Junior All-Around Baleigh Garcia flips during her vault routine at the MSU v.s. Penn State meet at the Jenison Field House on Feb. 4, 2023. The Spartans beat the Nittany Lions 197.450 - 195.475.
After a historic season, the Michigan State gymnastics team will not be advancing to the NCAA National Championship. Similarly to last year, MSU finished the regional final in third place, just behind two of the top teams in the country.
The difference between Arizona in fourth place and California in first was .600.
From start to finish, the Pittsburgh regional finals were competitive and down to fractions of a point.
Michigan State struggled slightly in the second round Friday. There were some falls and small mishaps that slowly added up, but luckily for the Spartans, their overall performance allowed for them to advance to the regional final on Sunday.
Where there were uncertainties on Friday, there was confidence on Sunday. Everything the Spartans did to kick off their first rotation in the regional final on the balance beam was exactly what they were lacking on Friday.
Five Spartans hit above a 9.875 on Sunday to plant them firmly in second place at the end of the first rotation.
Rotation two was yet another strong showing for the Spartans. The second rotation took MSU to the floor where three gymnasts hit a 9.900 or above — including a huge 9.950 for freshman Nikki Smith.
Floor is an event that Michigan State has been strong in all season, and the Spartans did not let that opportunity pass them by. MSU ended rotation two still hanging onto the second qualifying spot with a 98.900.
Unfortunately for the Spartans, rotation three on vault is where the meet started to run away from them.
The Spartans were just not able to stick their landings, resulting in at least a .100 deduction per gymnast. That may not seem like a lot, but those small deductions add up—especially in a meet as close as the Pittsburgh regional finals.
Although the Spartans started rotation three in second place, they ended the third rotation in last.
The Spartans headed into the final rotation on bars trying to play catch up, and they pulled out all the stops. They had four gymnasts score a 9.900 or above to put themselves at a very comfortable 197.650 as they waited for the other three teams to finish up their routines.
Michigan State’s final rotation was the highlight of the meet, but the other teams did exactly what they needed to and more.
Michigan State finished in third place — just one spot behind what the team needed to qualify, and it was just .150 that kept them from going to Texas for nationals.
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
