Lansing Sun

Michigan State University's gymnastics team, ranked fifth nationally, is set to host the 16th-ranked University of Minnesota this Saturday at Jenison Field House. The meet will be streamed on B1G+ and will feature an all-female production crew in recognition of National Girls and Women in Sports Day.

The Spartans enter the competition with a record of 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten Conference. They are coming off a close loss to UCLA, ranked sixth, where they scored 197.300 against UCLA's 197.200. Michigan State had maintained a lead until the final rotation when UCLA's strong performance on floor secured their win. This defeat marks Michigan State's first conference meet loss since February 2023.

Michigan State currently ranks fifth in the Week 5 RoadtoNationals rankings with an average score of 197.000. The team achieved a program-high vault score of 49.600 during their meet against UCLA, which stands as the highest score in that event nationally this season.

Notable performances include Sage Kellerman, Nikki Smith, and Olivia Zsarmani each scoring 9.950 on vault at UCLA, sharing the event title. Kellerman also won her third consecutive bars title with a score of 9.925, while Smith claimed her third all-around title for the year with a total of 39.425 points.

Smith was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week and Kellerman received Specialist of the Week honors following their performances at UCLA, marking their second conference weekly awards this season.

In individual rankings, Smith holds the top national ranking on vault with an average score of 9.925 after scoring four 9.950s in five meets this season. Kellerman ranks fourth on vault with a 9.900 average and is tied for eleventh on bars (9.890).

The Spartans have two gymnasts among the NCAA top-25 all-arounders: Smith (16th) and junior Olivia Zsarmani (22nd). As the top-ranked team in their conference according to RTN rankings at No.6, Michigan State has already competed against some formidable opponents early in their schedule.

Minnesota arrives at East Lansing undefeated this season with a record of 5-0 overall and 3-0 within the conference after defeating Washington last week by scoring 196.825 to Washington's 195.425.

Historically, MSU has won five out of their last six meetings against Minnesota since February 2019 but lost during their last dual encounter that same year when Minnesota scored higher than MSU in Minneapolis.

Following Saturday’s meet against Minnesota, Michigan State will face Nebraska away from home next weekend on February 15th; this too will be available for streaming via B1G+.