Schulte, Smith Head to Fort Worth for NCAA Gymnastics Championships - Michigan State University Athletics (2024)

Matthew Mitchell

Women's Gymnastics 4/16/2024 1:58:00 PM

FORT WORTH, Texas -Michigan State gymnastics sophom*ore Nikki Smith and junior Skyla Schulte head 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 beam and Schulte on floor.

Smith and Schulte will rotate with Stanford. Smith will compete at the end of Stanford's beam lineup in the second rotation, while Schulte will compete at the end of Stanford's floor lineup in the third rotation.

NCAA All-Americans will be determined at the conclusion of the second semifinal session on Thursday, scheduled for 9 p.m. ET.

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 for the first time since 1996-97. Schulte, who is making her second trip to the NCAA Championships in three seasons, is the first Spartan to qualify for multiple NCAA Championships since Rochelle Robinson in 2007-08 and just the third overall, joining Robinson and Jodi Blotcher (1993, 1996).

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 on 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.

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. Schulte earned Second Team All-America honors on beam as a freshman in 2022 and has a chance to become MSU's first two-time NCAA All-American.

ESPN2 will air both of Thursday's semifinal sessions. Individual event streams will be available through ESPN+.