The gymnastics team edged out three schools Friday night in the Governor’s Cup meet at Reynolds Coliseum, with North Carolina falling four-tenths of a point shy of N.C. State’s 194.6 winning score. Maryland and Towson came in third and fourth, respectively.

But the win for the Wolfpack didn’t come without some uncertainty and adversity. Carolina placed 10 of its competitors on the podium for top-three finishes in vault, balance beam, uneven bars, floor exercises and all-around, while State only placed four.

With such a close competition, senior Amanda Jones, who tied for first on the uneven bars, said the team had to keep it simple.

“It was definitely not a sweep. We were close the whole time with them. But we stayed with our state of focus and just went and did our routines like we do every day in the gym,” Jones said. “But you could feel a little pressure there just because it’s Carolina.”

One of the deciding factors was the performance of those who didn’t place for either team, with the Pack coming out better in that department. Having a wider range of team members with high scores was just enough to put State over the top.

But before finding out the final score of the meet, junior Leigha Hancock said she wasn’t sure if her team had done enough to win.

“I thought we got second,” Hancock said. “But I was really surprised, was really glad.”

The team was able to overcome a fall by Hancock on her balance beam routine and a fall by junior Kelsey Lee at the end of her floor routine. Hancock credited her teammates for helping ease the effect of her miscue.

“I fell on beam, but the team, they picked me up,” Hancock said. “It was like it didn’t matter if I fell because they all hit.”

Lee said her fall came from stretching a little too far in one of her moves in her floor routine.

“Coaches always tell us to go big, to always over-rotate,” Lee said. “So that’s what I did, and it was just a little too much.”

Coach Mark Stevenson said he couldn’t be upset with Lee because she went farther and higher in a move in her routine instead of coming up short. He added senior Rachel Katz’s performance immediately after Lee on the floor was crucial in sealing the team’s victory.

“Her walking in for her first routine in two years and going 9.6 and having a great routine for us was huge because, had she taken a fall, we’d have lost the meet,” Stevenson said.

And as for the difference in the meet, Hancock said it came down to a team effort.

“They had two or three good girls,” Hancock said. “But we have a whole team.”

And while Stevenson said it wasn’t a perfect meet and noted his team’s “uncharacteristic” errors on the floor, he said the most important thing about the competition was the result.

“We did a little bit better in certain instances than Carolina did. And we squeaked out a win, and that’s what it’s all about anytime you compete against your archrival,” Stevenson said. “Next week we go to his house. We’re going to have to do that much better to win over there.”