EAST LANSING- After a successful season of winning the Big Ten Championship, and regular season Big Ten title, Michigan State gymnastics sends sophomore Nikki Smith and junior Skyla Schulte to Fort Worth, Texas, for the NCAA Gymnastics Championships on Thursday, April 18 at 4:30 p.m. ET in Dickies Arena.
The pair will compete in the first of two sessions on Thursday, with Smith competing on the beam and Schulte on the floor.
Schulte’s season average on the floor routine is 9.913, with her all-around season score average being 39.491.
Schulte won a share of the Big Ten floor title at this year’s conference championships and has posted 11 scores of 9.900 or better on the event this season, including three 9.950s and a 9.975. She scored a 9.925 in the NCAA Gainesville Regional Second Round to advance to Thursday’s championship.
Spartan head coach Mike Rowe will be in attendance to support Schulte and Smith. Both athletes, who always look for perfection, will have a chance to add to their star-studded resumes on Thursday.
“We always strive for perfection, I know each of my athletes want to be perfect each day,” Rowe said ahead of the Spartans NCAA second-round regional last weekend.
Smith is making her first NCAA Championships appearance after scoring a career-high 9.950 on beam in the second round of the NCAA Gainesville Regional.
The routine was her third beam routine of the season and first appearance at the event since the third week of the season.
Smith is the third NCAA individual beam qualifier for the Spartans in the last three years, following Schulte in 2022 and current junior Gabrielle Stephen last season.
Smith has averaged 9.794 on beam so far this season and 39.256 all-around. For the first time since the 1996-97 season, the Spartans have now sent individual qualifiers to the NCAA Championships in three consecutive seasons and two or more individual qualifiers in back-to-back seasons.
The NCAA All-Americans will be determined after the second semifinal session on Thursday, scheduled for 9 p.m. ET.
Schulte won All-American honors in 2022 as a freshman for her beam routine, giving her a chance this season to become the first Spartan in MSU history to become a two-time NCAA All-American.
As for Smith, she has a chance to win her first-ever NCAA All-American honor. Last season, Smith won Big Ten Freshman of the Year and first-team All-Big Ten, just missing out on All-American honors.
Both Thursday’s semifinal rounds will be streamed on ESPN2, with individual events being streamed on ESPN+.
