“They’ve been fighting for this 197 for so long because they knew it was a program record and wanted to go after it,” Michigan State Head Coach Mike Rowe said. “During our warmup, I told them to forget about the 197 and to go out there and have fun. ... We've been approaching this every day as baby steps. ... They were taking bigger steps and it was working out for us. When we got within the mid 196s, which is pretty consistent over the past month or so, they saw it five-tenths within reach and went for it.”

That 197 wasn't in reach until later in the meet. The team struggled early on with bars but redeemed themselves in the following events in order to secure their top scores and seal the win against Illinois.

“We started out great on vault,” Rowe said. “I wasn't crazy about how bars came out, but we were still 49 and on our way to the 196. We got to beam and they left bars behind and started doing some great things. About into the third or fourth routine, I started getting emotional like this 197 could be on the trajectory here.”

Rowe began to cry when the 197.475 was announced. The team proceeded to hug and cheer for one another. They were thrilled with the results.

In addition to the team records set, players set and tied career bests. This included sophomore Delanie Harkness securing her career-best on both floor and the uneven bars, and freshman Lauren Hsu and senior Alyssa Wiedeman both setting career highs of 9.825 on vault.

Freshman Gabrielle Stephen won the title for vault and tied with sophomores Baleigh Garcia and Giana Kalefe for a score of 9.925 on beam.

Floor ended in a three-way tie for first place between senior Ashley Hofelich, freshman Skyla Shulte and Harkness after earning a 9.925.

The Spartans plan to take their accomplishments from this meet to Toledo, Ohio on Saturday for their Big Five meet.

“It is a great time to be a Spartan,” Rowe said. “With the women's basketball win over Michigan, men's basketball victory, track records being set and softball having a perfect game, there's a lot of things going on right now, including our meet, and it's really exciting here on campus. It's great to see all the hard work that student athletes put in and them reaping the benefits for it.”