I have loved watching gymnastics since I was a little girl. Some of my fondest memories have been watching the Olympics with my mom. I remember watching McKayla Maroney’s vault in the Team Final at London 2012, Simone Biles’ historic wins on vault, floor, and all-around events during Rio 2016, and Suni Lee’s mesmerizing uneven bars routine at Tokyo 2021. I also love watching NCAA gymnastics and would watch any meet I could find on TV. Last year, I heard about MSU gymnastics and wanted to go watch a meet, but I kept forgetting or hearing about them too late. This semester, I promised myself that I would go to as many competitions as I could because I did not want to graduate without watching our gymnastics team in action. Last Sunday, I went to our Big 10 opener against our biggest rival, the University of Michigan.
I decided to go with my boyfriend (an Ann Arbor native and Wolverine fan since birth) to watch our teams compete. We arrived at Jenison Field House a few minutes before the events began, and I was surprised at how electric the atmosphere was. MSU began on the vault and I was dazzled by the high-flying flips and the incredible landings, including Skya Schulte’s nearly perfect 9.9 out of a possible 9.950. U of M started their competition on the uneven bars, and even though I fervently cheer against them in almost every sport, I found it very easy to cheer on their gymnasts as they completed incredible release moves and floaty transitions between the bars. Attending rivalry sporting events with my boyfriend is always fun, but sometimes it can be difficult since we are both incredibly competitive and passionate about our teams. Thankfully, we both enjoyed watching all the routines because the athletes were so talented and amazing.
The rest of the meet seemed to fly by as the teams remained neck and neck throughout the next two rotations. MSU had been ahead by a decent margin after the first rotation, but Michigan began to cut into our lead with phenomenal performances on vault and some mistakes by our gymnasts on uneven bars. As the next rotation began, I watched anxiously as our gymnasts nailed their beam routines, including a 9.9 by freshman Nikki Smith. However, Michigan delivered several stunning performances on the floor exercise with their star gymnast Sierra Brooks delivering a fantastic 9.950, shooting Michigan into the lead as the final rotation began.
I was enjoying the meet, but I started to get nervous. I saw some of our gymnasts make mistakes as they warmed up on the floor, while Michigan’s gymnasts seemed rock-solid as they confidently attacked the beam during their practice runs. Michigan’s first two gymnasts delivered incredible routines, scoring in the 9.8s, while our gymnasts struggled slightly on floor. The tide began to turn when two of Michigan’s veteran gymnasts, Abby Heiskell and Sierra Brooks, made costly errors on the balance beam, including a fall by Brooks on her acrobatic series.
The door was open for MSU to clinch the lead as long as they delivered on the floor. Gabrielle Stephen tumbled her way to a 9.850, followed by a captivating performance from Nikki Smith that earned her a 9.9. Despite Michigan anchor Natalie Wojcik’s 9.9 on the balance beam, the Spartans were able to secure the victory. I was proud of how our gymnasts handled the pressure and went through the entire meet with solid routines on every apparatus.
MSU won the overall meet, defeating U of M for the first time since 2007. Our gymnasts also shone individually, with Nikki Smith taking the all-around title and vault title. We narrowly outscored the Wolverines on the uneven bars with Delanie Harkness and Olivia Zsarmani sharing the event title with Abby Heiskell. Gabrielle Stephen and Natalie Wojcik tied for the beam title, while the Wolverines took the top 3 spots on floor.
I really enjoyed myself, and I hope to attend the rest of our home gymnastics meets. It was wonderful to see the camaraderie on both teams as the gymnasts cheered on their teammates, following along with their floor choreography and running up to dispense high-fives and hugs after every event. Gymnastics is a wonderful sport, and I truly hope to see more students take advantage of the opportunity to see these incredible athletes.