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Preview: MSU gymnastics looks to remain undefeated in the Big Ten against Penn State Saturday

February 4, 2023
<p>Senior Nyah Smith during her floor routine in a meet against University of Michigan, held at Jenison Field House on Jan. 22, 2023. The Spartans upset the No. 3 ranked Wolverines with 197.200 points.</p>

Senior Nyah Smith during her floor routine in a meet against University of Michigan, held at Jenison Field House on Jan. 22, 2023. The Spartans upset the No. 3 ranked Wolverines with 197.200 points.

The No. 13 Michigan State gymnastics team (3-1, 2-0) will be looking to continue its undefeated hot start in conference play as the Spartans travel back home to take on Penn State (7-3, 1-1) Saturday night.

The Spartans are coming off a solid win on the road against Maryland last Sunday where they put up their highest road score of the season so far and the 10th-best score in program history (196.950).

The meet in College Park started off pretty slow for MSU and left the Spartans down at the end of the second rotation, but their third rotation on the floor quickly shot them back into the lead, which was held until the conclusion of the meet.

Against Maryland, Michigan State dominated on every apparatus. The Spartans had the top scores on every single event and sophomore Skyla Schulte had a standout performance to earn her first all-around title this season.

Schulte clinched the beam title with a season-high 9.900, freshman Sage Kellerman took the vault title with a 9.900, freshman Nikki Smith was awarded her first-floor title of her career with a 9.900 and junior Delanie Harkness acquired her third straight uneven bars title of the season, also with a 9.900.

For the second week in a row, Smith was named Big Ten Freshman of the week after receiving both her first freshman of the week and co-gymnast of the week honors last week following her stellar performance against No. 3 Michigan to take the all-around title.

Sophomore Gabrielle Stephen is going into this weekend’s meet tied for 20th in the nation in the individual rankings, making her the highest ranked MSU gymnast at this point in the season. Stephen placed third in the all-around against Maryland with a score of 39.325.

The Nittany Lions defeated Rutgers on Monday night where they scored a season-high 196.550 and freshman Ava Piedrahita took first in the all-around. Penn State also scored its season-best on the uneven bars, beam and floor.

The Spartans and the Nittany Lions have been going head-to-head in gymnastics since 1965, and Saturday will be the two teams’ 30th meeting. Penn State holds a 23-6 all-time advantage over Michigan State, but the Spartans came out victorious in their meeting last year, outscoring PSU 196.975-196.125.

At this point in the season, the Spartan’s average score per meet (196.775) is sitting above the Nittany Lions' highest score (196.550).

No. 13 Michigan State is set to take on Penn State at 7 p.m. at Jenison Field House. The meet will also be available to stream on BTN+.

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