MSU gymnasts pleased with 4th place finish in tourney

Ann Arbor — It was all about having fun at Saturday’s Big Ten Tournament for the MSU gymnastics team.

This was not the same team that showed up to last year’s tournament and left empty-handed with a dead-last, seventh-place finish.

It showed in pre-event warm-ups as team members line danced around senior Rhiannon Banda-Scott to Big & Rich’s “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” as the song blared throughout Crisler Arena.

It showed before the floor exercise as the gymnasts formed a circle and performed backflips in unison to “Who Let the Dogs Out?”

It showed in sophomore Rochelle Robinson’s floor performance as she sassed it up for the judges, seeming to have fun during her entire routine.

And it showed in the team’s performance for a fourth-place finish — a score of 195.050. Michigan won its second straight Big Ten Tournament with a score of 196.750 with Illinois placing second and Penn State coming in third.

“It feels a heck of a lot better than last year, I’ll tell you that much,” Robinson said. “We were a little timid on beam, including myself, and I felt a little down about that. But we put it all together, I’m happy with our performance altogether.”

Robinson placed fourth in vault and floor, respectively and sixth overall on the bars. Freshman Kelsey Morley placed fourth overall on the beam with a score of 9.875. Despite placing on the beam, the team suffered a blow from its last meet as sophomore Nicole Curler sustained two third-degree high ankle sprains after landing wrong during warm-ups in Arkansas.

“Even though we stayed on the balance beam, it was not even close to what we’re capable of doing,” MSU head coach Kathie Klages said.

“With the loss of (Curler) we still did a good job. As much as I’d like to think another athlete can step in, (Curler) was the top beamer in the Big Ten, so that’s a real hard position to replace.

“But it sure feels better than last year.”

Banda-Scott said the beam is usually a difficult event, with its narrowness and height factors.

“It’s just something we’ve got to work on,” Banda-Scott said. “Our confidence on the beam, we always want to do better. But compared to last year, it was a lot better.”

Saturday’s tournament served as Banda-Scott’s final Big Ten Tournament appearance.

“It’s weird because it’s over now,” she said. “We stuck together (though); it was a really good experience.”

Published on Sunday, March 30, 2008