After tying the first two events and No. 24 UNC-Chapel Hill’s best exercise yet to come, No. 18 NC State gymnastics looked to be on the brink of an upset. That is until graduate Chloe Negrete won the last two events, propelling the Wolfpack to a 197.025-195.500 win over the Tar Heels on Friday night at Reynolds Coliseum.
It was on the beam where UNC (3-4, 2-3 ACC) ranks 18th in the country that Negrete delivered a career-high 9.975 for first place to give the Wolfpack (5-5, 4-2 ACC) a 147.750-147.475 heading into the final rotation. In the Wolfpack’s last event — the floor — Negrete anchored the lineup and posted a 9.900 for consecutive first-place finishes and a fifth straight win over the Heels.
Negrete was coming off her third ACC Specialist of the Week honor and followed it up with a clutch performance against UNC. Negrete entered the meet tied with sophomore Ashley Knight for the most podium finishes on the team and now has sole possession after her two wins.
Negrete wasn’t the only Wolfpack gymnast to post a career-high. Including Negrete, five gymnasts had career-highs on an event, resulting in the Pack’s highest score of the season.
The first came on the vault where junior Meg Adler scored a 9.850 to tie for fourth. Graduate Krista Zultevicz also posted her career best on the vault with a 9.875 to tie for second. While the Tar Heels took home first in the event, the teams tied the exercise with 49.175 each.
On the bars, sophomore Ellie Hadrick had a career-high 9.875 to finish third. Sophomore Katie Harper posted a 9.900 for second and although the Heels had the first-place finisher in the event, the two teams tied it thanks to Hadrick and freshman Carolina Volk finishing third and fourth, respectively.
In the Pack’s penultimate event tied with Carolina, Knight scored a career-high 9.825 on the beam to tie for third while Negrete’s career-high gave the Pack a slim lead. Senior Brooke Smead also made her collegiate debut on the beam, scoring a 9.875 to tie for third.
While no NC State gymnasts posted a career-high on the floor, the Pack had five of the top six highest scores in the event. Adler and Hadrick both matched their season-best scores of 9.850 to tie for third while Knight also posted the same score. Zultevicz tied for sixth with a 9.825 before Negrette anchored with a 9.900 for the win.
The Wolfpack swept the season series over the Tar Heels and now has won three straight meets before it heads to Ames, Iowa for a tri-meet with Denver and Iowa State who are both ranked lower than NC State.
The meet is scheduled to take place Friday at 7:30 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
