“I think we measured up pretty well against Washington going into the beam,” sophomore Taira Neal said.

“And we struggled there a little bit, but I think it showed that we can stack up against a top 25 team if we put everything together.”

In the balance beam rotation, not a single Spartan gymnast recorded a higher score than the Husky gymnasts, something head coach Kathie Klages attributed to a bit of nerves.

“They can hit in the gym all the time, and that’s what’s so frustrating from a coaching standpoint,” she said.

“They can all get up there and stick five routines in a row (in practice), so we have to find a way to simulate the kind of pressure they feel during a competition.”

Klages added that those nerves likely would disappear as the season continues and her team gets used to the feel of competitions.

She also said the team would spend time during practice this week to simulate an in-competition experience.

Despite the final score, there were several bright spots for the Spartans in their season opener. Neal tied for first place on the vault while senior Jackie Berg placed second in two events — uneven parallel bars and floor exercise.

Neal ­— who missed most of last season with an injury — also set personal bests on the uneven parallel bars and vault, with scores of 9.725 and 9.850.

Neal said breaking personal records helped her feel that she was getting back to where she was physically before the injuries.

Sophomore Dani Levy was the only MSU gymnast who competed in all four events, finishing with an all around score of 38.000. Freshman Ashley Knoll also showed some promise, tying for fourth place in the vault with a score of 9.725 and tying for fifth on the floor exercise with a score of 9.675.

The Spartans also improved their team score from their Dec. 18 scrimmage against Western Michigan, in which MSU bested the Broncos 192.425-188.850.

Berg, who had a strong start to her final year with the team, said that while the final score might not indicate it, the Spartans can compete with some of the stiffer competitors in the nation.

“We have a lot of talent on this team so hopefully we can reach our fullest potential,” she said.
“There’s still little things I feel like I can improve on and that we as a team can improve on, so I guess it’s only up from here.”

The Spartans will return to competition on Friday when they travel to Iowa City, Iowa, to take on the No. 25 Hawkeyes.