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Winless gymnastics rivals set to face off

Rivalries: They make college sports great.

The best, most bitter rivalries often fall within the borders of a state. That is what makes the men's gymnastics meet Saturday special. The opponent: Michigan State.

The Spartans edged Michigan 225.75-225.50. When Michigan State sophomore Joe Duda brought the house down with a Spartan record -- 57.30 in the all-around last year.

The Wolverines are still looking for their first win of the season when they take on their intra-state foes Saturday at 7 p.m. at Cliff Keen Arena. Michigan is hoping to rebound from its lackluster performance against Minnesota last Sunday.

"We were flat; this meet got away from us," Michigan coach Bob Darden said after the loss. "But the final score is right in with our season average, and if we continue to train hard, the scores will increase to make us a competitive team."

Michigan is changing things this week in preparation for the Spartans.

"We are doing more sets than usual this week to improve our confidence," junior Flavio Martins said. "We are also planning to change the lineup this week, having the more consistent guys go first. The meets with State are usually very competitive, and we are looking to find an edge."

In most gymnastics meets, the stronger tumblers usually follow the weaker ones. This shakeup is being made so Michigan can gain team confidence.

Meanwhile, Michigan State comes into Ann Arbor also looking for its first win.

The Spartans are 0-2 in the young season. In their last meet, Michigan State lost a heartbreaker to Minnesota, 223.4-223.1. The defeat came to the same Minnesota team that beat Michigan by more than 13 points Sunday.

"I have heard that they have been scoring well and are a very solid team," Martins said.

This is not the first time that the Wolverines have seen the Spartans this season.

Michigan State finished seventh at the Windy City Invitational, four places in front of the Wolverines.

The Spartans are led by now-junior Duda.

Duda has failed to reach the school record that he set last year against the Wolverines, but he has had several strong performances this year.

Included in his efforts are his school-record 9.85 on the parallel bars against the Gophers and his strong performances in the all-around.

Duda showed signs of his record-breaking form by winning the all-around against Minnesota.

Duda is not the only Michigan State tumbler who has been on a hot streak as of late. Sophomore Ethan Sterk is coming off three season-bests in the Minnesota meet, including his top all-around score of the season (55.15). Sophomore Keith Douglas placed second on the vault against the Golden Gophers, posting a career-high 9.45.

Michigan is looking to rebound from Sunday's effort against Minnesota.

"We had good perspective (Sunday), but it was just one of those days," Michigan senior captain Chris Onuska said.

Michigan can build on some positives from the Minnesota meet.

The Wolverines hit their sets on the high bar, scoring a season high, 37.55, in the process. This effort was strong enough to move Michigan up to 11th in the country as a team for the event.