The NC State wrestling and gymnastics teams were able to grab a pair of victories as the two squads shared the venue of Reynolds coliseum at the Beauty and the Beast event on Saturday night.
The wrestling team topped the No. 14 Pittsburgh Panthers in large part due to three impressive pins.
State came out determined, inspired and was able to jump out to an impressive 15-0 lead against the highly touted Panthers. Two freshmen led the Pack’s attack, as 133 pound Bryce Meredith and 141 pound Kevin Jack were able to pick up two big pins.
“Momentum is huge in a dual meet and that is what happened,” said head coach Pat Popolizio. “Bryce Meredith going from a tight match to get a fall and then Kevin Jack, with his first time in our lineup, getting a pin, that is how you win these kinds of dual meets.”
Things got a little shaky for the Pack as it would go on to lose four of its next five bouts, as the score would shrink to 18-12. Sophomore 165 pounder Max Rohskoph, was the lone bright spot for the Pack in the middle of the dual meet coming up with a close decision win.
Freshman Michael Boykin and senior Nick Gwiazdowski, were able to shut the door on any chance of a comeback with two dominate wins to end the match and help the Pack grab its second win over a ranked opponent this season.
“I am very impressed with the way the guys competed,” said Popolizio. “Knocking off the No. 14 team in the country is probably one of the biggest wins we have had here at NC State and it was well needed.”
NC State has now won eight of its last 10 dual meets. The Pack will try to continue this streak as it faces off against ACC opponent Virginia to conclude the team’s conference schedule.
The NC State gymnastics team was also able to get a win of its own, topping the George Washington Colonials and the Tribe from William and Mary by scoring its second highest mark of the season, 195.850.
The event marks the third win of the season for the Wolfpack as well as its first home victory. The Pack was also able to avenge a loss earlier in the season to the Tribe at Reynolds Coliseum.
“Overall it was an excellent meet,” said associate head coach Colleen Johnson. “We came out really strong on the first two events, the strongest we have probably seen all year. The energy was just awesome and the performance reflected that.”
The Wolfpack started the meet off with a season-high team total on the vault with a score of 49.175. Senior Lane Jarrad, was able to score a career-high 9.850 on the vault, enough for her to notch fourth in the event. Junior Brittni Watkins, scored 9.900 to give her a tie for second place.
The team followed that performance up with another team season-high with a score of 49.100 on the uneven parallel bars. Sophomore Amanda Fillard, grabbed a score of 9.850 to give her a tie for first place.
After two strong team performances, the Pack struggled in its third rotation on the balance beam. The team still managed to pull off a score of 48.350, as Jarrad and Watkins shared the event title.
“We got a little tight in the first few routines,” said Johnson. “We regrouped after our third routine and on the last we came back and rocked it.”
The team bounced back to notch a score of 49.225 in the floor exercise. Jarred was able to notch yet another career high in her performance with a score of 9.900 and tallied her second event title of the night.
“We took our momentum to floor and certainly finished strong like we wanted to,” said Johnson. “We showed what our team is capable of and more importantly to our team what we are capable of.”
The team’s next event will come against the Kent State Golden Flashes, the Rutgers Scarlett Knights and the UNC Chapel-Hill Tar Heels Friday in Reynolds Coliseum.
Sophomore Meghan Quinn shows off her floor routine during an exhibition. NC State took home the win against George Washington and William & Mary with a team score of 195.850.
