As the seniors prepare to take the Jenison Field House floor for the final time Friday, they can take comfort in knowing their efforts have steadied the team through a string of injuries and left room for further opportunity in coming weeks.

“Ever since we’ve been here, we’ve been the leaders of the team,” senior Nicole Curler said. “We’ve built such a great relationship with the team that they want it for us. They’re willing to put everything they have out there so we can win a Big Ten championship or make it to nationals. We can have that because we have such a good bond.”

Since they began with the program in 2007, Curler, Rochelle Robinson, Kelly Moffitt and Emily Lopatofsky have played major roles in advancing the program into a team consistently in the top 25. Robinson qualified for the NCAA Championships as a freshman and has been a leader on the vault and balance beam.

Curler, a First-Team All-Big Ten selection her freshman year, has recorded several top-three finishes in the all-around this year, including a second-place score of 38.350 last weekend against New Hampshire.

Lopatofsky has been one of the Spartans’ top floor exercise competitors this season, recording the meet’s top score against New Hampshire with a 9.900 on the floor, while Moffitt also has provided leadership and depth on the floor.

The group has earned several individual achievements, sparked by Robinson’s and Curler’s combined four First-Team All-Big Ten selections, but would like to take the program a step further and place in the top three at the Big Ten championships, which will be held March 27 in Columbus, Ohio.

“One thing that we as a senior class did and something that we haven’t had in awhile, is we took control of the reins and got people to understand that gymnastics is just gymnastics and to have more confidence,” Robinson said.

“We are the leaders — the vocal, sympathetic and confrontational leaders — and everyone looks up to us for that.”

The No. 23 Spartans have seen their scores improve each week for the majority of the season. Despite defeating New Hampshire last weekend, the team’s score of 194.175 actually was lower than it had been in previous weeks, but the Spartans earned their highest score of the season the previous weekend in a 195.600-195.500 loss at No. 17 Illinois.

If the Spartans can return to full health — they’ve had several injuries pop up, such a knee injury that kept junior Nicole Argiros from competing last weekend — they’ll be expected to rise above the 194-level and climb into the next range to perhaps challenge for a Big Ten crown.

“(The seniors) have meant so much to our program during the years,” head coach Kathie Klages said.

“I think we were generally a top-25 to 30 team before they arrived, and then we were 17th their sophomore year, and with our injuries this year, we’re having trouble getting ranked higher than (in the 20s), but we’ve had a lot of kids out. I think when we get healthier towards the end of the season, hopefully we’ll be able to get that ranking up.”

Friday’s meet against No. 1 Oklahoma will be the final home meet at Jenison Field House this season, but the team will compete at IM Sports-West for its final home meet of the season against Pittsburgh on March 20.

Much likely will change between Friday’s meet and March 20, but the team’s reliance on its seniors to lead and fight to keep its goals alive won’t falter.

“Personally, I haven’t accomplished everything I’ve wanted to even though I’ve accomplished a lot,” Curler said. “There are still those chances that I can still accomplish this year. As a team, we want to be at that podium at Big Tens, if not taking home that trophy.”