NC State gymnastics didn’t travel to Brookville, New York to lose, posting a score of 196.275 to best Long Island University (195.650) and Temple (195.175). The Pack saved its best performances for the final rotations of the meet to pull away from the competition, continuing a solid season.
NC State (10-6) got off to a slow start as its first two rotational scores fell short of the 49-point mark. Meanwhile, LIU (8-8-1) and Temple (8-13) hung around, putting up consistent scores as LIU edged out Temple after the second rotation due to its meet-high 49.150 on the uneven-bars. The Wolfpack found rhythm in the last two rotations, accumulating the best scores on the floor exercise and vault to come away with the wins.
NC State started the day on the uneven bars by racking up a 48.925 paced by a 9.850 from sophomore Lauren Rutherford. The Pack has seen better days when it comes to the uneven bars but did enough to stay afloat through one rotation.
The red-and-white continued onto beam where the team posted its second 48.925 led by seniors Alexis Ortega, Chloe Negrete and Emily Shepard, all of whom scored a 9.800 or higher. With the beam came highlights and lowlights — Ortega executed a perfect L turn, a contributing factor to her 9.825 score, but junior Krista Zultevicz struggled with her dismount, culminating in a meet-low score of 9.525 for beam.
At this juncture in the contest, the Pratt Recreation Center was getting louder by the minute with fans watching their Sharks compete in their final home meet of the season.
NC State, unfazed by the noise, stayed in its own bubble and asserted dominance during the floor exercise as the team has done all season. The Pack reached a new season-high in the floor routine, and each gymnast contributed in a unique way.
The season-high 49.425 came from the consistent perfection of Negrete and Shepard, along with a budding star in Rutherford. Negrete posted a 9.950, narrowly edging out Shepard’s 9.925 and Rutherford’s 9.900, and all three led the charge to give NC State the lead with one rotation to go.
With all the momentum going its way, NC State put forth a clean performance on the vault. The Pack ended with a meet-best 49.000 on vault, again led by Negrete with a 9.900 and Shepard’s 9.875 — the top two individual scores for this event.
NC State is currently ranked 25th in the nation due to some slip ups earlier in the year, but the team has been red-hot as of late with a record well over .500 and two of the best gymnasts in the country.
Negrete and Shepard will look to finish their final season with NC State gymnastics in dominating fashion, with the final home meet of the season coming next Saturday, March 4 at 2 p.m. against Rutgers followed by the final regular season meet of 2023 on March 12.
