Teike, a freshman MSU gymnast, has been one of the Spartans’ most consistent performers this season, regularly finishing
in the top five and proving to be a nice complement to the team’s juniors and seniors.

“I have a lot of confidence in myself,” Teike said. “It’s very competitive, since it’s more of a team-oriented sport … and it’s completely different than club and a lot more fun than club in my opinion.”

Teike starred in MSU’s victory against Ohio State on Jan. 30, finishing as the top all-around performer and placing among the top six competitors in all four events.

She also earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors for the week of Jan. 18 following her third-place finish in a tri-meet at Iowa, helping her team to a 5-0 start — the program’s best since the 1998 season.

With seniors Nicole Curler and Rochelle Robinson leading the way and juniors Kelsey Morley and Nicole Argiros headlining the other contributors, the team looked prime for a good run at the season’s start.

Now, Teike’s quick start has taken the pressure off the rest of her teammates and had a positive impact on the scores for the No. 22 Spartans.

Teike has placed in the top five all-around during the past two meets and has been a regular top finisher in the vault and floor exercise events, which she views as her top events.

“We’re really excited about the fact that she has been able to become consistent,” head coach Kathie Klages said. “She was a little inconsistent as a club gymnast, so she has learned to master the nerves or the excitement of competition and has been able to hit in almost every meet.”

Teike enrolled in gymnastics classes when she was 5 years old and was the champion of the Junior Nationals vault competition in 2008.

A regional floor and vault champion in high school, Teike has made a smooth transition to the collegiate level and is managing the increased workload.

“The biggest transition is time management,” Teike said.

“My favorite part is that before the meets, we do a cheer that gets us all pumped up, and we say a little prayer at the beginning, and we walk out as a team, and then we leave as a team.”

Teike likely will see an expanded role in leading MSU in the all-around with the eligibility of Robinson and Curler ending after the season.

She’s already seen improvements in her overall score from 37.700 in the team’s season-opening meet to a 38.875 on Sunday.

With six regular season competitions remaining, she will have plenty more opportunities to showcase her skills and land some top all-around performances for her team.

“She reminds me of (my) class,” Curler said.

“It’s nice to see somebody who is younger step up and be able to compete so well and deal with the pressure of changing from her club team, when it’s only about you, and coming onto our team and it being a very team-oriented competition. It’s nice that she’s grasped that concept very well and is performing very well for us.”