With the NCAA Regional Championships set for this Saturday, the gymnastics team has focused on clean finishes and polishing other fine points.
Ironically, the way the team finishes each routine will be a major factor in whether N.C. State will be forced to finish its season.
“We’re all trying to focus on our landings a lot more. We’re trying to stick them – not take as many steps,” senior Kylah Bachman said. “That will definitely raise our score.”
The team’s regiment remains unchanged as far as time devotion to any particular event. However, the team has placed more of an emphasis on keeping techniques as flawless as possible.
“We have our routines. We know how to do everything and we can make them. So we’re just trying to better them with the little things. In Regionals, the little things add up a lot more,” Bachman, the York, Pa. native, said.
Another change has been to simulate the atmosphere and regulations that come with competing in a Regionals competition.
“Last Friday we did an intersquad meet, and we did the rotation we will do at the competition. We started on bars, and everybody that wasn’t on bars had to go sit in the corner far away,” coach Mark Stevenson said. “They put up these little areas that we have to stay in, and we can’t be out of those areas while our kids are competing unless a coach has to be there for a spotter or a mat has to be moved.”
Practicing has been rough, according to Stevenson, as minor injuries and even brief spells of sickness have been scattered team-wide.
“Right now everybody’s just a little tired and a little beat up so we try to gear our practices to absorb all those little things,” Stevenson said. “We had a couple of kids out with colds, which is never [a] good thing at this point, because it takes your energy away. But overall, I feel like they’re ready.”
The Wolfpack said they hope added attention to detail this week will eliminate taking steps when they land, raising their score and bringing them closer to the NCAA Championships.
“If everybody lands every routine without taking a step, that’s two points on our team score because it’s one-tenth [of a point] a step,” Stevenson said.
The team-building activities have been helpful in keeping the team focused on the NCAA Regionals, and the results are visible, according to Bachman.
“The team is definitely doing a better job. I can see people when they land. You can just tell that they’re focusing a lot more on the landings,” Bachman said. “They’re just really focused on everything. You can tell they’re trying to make a difference in everything that they’re doing, and that’s definitely a good thing for Regionals.”