Lansing Sun

Michigan State University's gymnastics team, ranked fifth nationally, is set to compete against sixth-ranked UCLA in a much-anticipated meet on Saturday, February 1. The event will take place at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles and will be broadcast live on FOX, marking the first-ever live gymnastics meet on the network.

The Spartans enter the meet with a record of 5-1 overall and 2-0 in Big Ten Conference play. They recently secured a victory over Ohio State with a score of 196.800 to 195.750. Michigan State currently ranks fifth in the Week 4 RoadtoNationals rankings, boasting an average team score of 196.950.

In their recent competition against Ohio State, Michigan State achieved notable performances across all events. Junior Nikki Smith excelled by winning the vault title with a season-high score of 9.950 and sharing the bars title with teammate Sage Kellerman. Senior Gabrielle Stephen won her first all-around title of the season with a score of 39.375 and claimed titles on both beam and floor events.

Smith and Kellerman are among the top performers nationally on vault, ranking second and eighth respectively in the NCAA standings. Additionally, Smith ranks within the top 25 all-arounders alongside junior Olivia Zsarmani.

UCLA trails closely behind Michigan State in national rankings with an average team score of 196.888. The Bruins hold a record of 5-2 overall and share the top spot in league standings alongside Michigan State and Minnesota at 2-0.

This upcoming meet marks the first encounter between Michigan State and UCLA since January 12, 2019, when UCLA emerged victorious at the Collegiate Challenge in Anaheim, California.

Following this matchup, Michigan State will return home to face Minnesota on February 8 at Jenison Field House.