NC State gymnastics (2-2) won its first meet of the year, headlined by an outstanding performance from senior Chloe Negrete. The Pack faced both Pitt and George Washington in its first tri-meet of the season.
NC State tallied a final score of 196.650, besting George Washington’s 195.250 points and Pitt’s 195.150 points. The Pack put up high scores in all four competitions as the squad seems to get better with each and every meet.
“This is something that we were working towards,” Negrete said. “I think building week by week is our overall goal.”
The first event for NC State was the vault. Negrete had the best performance of all competitors, scoring a 9.900 to lead the team to a total score of 49.175.
The next event for the red-and-white was the uneven bars. The Wolfpack continued its solid performance with a 49.125 score, which actually ended up being its worst score on the night. The Pack has struggled with the bars through its first two meets but seems to be turning a corner in the event.
At the halfway point of the meet, NC State held a lead over its competitors with a total score of 98.300, a lead that the Pack never relinquished.
The Pack then moved on to the beam, where Negrete and company continued to execute flawlessly. Negrete scored her second 9.900 of the night in the beam as she continued to pace the Wolfpack.
“I was really proud of myself because the whole last year I’ve been out with an [achilles] injury, so I had to commit to the team in a different role,” Negrete said. “I’m ridiculously excited to get back out there and show everyone that I could still do this and that I could come back.”
NC State was the last of the three teams to do the floor routine. The Wolfpack looked to be taking care of business until junior Krista Zultevicz made a mistake that caused her to fall, resulting in a team-low score of 9.025. After Zultevicz completed her routine, sophomore Lauren Rutherford cleaned it up with a solid performance, scoring a 9.850.
Senior Emily Shepard was up next, putting up a score of 9.875 that looked to be the clincher for NC State. Negrete was up next, and as the designated closer, was somehow able to one-up everyone for a third time by scoring another 9.900 to lock up the victory.
Negrete is confident in the Pack’s chances season, even after suffering two narrow losses earlier in the year. She is also happy to be back on the floor with Shepard and fellow senior Alexis Ortega.
“It’s the first season we’re all going to be able to compete together,” Negrete said. “I really think we’re a triple threat.”
The Wolfpack will travel to Alabama to face Auburn on Friday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. before returning home for a tri-meet against North Carolina and Western Michigan.
