Saturday, January 27
East Lansing, Mich.
7 PM
Rutgers University
at
Michigan State/Eastern Michigan/Pittsburgh
Photo by: Justin Tafoya
Gymnastics Heads to Michigan State for Quad Meet
Jan 24 | Women's Gymnastics
Scarlet Knights return to the road
MEET THREE • RUTGERS, MICHIGAN STATE, EASTERN MICHIGAN, PITTSBURGH
January 27, 2018 • 7 p.m.
Jenison Field House • East Lansing, Mich.
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – After competing at Nebraska last weekend, Rutgers gymnastics returns to the road for a quad meet at Michigan State set for Saturday at 7 p.m. inside Jenison Field House. The Scarlet Knights will also rotate with Eastern Michigan and Pittsburgh in addition to squaring off with the Spartans in Big Ten competition. Action will be streamed live on BTN Plus.
RUTGERS MEET PREVIEW
Rutgers improved on three events from its season opener – and matched another – last week in Lincoln for a 192.975. Floor exercise once again was the top mark at 48.700, while uneven bars (48.350) and vault (47.600) both jumped up. Early on, balance beam is ranked the highest nationally at No. 45 after totaling 48.325 both times.
Freshman Belle Huang has made an immediate impact on balance beam by earning a 9.850 and a 9.825 in her first two routines. Senior Makenzey Shank also went over the 9.800 threshold with a career-high 9.825 on floor exercise last time out, as freshman Toni Williams added a 9.775 in her collegiate debut in the event at Nebraska.
On uneven bars, sophomore Kaitlyn Hall has battled back from injuries to score a 9.775 and a 9.750 so far. Sophomore Shannon Farrell and senior Libby Groden have also swung to a 9.775. Freshman Sophia Atienza owns the best team mark on vault with a 9.700.
Groden is once again an all-around contributor with totals of 38.875 and 38.825. The three-time NCAA qualifier was recently named one of "18 Rutgers athletes to watch in 2018" by NJ Advance Media.
In the last regular season meeting with Michigan State at the RAC last year, Rutgers came away with a 194.875-194.050 victory. The Scarlet Knights picked up a 193.550 in their last trip to East Lansing in 2016.
COACH LEVINE Q&A
On displaying improvement: "As we get more into the season, we are getting in more routines and building confidence. That's what the expectation is. We added some new skills and some new people into the lineup last week. Competition is great, and we are learning that. As I said last week, we practice an awful lot to compete. This should be the fun part of the year and the part that you strive for. I thought the improvements were there, and progress is being shown."
On floor exercise: "I thought there were some really great performances. Micki had her career high, Libby did a great job and Toni stepped in in her first collegiate meet in a pretty high-energy situation. We have room to grow in every event, floor included. That's what we are looking for, the growth throughout the season."
On other teams in a meet: "The focus is on us. If we go out, compete well and do what we're capable of, that's where the wins come from. What other teams do? I have no control over that. That's not our focus. I'm looking for us to continue to make steps forward to our ultimate goal of lots of wins. It all starts with ourselves."
On practice: "We are getting better at the details and getting healthier. All of the things that you want to continue seeing as the season progresses, I think we are doing that. The more competition we can create in practice, the better we are in competition in a meet."
TICKETS ON SALE FOR BIG FIVE MEET
After staging the Big Ten Championships last season, Rutgers is scheduled to host a Big Five meet at the RAC on March 17. The competitive meet will also involve Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Penn State to determine positioning for the Big Ten Championships, which will be held at Illinois. Click here to purchase tickets.
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding women's gymnastics, follow the program on Twitter (@RUGymnastics), Facebook (/RUGymnastics), Instagram (@rutgersgymnastics) and Snapchat (rutgersgym).
January 27, 2018 • 7 p.m.
Jenison Field House • East Lansing, Mich.
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – After competing at Nebraska last weekend, Rutgers gymnastics returns to the road for a quad meet at Michigan State set for Saturday at 7 p.m. inside Jenison Field House. The Scarlet Knights will also rotate with Eastern Michigan and Pittsburgh in addition to squaring off with the Spartans in Big Ten competition. Action will be streamed live on BTN Plus.
RUTGERS MEET PREVIEW
Rutgers improved on three events from its season opener – and matched another – last week in Lincoln for a 192.975. Floor exercise once again was the top mark at 48.700, while uneven bars (48.350) and vault (47.600) both jumped up. Early on, balance beam is ranked the highest nationally at No. 45 after totaling 48.325 both times.
Freshman Belle Huang has made an immediate impact on balance beam by earning a 9.850 and a 9.825 in her first two routines. Senior Makenzey Shank also went over the 9.800 threshold with a career-high 9.825 on floor exercise last time out, as freshman Toni Williams added a 9.775 in her collegiate debut in the event at Nebraska.
On uneven bars, sophomore Kaitlyn Hall has battled back from injuries to score a 9.775 and a 9.750 so far. Sophomore Shannon Farrell and senior Libby Groden have also swung to a 9.775. Freshman Sophia Atienza owns the best team mark on vault with a 9.700.
Groden is once again an all-around contributor with totals of 38.875 and 38.825. The three-time NCAA qualifier was recently named one of "18 Rutgers athletes to watch in 2018" by NJ Advance Media.
In the last regular season meeting with Michigan State at the RAC last year, Rutgers came away with a 194.875-194.050 victory. The Scarlet Knights picked up a 193.550 in their last trip to East Lansing in 2016.
COACH LEVINE Q&A
On displaying improvement: "As we get more into the season, we are getting in more routines and building confidence. That's what the expectation is. We added some new skills and some new people into the lineup last week. Competition is great, and we are learning that. As I said last week, we practice an awful lot to compete. This should be the fun part of the year and the part that you strive for. I thought the improvements were there, and progress is being shown."
On floor exercise: "I thought there were some really great performances. Micki had her career high, Libby did a great job and Toni stepped in in her first collegiate meet in a pretty high-energy situation. We have room to grow in every event, floor included. That's what we are looking for, the growth throughout the season."
On other teams in a meet: "The focus is on us. If we go out, compete well and do what we're capable of, that's where the wins come from. What other teams do? I have no control over that. That's not our focus. I'm looking for us to continue to make steps forward to our ultimate goal of lots of wins. It all starts with ourselves."
On practice: "We are getting better at the details and getting healthier. All of the things that you want to continue seeing as the season progresses, I think we are doing that. The more competition we can create in practice, the better we are in competition in a meet."
TICKETS ON SALE FOR BIG FIVE MEET
After staging the Big Ten Championships last season, Rutgers is scheduled to host a Big Five meet at the RAC on March 17. The competitive meet will also involve Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Penn State to determine positioning for the Big Ten Championships, which will be held at Illinois. Click here to purchase tickets.
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding women's gymnastics, follow the program on Twitter (@RUGymnastics), Facebook (/RUGymnastics), Instagram (@rutgersgymnastics) and Snapchat (rutgersgym).
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Gymnastics
/ Women's Gymnastics
/ Women's Gymnastics
/ Women's Gymnastics
/ Women's Gymnastics
/ Women's Gymnastics
/ Women's Gymnastics
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