Undeniable in Ann Arbor: Michigan State gymnastics stuns Michigan in season-best performance

The No. 15-ranked Michigan State gymnastics team walked into Crisler Center on Sunday and put together its most complete meet of the year, start to finish — and walked out with a rivalry win to show for it.

"We're back," said MSU head coach Mike Rowe. "We had some struggles at the beginning of the season and now things are starting to settle in."

Michigan State edged No. 10 Michigan Wolverines women's gymnastics, 197.525–197.425, in a meet that stayed tight until the final rotation and was ultimately decided by a tenth of a point.

"We've still got more fuel in the tank, so we're happy it happened like it did," said Rowe. "Our motto for this week of practice was to be undeniable - and they carried it through with them to every event. I'm so proud of them."

The difference for MSU was consistency.

The Spartans posted season-high scores on all four events, stacking clean routines and avoiding the kind of mistake that can swing a rivalry meet.

They opened strong on bars with a 49.275, steady across the board, and anchored by Kellerman’s 9.925 and Olivia Zsarmani’s 9.900.

They stayed strong on vault with a 49.425 — their best vault total of the year — highlighted by Sage Kellerman’s 9.975, the top vault score of the meet. Zsarmani's 9.925 gave MSU the higher vault score as a team.

Michigan State led after two rotations, 98.700 to 98.450. From there, Michigan State never let the momentum slip, putting up a 49.475 on floor exercise, while Michigan scored 49.425 on beam. Nikki Smith’s 9.950 and Tucker’s 9.925 helped put Michigan State just far enough ahead to give them a chance at stealing the road win.

When the Spartans reached beam, the pressure was on. MSU led by three tenths, 148.175 to 147.875, and knew they needed solid scores to hold off the Wolverines on floor exercise.

Michigan State answered with six hit routines and a 49.350 total, led by MaKayla Tucker and Zsarmani, who each posted 9.900s. The other four Spartans delivered 9.850s. Tucker and Zsarmani proved critical in keeping the Spartans ahead as UM finished their final rotation.

Michigan answered with a meet-high 49.550 on floor, but they needed a 49.650 to pull into a tie. When the final scores flashed, Michigan State was still standing.

At the center of it all was Tucker. The junior captured the all-around title with a career-high 39.500, the top total of the meet, finishing first on beam and placing near the top on every event. Smith followed closely with a 39.475, giving the Spartans the top two all-around scores on the day.

Sunday's complete performance delivered MSU its biggest win of the season.

With the win, MSU moved to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten, while Michigan fell to 4-2 and 1-2 in the conference. Sunday's victory was MSU's fourth-straight dual meet victory over Michigan.

MSU remains on the road to face Penn State next Sunday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m.. The meet will be televises on B1G+.