Gymnastics Team Sets Sights on Big Ten Championship

Chris Vannini

In the winter, most students will talk about hockey and basketball.  However, north of the Breslin Center and Munn Ice Arena sits Jenison Fieldhouse.

While the basketball and hockey teams have moved to larger facilities, the gymnastics team still competes in a Jenison Fieldhouse. It is better fitted for gymnastics since the other sports moved.

Last season, the gymnastics team finished 17th in the country after finishing 4th at the NCAA regional. According to the coach, they performed very well at regionals but finished 7th at the Big Ten Championships. Coming into this season, Head Coach Kathie Klages is hoping the team will continue on last season’s success. 

“We have the talent to continue our drive to compete nationally,” she said.  “There are 12 teams that compete in nationals, and we are trying to be one of those teams.”

Klages has been coaching gymnastics for 32 years; 17 at Michigan State. 

“I love the sport of gymnastics," she said. "It is easy for me to walk into the gym and work. I enjoy the relationships I form with the athletes and the challenges that each new year brings.”

This year, the team hopes to bring a Big Ten Championship to East Lansing. According to Klages, the Big Ten Championship is something every team strives for.

There are a few players who are looking to have very good seasons, said Klages.  One is senior Rhiannon Banda-Scott. 

“She is much improved over the past two seasons ever since she transferred from Central Michigan,” said Coach Klages.

Two others to watch for are sophomores Nicole Curler and Rochelle Robinson.  Both were first Team All-Big Ten last season as freshmen.  Coach Klages expects both to continue and improve upon last season’s success.

Emily Lopatofsky is another.  After being injured last season, Lopatofsky is back and training in the all around event. 

Coach Klages said that freshman Kelsey Morley has been a surprise and improved immensely since her arrival to East Lansing in August.  She’s been doing gymnastics for 13 years. Morley is a Business Marketing major from Elkhart, Indiana. Her father attended MSU and her older sister is a current student here.  She’s been bleeding green her whole life, she said. 

“I grew up watching MSU gymnastics and came to a lot of football games with my dad,” said Morley. 

Being a freshman, Morley is hoping to compete in all of her events and contribute to the team as much as possible. 

Katlyn Roggensack, a junior psychology from Wheaton, Ill., has been participating in gymnastics since 2nd grade.  She chose to come to MSU because of the “homie” feeling, but has not yet found it difficult to balance school and gymnastics. 

“It felt like a home away from home for me," she said. "The team and coaches are like a second family.” 

Her individual goals include competing in the all-around event in some meets, increasing the difficulty of her routines, and breaking career high scores.  She feels that focusing on peak meets will help the team overall.

“Balancing the two has always been part of my lifestyle," she said with a smile. "It was the same situation in high school when I had to be efficient with my time. It wasn’t a big transition but I do lose out on a lot of sleep."

The team participated in the Strides for Breast Cancer Walk in downtown Lansing on Oct. 20th for the second consecutive year. 

“The College Coaches Association for Gymnastics has embraced the Breast Cancer awareness drive,” Klages said. “An athlete at the University of Georgia was diagnosed with breast cancer and the whole gymnastics community decided to help.” 

Before the walk, the team got to lead the crowd in a warm-up from the steps of the capitol.
This year, the team took it upon themselves to do the walk. According to Klages, the team wanted to do it again, completely student driven. 

There is also a breast cancer awareness meet each year to increase awareness and raise funds. 

“It was a nice thing for the team to be a part of,” said Roggensack. “We had a Breast Cancer Awareness meet which included an auction where we gave away our leotards and other memorabilia.” 

This year the meet is January 19th against the University of Pittsburgh.  The team raised around $3600 last year and hopes to raise even more this year.

The team starts the season on January 11th against Western Michigan at Jenison.