After a 196.125-193.35 loss to the Illini last Saturday, the Spartans come into this weekend’s meet trying to improve the little things that will make their overall performance better.

“We’re really trying to get them to concentrate on the details and what they need to do in order to hit those routines,” head coach Kathie Klages said. “The fact that we counted less falls at Illinois than the weekend before at Nebraska was a real positive.”

This will be the first time MSU will be competing at home since losing to Western Michigan-, 193.5-192.725, on Jan. 12.

Klages said coming home after two weeks on the road will give the Spartans a much needed boost, both mentally and physically.

“It’s always great to be home and performing in front of your home fans,” she said. “I think the team is just more comfortable in their home arena and I think we’re just looking to gain some confidence in our performances, and I think that will certainly help to be at home.”

In their meet last Saturday, the Golden Gophers beat then-No. 1 Michigan by 0.025 for their first-ever win over a top ranked opponent.

After her first road trip as a Spartan, freshman Kate Filosi said it was an eye-opening experience, but it’s nice to come back to East Lansing.

“Being on the road these past two meets has definitely been hard, especially as a freshmen,” Filosi said. “It was my first taste of what a season is actually like. Being home this weekend, I don’t have to pack, (and) I can finally unpack my suitcase.”

Minnesota is led by junior Kayla Slechta, who is No. 1 in vault rankings with an average of 9.942 through three meets.

Against Illinois, MSU hit all their floor routines, a trend Filosi said was the most exhilarating experience of her young college career so far.

“We were all so hyped,” she said. “We were together, we were dancing, we were cheering. It was like the best feeling in the world.”

Minnesota also has two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week Lindsay Mable, who won the all-around competition last Saturday with a score of 39.45.

Senior captain Taira Neal said trying to keep the talented Golden Gophers out of their heads is something they need to deal with, but it’s not the most important thing on their minds.

“I’m not mad that they beat Michigan,” Neal said. “Minnesota’s a great team right now, they’re doing really good. We just really want to improve and do well on our two weakest events, which (are) bars and beam.”

Klages said the key to defeating the Golden Gophers is taking the performances they know they’re capable of getting from the practice gym to the competition floor.

“I’ve seen their scores throughout the season and they are putting up some big numbers,” Klages said. “They’re going to be a huge competitor. We need to believe in ourselves and get the routines out of these athletes that we know they’re capable of on the competition.”