The 26th-ranked N.C. State gymnastics team traveled down to Athens, Georgia to compete against five other schools for a bid to NCAA Championships this weekend.
The meet, which was the team’s first since the EAGL weekend last month in Washington, D.C., went well for the lady gymnasts, allowing them to send one athlete to Cleveland, Ohio in two weeks.
“We all think we did pretty well,” freshman Stephanie Ouellette said. “I made it in the all around and my teammate Jess Panza is the alternate.”
Ouellette, who has been with Coach Stevenson’s squad for merely a year, competed in the All-Around routine and placed 6th overall. She became NC State’s first freshman to advance out of a regional since Christi Newton in 1993.
State went into the weekend coming off of a unexpected sixth place finish at EAGL Championships. However this weekend the Pack performed better than they have before at NCAA Regionals with a 48.600 finish, earning a fourth place, by avoiding falls and other marks.
“The kids did a great job at recovering back [from EAGL],” said head coach Mark Stevenson. “If you were going to choose a meet that we had to have a good performance, this was the weekend to have that. It was our best finish at NCAA Regionals yet.”
The team’s finish this weekend did not rely just on one or two athletes, but that of all the competing girls combined. There was not one routine that was any more important than the next; all competing girls had a vital role in their routine.
Along with Ouellette’s successful finish in the All-around routine, gymnasts like sophomore Rachel Fincham, freshman Hannah Fallanca, and junior Jess Panza allowed for the Pack to secure the 4th place finish.
Under pressure, all gymnasts avoided a fall and four of them finished in the Top-20. Fallanca led the way in seventh with her 9.8, while Panza’s 9.75 earned 11th, and freshman Diahanna Ham and Ouellette’s 9.7s landed in 20th. Along with a successful finish in the uneven bars by Fincham, the 9.825 score allowed the Wolfpack ladies to secure the spot they needed by posting a 194.750, the Pack’s highest score at an NCAA Regional since 1999.
“As a team finish, we did a very good job,” said Junior Jess Panza. ” Going into the meet we didn’t want to count any falls and do our best, and I think we did that. Regardless of specific individual scores, we improved drastically as a team.”
The past four years State has been fortunate to send at least one competitor to the NCAA Championships. Last year, Taylor Seamen qualified, with Jess Panza serving as her alternate. But this year’s qualification by freshman Stephanie Ouellette gives the opportunity for Wolfpack fans and students to see how strong even the youngest of athletes are capable of.
“I think she [Stephanie Ouellette] along with the rest of the freshmen did an outstanding job,” said Panza. “They went into this meet with the same mindset as any other previous one, and there’s nothing more we could ask of them”
The schools competing at this year’s NCAA Regionals included University of Georgia, University of Maryland, West Virginia, LSU, and UCLA. UCLA secured 1st place followed by Georgia’s who will both be advancing to the NCAA Championships on April 15-17.
The season is not over yet for the gymnastics team. Hard work and consistency has allowed for athletes like Stephanie Ouellette to push through all of the heavy competition and secure that spot to the national level. This year has been a successful one for Coach Stevenson’s squad as he and his squad has proven time and time again that N.C. State produces hardworking, dependable athletes.