday to Western Michigan for a four-team meet and then continue on the road before returning home Feb. 20 for a matchup against New Hampshire.

In addition to serving as a solid Big Ten victory, Teike said Saturday’s performance also should give the team confidence as it prepares for its next trip.

“We did work hard in the gym, and we had the set of mind to get back on track again, and we definitely did that and I was very excited about it,” Teike said. “We all pulled together and I was really excited.”