Sports
MSU gymnastics' journey to NCAA Championships 'means everything'
EAST LANSING — Inside Michigan State’s gymnastics program, there is a sense that this is still just the beginning. And yet what the Spartans just accomplished was every bit a final frontier.
Reaching this week’s NCAA Championships for the first time in 37 years had been in the making for a year or three or five or several more, depending on how you look at the Spartans’ journey over the last decade.
It’s also a reminder that the rise of a program isn’t always linear or without frustration. Because, a year ago, after coming up just short of advancing beyond the NCAA regional finals for the third straight year, after tightening up for the first time under the weight of expectations, they had to reexamine their approach.
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Couch: Michigan State’s gymnastics program rises from the ashes
‘The elephant in the room’
When the Spartans left the regional final a year ago after a disappointing fourth-pace finish in Gainesville, Florida, MSU’s coaches knew an introspection was needed. For the first time in a big meet, they didn’t perform to their level.
“They didn’t realize how close they were until they got in it,” Rowe said. “They tightened up. They tightened up on every event where they were used to just being relaxed and confident.”
They also had a new behemoth to deal with in the Big Ten in UCLA, which features three-time Olympic medalist Jordan Chiles. The Bruins beat MSU narrowly in Los Angeles and then put up a record-breaking score at the Big Ten Championships, leaving the Spartans second in the conference both times.
Before a late-season meet in Alabama, MSU met as a team — gymnasts and coaches — and let it all out, everything they were feeling as they neared the postseason. They had been winning and performing well enough, but not as well they thought they could, especially on the balance beam, often a “make or break” event, as Jones described it, the event that had been their downfall at the regional a year earlier.
The whole season had been about dealing with “the elephant in the room,” Jones said, reaching the national championships.
“How do you eat an elephant one bite at a time?” Jones said, taking the metaphor in a different direction than even Tom Izzo does — he calls it “The white elephant in the room.” “It’s not focusing every single week, every single day on being at the national championships, but taking it one bite at a time, one person at a time, one day at a time, one routine at a time in here (at practice at Jenison Field House), one skill at a time, to really get to be able to eventually tear that elephant down.”
MSU began to do so at the Big Ten meet, scoring a 198.50, highlighted by perfection from senior Gabi Stephen on the beam — a 10.0. Her 10.0 vault in the NCAA regional semifinals helped to catapult the Spartans into the regional final.
“We know what we’re capable of,” Stephen said. “It’s just about putting it all together. And I think that’s what we’ve been doing as we’ve been getting into postseason, people are noticing it. We’re hitting the 198 marks, and just like being a lot more consistent with our gymnastics and aggressive and having a lot of fun.”
They hit 198 again in the regional final in State College — and performed so decisively that it didn’t come down to a pressure-packed performance on the beam.
“We knew that Arkansas and Kentucky (the other two teams along with LSU) did not have a full lineup of 10.0-start value vaults, and we do,” Jones said. “So we knew that was an event that we could pull away on, but we had to land. That’s the risk versus reward. We’re doing these harder vaults. It could be great, but if any of them are a little short, they could be on their butt. It could be bad. But we are ranked in the top four in the country on vault for a reason — because they continue to deliver in that event, and they did, breaking the vault record, and then going to bars and pulling away.”
“We really have worked on our landings and those little details that make the difference from who goes to nationals and who doesn’t,” MSU senior Skyla Schulte said. “We were just fearless out there, and we told each other, ‘No fear. No risk, no reward.’ That mentality really got us to that next step that maybe we were holding back on in the years past.”
‘Goosebumps’
MSU’s gymnasts weren’t the only ones feeling pressure this season. The coaches — Rowe, Jones and assistant Devin Wright — badly wanted this particular group to be the one that got over the hump at the Sweet 16 level.
They had done everything else — winning four Big Ten titles, three in the regular season and the 2024 championship meet — since 2022, when they first came within a whisker of reaching the eight-team NCAA Championships. They, with the help of several notable gymnasts from recent years — the likes of Lea Mitchell through Baleigh Garcia and others — had done so much to elevate the program. And for Harkness, Stephen, Schulte the other seniors, this was the last chance to take the last step together.
“They were so instrumental. They believed in us,” Jones, MSU’s recruiting coordinator, said of this senior group. “They trusted us. They bought into the vision. They they were all in for what we were selling, because the program hadn’t done anything at that point. It was just a vision. It was what we wanted to do, but we knew that they would have the talent to help us do it.
“Some of them, it was a little easier to get them — Skyla, she wasn’t going anywhere else because her parents bleed green, and you always say, you luck out with that one. There were some of them that fell into place. Those kids committing to us helped other kids follow suit to be able to be where we are now. Then we get like a Nikki Smith, a Sage Kellerman.”
Smith, Kellerman and fellow junior Olivia Zsarmani each earned regular season All-American honors. All three joined Schulte, Stephen and Harkness on All-Big Ten teams. Schulte and Stephen earned first-team all-conference honors for the fourth straight season.
“To see them compete so fearlessly (at the NCAA regional final), you stand back and it just gives you goosebumps,” Jones continued, “just watching them continue to do exactly what you knew that they were capable of.”
While this national championships appearance is a culmination, it also, they hope, is a new standard. They’re excited about the 2025 and 2026 recruited classes. The six freshmen slated to join the program next season are, before they’re done, expecting to compete in the new arena being built on campus to house gymnastics, volleyball and wrestling.
“We had renderings and everything,” Rowe said of the new facility, “but didn’t know what was going on behind the scenes, that was moving at lightning speed.
“Even back in 2018, (an) architectural firm was here, they were talking about renovating (Jenison Field House) and asking what we want. They said, ‘Do you think you can win a Big Ten championship with the facility you have now?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, we definitely can. But that’s not the question. I can’t recruit with this facility.’ ”
The packed house for their meet against Michigan at Breslin Center this January, Rowe believes, helped prove that MSU gymnastics had the community’s backing and deserved a new space for practice and meets on par with the teams they’re trying to beat.
Five-star recruits that wouldn’t return their calls years ago are calling back now. The prospect of a new building helps. But the winning does more.
“I think now going to the national championships, it’ll be different, too,” Jones said. “I think of like Arkansas, who beat us out last year to go to nationals, we lost some kids to them because they had just been at the national championships. And that’s where kids want to go.
“We also have kids that aren’t afraid to work, because they’re not all five-star recruits. They’re not all Skyla Schulte. Gabi Stephen was a three-star recruit, and now she’s here … scoring 10s in her senior year. Just a very overlooked athlete that turned out to be a gem.”
Jones, formerly Curler, knows what it’s like to be at the NCAA Championships — she went as individual in 2010 when she was a gymnast at MSU,
Same for Stephen, Schulte, Smith and Harkness, who’ve all made it as individuals. This is different.
“I’m just excited to have the whole team there,” Stephen said, “the energy, the size of the stadium, the arena, just every single experience, I know it’s going to be super duper special.”
The Spartans believe they have the goods to contend in Fort Worth, too. After all, they just nearly beat the defending champ in LSU and the pressure is now less.
“Getting here is the hard part,” Jones said. “Now whatever we do is kind of the cherry on top. We know that we can compete at the final day of the championships. We know that we could be on four on the floor. We are that talented. It just is going to come to the team that puts it together on that day.”
Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on X @Graham_Couch and BlueSky @GrahamCouch.
Sports
Kentucky Volleyball beats Wisconsin in thriller, will face Texas A&M in National Championship
Kentucky Volleyball is headed to the national championship after a hard-fought five-set win over Wisconsin on Thursday night, as the Wildcats defeated the Badgers 3-2 in a match that tested every ounce of their resilience.
The opening set belonged to Wisconsin as the Badgers took control early and forced Kentucky to play from behind. The Wildcats struggled to find their rhythm but quickly regrouped. Kentucky responded in the second set with improved offensive execution and steady defense to even the match and shift momentum back in their favor.
Wisconsin answered by taking the third set and once again putting pressure on Kentucky with the season hanging in the balance. Facing a must-win fourth set, the Wildcats jumped out to a 13 to 10 lead and appeared ready to take control. Wisconsin refused to fold and battled back until the set was tied at 24 to 24. With the moment at its biggest, Kentucky delivered two straight points to force a decisive fifth set.
The Wildcats opened the final set on fire, racing out to a 9 to 2 lead. Wisconsin made one last push and closed the gap late, but Kentucky held its composure and finished off the match with a 15 -13 win to secure a spot in the NCAA National Championship Game.
Kentucky was led by Eva Hudson, who turned in a dominant performance with a season high of 29 kills. The SEC Player of the Year and National Player of the Year finalist consistently rose to the moment and carried the Wildcats offensively when they needed it most.
Defensively, Molly Touzzo anchored the back row with 17 digs, providing stability and extending key rallies throughout the match.
There is no question that head coach Craig Skinner has built something special in Lexington. Kentucky Volleyball has established itself as a national power, and Thursday night’s win was another example of the toughness and belief that define this program.
The Wildcats will now face Texas A&M in the national championship match on Sunday at 3:30 PM ET as the BBN continues to rally around this team.
Kentucky volleyball is one win away from the ultimate prize.
GRAPEVINE, Texas – An extraordinary season produced by Arkansas sprinter Jordan Anthony was deemed worthy of The Bowerman, collegiate track & field’s highest individual honor, as announced by USTFCCCA on Thursday evening at the Gaylord Texan Resort.
Anthony becomes the third Razorback to achieve the prestigious honor as he joins Jarrion Lawson (2016) and Jaydon Hibbert (2023) as previous Arkansas winners of The Bowerman. Three other men’s programs – Florida, Florida State, and Oregon – have had a pair of winners each since the award was first presented in 2009.
The Bowerman 2025 men’s finalist included Auburn’s Ja’Kobe Tharp and Baylor’s Nathaniel Ezekiel, who would have been the first recipient of the honor for their respective schools.
In becoming the first sprinter to claim NCAA titles in the 60m indoors and 100m outdoors during the same season since 2017, Anthony generated UA records in both events. His remarkable campaign included a pair of national sprint titles and three SEC titles while claiming high point honors at both SEC Outdoor and NCAA Outdoor Championship meets.
Anthony ran 6.47 in the NCAA Indoor 60m prelims before winning the final in 6.49. The 6.47 performance was just off the collegiate record of 6.45 shared by three sprinters.
Outdoors, Anthony improved the UA record in the 100m to 9.95 as he swept the 100m and 200m at the SEC Outdoor Championships, producing a 19.93 in the 200m as the second fastest time in Arkansas history behind a 19.89 by Wallace Spearmon Jr.
Anchoring the Razorbacks to a SEC third-place finish in the 4 x 100m relay, Anthony totaled 21.5 points and earned the Commissioner’s Trophy as the men’s high point scorer in the conference meet.
Anthony was named SEC Outdoor Runner of the Year via voting by league coaches and became the first Razorback to earn the honor since 2012. An additional honor for Anthony during the 2025 season included South Central Indoor Track Athlete of the Year.
Under all-conditions, Anthony blazed to an equal second fastest time ever by a collegian in the 100m with a 9.75w (2.1 wind) during the NCAA West First Round. That time equaled the world-leading mark for the 2025 season under all-conditions.
Multiple Winners | Men’s Programs
| 3 | Arkansas | Jarrion Lawson (2016), Jaydon Hibbert (2023), Jordan Anthony (2025) |
| 2 | Oregon | Galen Rupp (2009), Ashton Eaton (2010) |
| 2 | Florida | Marquis Dendy (2015), Grant Holloway (2019) |
| 2 | Florida State | Ngoni Makusha (2011), Trey Cunningham (2022) |
GLASSBORO, NJ — For the fifth year in a row, Rowan was represented by Matthew Conway on the Philly-SIDA Academic All-Area Men’s Cross Country Team.
The Philly-SIDA Academic All-Area teams are nominated for, and voted on, by the sports information directors at 30 institutions in the Philadelphia region. Student-athletes must be in at least their second year at their current institution and hold a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.30 or higher to be considered for nomination.
Conway, a chemical engineering major, capped his final cross country season with a second-straight appearance in the NCAA Division III Championship, where he placed 94th in this year’s nationals. He was a seventh-place finisher at the NCAA Metro Regional to help the Profs place fifth overall. A first-team All-NJAC selection after runner-up finish at the conference championships where Rowan was second.
Conway was joined on the team with Owen Bluman, Micah Lachman, and Torin Pelton-Flavin from Haverford, Sebastian DeSimone from Gwynedd Mercy, Jacob Dinerman from Rutgers-Camden, Bryan Hernandez from Williamson College of the Trades, Cohen Manges from Swarthmore, and Ryle Mellinger of Eastern. Dinerman was voted the performer of the year.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WAFF) – University of Alabama track and field athlete Doris Lemngole won the Bowerman Award, becoming the first UA student to receive collegiate track and field’s highest individual honor.
The 23-year-old claimed the prestigious award Thursday night after being named a semifinalist last year.
Lemngole is a four-time national champion and five-time SEC champion.
The Bowerman Award recognizes the top collegiate track and field athlete in the country.
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Sports
Texas A&M volleyball takes out another titan, sweeping No. 1 Pitt to reach national championship
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Texas A&M volleyball program had never appeared on a stage like the one it graced Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena, playing for a spot in the national championship match.
Pitt, meanwhile, had been here in a semifinal four times in the past four seasons.
So much for the importance of big-match experience.
The upstart Aggies rolled past the battle-tested Panthers, 29-27, 25-21, 25-20. Four days after Texas A&M upset No. 1-ranked Nebraska on its home court, coach Jamie Morrison’s team took its game up a notch.
It will face Kentucky on Sunday in an all-SEC final. The Wildcats (30-2) outlasted Wisconsin in five sets, winning the fifth 15-13 in the second semifinal.
A&M (28-4) earned a No. 3 regional seed in the 64-team tournament and needed five sets against Louisville in the regional semifinal — and five more to dispatch the previously unbeaten Huskers.
On Thursday, the Aggies swept the Panthers, one of four top seeds in regional play, behind the relentless attack of Ifenna Cos-Okpalla in the middle, Kyndal Stowers on the left pin and Logan Lednicky on the right.
“Literally, why not us?” Lednicky said. “We are considered the underdog in a lot of these moments, just because we haven’t been here before. But we know we have all the right pieces.”
Cos-Okpalla slammed the final kill against the Panthers on Thursday to secure a fifth loss in the national semifinal round since 2021 for Pitt (30-5). Cos-Okpalla, a first-team All-American, finished with eight terminations on a lethal .538 hitting efficiency.
Lednicky recorded 14 kills. Stowers had 16, including nine on .750 hitting in the marathon first set.
Stowers notched two kills among the clinching 3-0 run for the Aggies after Pitt took a 27-26 lead on a kill by Olivia Babcock, the reigning AVCA player of the year, in that tone-setting first set.
So, how was Stowers feeling?
“Every time someone asks me, genuinely, I have no idea,” the sophomore transfer from Baylor said. “I have no idea. Pure gratitude. This is crazy. This is an absolutely crazy experience. We have had faith in ourselves all year. From the first game of the season, we knew we were capable of this.
“Now living it, it’s like, ‘Wow, this is insane.’ It’s really cool.”
The Aggies split two matches this season against Texas, a No. 1 regional seed. Another top seed, Kentucky, beat Texas A&M in their only matchup. Morrison has encouraged the Aggies simply to be themselves on the big stage.
They’ve had practice.
“The more we’re in it,” he said, “the more we get comfortable (and) the more we’re used to being ourselves.”
It works.
“Just be us,” Cos-Okpalla said. “Not only just us as a team, us as individuals.”
Morrison, 45, took over the Aggies in 2023 after he spent much of his coaching career as an assistant with the U.S. men’s and women’s national teams.
He directed A&M to the NCAA Tournament in his first year, then to the Sweet 16 last season.
It’s in position to win a national championship, Morrison said, because his players bought into what he teaches.
They didn’t pick A&M for the promise of name, image and likeness riches. In addition to Cos-Okpalla, Stowers and Lednicky received second-team All-America recognition this week. Setter Maddie Waak was a third-team selection.
“These girls came here for nothing,” said Morrison, named Wednesday as the AVCA coach of the year. “Really, they came here because they love the school, they love the institution. They wanted to be developed.”
Before this fifth semifinal loss in five years, Pitt lost twice in this round against ACC rival Louisville and twice against Nebraska.
The Panthers mounted an 8-0 run in the second set to take a 15-11 lead before A&M responded with a 9-2 run. In the third set, the Aggies scored the final 4 points after the last of Babcock’s match-high 22 kills brought Pitt to within 1 point.
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