The N.C. State women’s gymnastics team defeated the Missouri Tigers 194.675 to 194.525 Saturday to earn its fifth win of the season and continue its push toward an Eastern Atlantic Gymnastics League Title in 2014.
Sophomore Brittni Watkins led the Wolfpack, posting a 39.425 overall in the all-around competition, a career high for the Albany, N.Y. native.
“I felt really good,” Watkins said. “I just did me. Once I stuck that vault, I knew that the rest of the night was going to be great.”
N.C. State quickly jumped in front of the Tigers with an impressive performance on the vault, posting a season high 49.025 score. Watkins earned second overall with a score of 9.825, while seniors Diahanna Ham and Stephanie Ouellette tied for third with scores of 9.800.
The Pack extended its lead in the uneven parallel bars, with Watkins and Ouellette finishing tied for first with scores of 9.850 and freshman Courtney Bisbe posting a 9.800, good for a third place finish.
Another bright spot for the Wolfpack was the return of sophomore Michaela Woodford, the EAGL rookie of the year in 2012-2013 in the uneven parallel bars. Woodford, who was out with an injury until Saturday’s meet, posted a 9.675 in her 2014 season debut.
N.C. State junior Lane Jarred earned the top overall score on the balance beam with a 9.825, while Watkins continued to shine by posting a 9.800. The Wolfpack secured a total score of 48.900 on the beam and continued to lead Missouri entering the final event: floor exercise.
State’s success from the first three events did not carry over to the floor exercise. Bisbe, Ham and senior Hannah Fallanca all posted subpar scores to put State in danger of losing the meet to the Tigers.
But Watkins came to the rescue, posting an incredible 9.900 on the floor, the top score in the event. Jarred and senior Kristen Harabedian both posted scores of 9.825 and finished tied for second place.
“We worked really hard to give that meet away,” head coach Mark Stevenson said. “Thankfully we didn’t thanks to the last three kids who went up there. We were ahead going into the final event and all we had to do was do our job, and we didn’t.”
Watkins all-around score of 39.425 lands her at 10th on State’s all-time record books.
“[Watkins] is having a phenomenal year,” Stevenson said. “She has had four meets now with over a 39.400, and that is awesome. She is doing everything we ask her to do and doing it at a high level. We are really proud of her.”
