The NC State gymnastics team had a rough start to its 2015 campaign, falling to the No. 20 Denver Pioneers, 194.500-192.025, Friday night at Reynolds Coliseum. Friday’s score marked the team’s lowest in nearly six years.
Despite the shaky performance, head coach Mark Stevenson was optimistic in the face of defeat. The 2015 State roster is stacked with fresh faces and inexperienced athletes. At least two freshmen started in each of the four events for the Pack.
“I feel pretty good about our team,” Stevenson said. “We’ve got a really young team, and if we stay healthy, we’ll continue to get better as we go on. I think we can be really good.”
The Pack started the night on a high note, putting forth a solid performance on vault. The team score of 48.875 was the team’s highest of the night and its only score above 48. Junior Brittni Watkins’ score of 9.825 paced the team, while three others recorded scores of 9.775.
Watkins, one of the Pack’s few upperclassmen, was the team’s top performer in 2014, earning All-American and EAGL Gymnast of the Year honors. The junior has acted as a pedestal to which the younger gymnasts can aim.
“It’s excellent for the younger kids,” Stevenson said. “We have three upperclassmen that go out and do their job. Now we just have to get the younger kids to step up and be a part of that.”
Watkins finished with an all-round score of 38.800, good for second place next to Denver senior Nina McGee.
After the first rotation, State held the advantage, 48.875-48.600. However, this would be the Pack’s only lead, as the team struggled mightily on the uneven bars. Bars was the team’s worst event last season, and the score of 47.600 suggested that the team was not yet comfortable in the air.
The State lineup on bars included three gymnasts making their debuts on bars and one with just four meets worth of experience. While two of those four made unfortunate falls on their routines, Stevenson was still pleased with the progress he saw from his young team.
“I think bars was very well done,” Stevenson said. “The four kids that I thought would hit bars were the ones that hit bars. The other two had the potential to hit bars, but one missed an easy skill and the other hadn’t competed in three years.”
Freshman Chelsea Knight had a nice outing on the first two events, posting the second-highest score on her team in both.
“Chelsea is good,” Stevenson said. “She was three-for-three tonight.”
The Pack was uncharacteristically shaky on the balance beam, posting a score of 47.950, the program’s lowest since 2011. While only one gymnast fell, no single routine looked completely confident. Stevenson said his team’s performance was not expected.
“We were all over beam, and I have no idea why,” Stevenson said. “They looked great in the gym every day. I liked that everyone fought to stay on—no one gave up.”
Junior Michaela Woodford, the Pack’s second all-around competitor, posted a decent score of 9.650, but the fact that she was able to perform was the real story. Woodford was participating in just her second all-around meet since being named EAGL Rookie of the Year in 2013.
“We love having [Michaela] back,” Stevenson said. “She has that personality that picks everyone up. She’s out there doing everything she can to be that kid that does great things for you.”
Woodford said she still needed some work to be back to her true form, but she was ecstatic to get back on the floor.
“It’s the best feeling in the world,” Woodford said.
In the final event, the floor exercise, State had another rough outing. Once again, there was no real swagger in the team’s routines. Instead, it appeared that the gymnasts were going through the motions, which resulted in missed stunts and lower scores. State totaled 47.600 for the event.
“I was very disappointed in floor,” Stevenson said. “You just don’t miss three routines. The same kids that missed, they haven’t missed three routines combined in two weeks of practice.”
State will return to action Friday night when the Washington Huskies travel to Reynolds.
