For the second consecutive week, the MSU gymnastics team went toe-to-toe with a top 25 team and fell short of their mark.
The Spartans (0-2 overall, 0-1 Big Ten) dropped their Big Ten opener 193.225-190.175 in Iowa City, Iowa against the No. 25 Hawkeyes Friday night.
Sophomore Taira Neal notched a career-best mark on the vault, receiving a score of 9.925 while helping the Spartans to a team score of 48.875, the only event in which MSU outscored Iowa. Neal had the highest score on the vault, followed by freshman Ashley Noll, who earned a 9.825 score.
Once again, head coach Kathie Klages’ squad faltered on the balance beam, finishing with a team score of 45.900 to Iowa’s 48.000 while also struggling on the uneven parallel bars, posting a team score of 46.950.
The Spartans came within .350 of besting the Hawkeyes in the floor routine but dropped the rotation 48.800-48.450.
Freshman Alina Cartwright returned to the lineup after missing the first match against Washington with an injury, tying for third on the vault with a score of 9.725.
Klages said before the meet that Cartwright was not yet at full strength but she hoped the freshman would be able to compete in more events Friday in the tri-meet against No. 13 Penn State, No. 2 Alabama and Cornell.
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