The No. 39 NC State gymnastics team had its first quad-meet and EAGL match this season. The team came in third overall with a score of 194.425 against No. 11 Kentucky, No. 29 UNC-Chapel Hill, and No. 50 Lindenwood. Kentucky hosted the meet in Lexington on Friday night at 7 p.m.
After a close loss to Ohio State last weekend, the Wolfpack (1-3, 0-1 EAGL) fought hard against the first-place Wildcats (4-1, 1-0) who scored 196.3. And competed alongside second place and rival, the Tar Heels (2-1) who finished with 194.6. The Pack was able to out-perform the Lions (1-4) who came in last with a final score of 193.3.
The Wolfpack performed especially well on the vault and the bars, not only placing high on the podium but also improving from last weekend’s performance. The Pack finished with a vault score of 48.625. Notably, freshman Emily Shepard had scored a solid 9.775 against Ohio State but set a new personal record tonight. Shepard tied for first place on the podium along with the Wildcats and Tar Heels with a score of 9.875.
Setting a new personal best on the bars, sophomore Meredith Robinson took first place with a finishing score of 9.875. Following Robinson was teammate junior Lauren Kent who was a part of the three-way tie for second place against two Wildcat gymnasts with a final score of 9.825. As a team, the Pack improved its score from 48.075 to 48.775.
Unlike the first two events, the Wolfpack struggled on both the beam and the floor, doing slightly worse than in its first meet. With a team score of 48.25 on the beam, the highest performing member of the Pack was Kent who tied for seventh place, scoring 9.8.
The Wolfpack had better luck on the floor. The Pack finished with a final score of 48.775 with senior Drew Grantham. Grantham scored 9.875 to tie for fourth place.
Of seven all-around participants, Kent and Grantham placed fifth and seventh, respectively. Kent had a score of 39.050 while Grantham finished with a 38.450. Despite the low ranking compared to the other all-arounders, both Pack gymnasts improved their score from the first meet.
The Wolfpack has a lot of work ahead but large strides of improvement have been made in a week’s time. The Pack performed well, especially when compared to the two higher ranking teams, the Wildcats and the Tar Heels.
