Eli Siler
Junior Chelsea Knight maintains her focus while she swings from the uneven bars during her routine. She finished first overall on the uneven bars with a near perfect score of 9.900. UNC Chapel Hill placed first with NC State just behind with a score of 195.625-195.025 at Reynolds Coliseum on Feb. 10.
The NC State gymnastics team finished in second place of a quad meet in Reynolds Coliseum on Friday night with a score of 195.025. UNC-Chapel Hill captured the victory with a score of 195.675.
Pittsburgh (5-6, 0-3 EAGL) finished in third with 194.075 points. William & Mary (1-8) placed fourth, posting a score of 193.025. The Wolfpack (6-7, 1-1 EAGL) was led by freshman Drew Grantham, who posted an all-around score of 38.75 capped by a strong 9.9 on floor exercise, and junior Chelsea Knight, who scored 9.75 on vault and 9.9 on uneven bars. The Tar Heels (4-3, 3-1 EAGL) were propelled by Morgan Lane, who had an all-around score of 39.325.
On the first rotation, Carolina jumped out to an early lead over the rest of the field with a team score of 49 on the floor exercise. The Pack followed closely with a team vault score of 48.725. State was led by sophomore Alexa Phillips, who posted a 9.775 on a strong vault. Sophomore Paris Phillips and Knight both put up scores of 9.75 on their vaults.
The Wolfpack fought back on the uneven bars during the second rotation. State put up a solid score of 48.9 on the bars, moving them into a tie for the lead with the Tar Heels at 97.625. The highlight on bars for the Pack was Knight, who tallied a score of 9.9, her career best on the event. State also got a great output from senior Amanda Fillard with a score of 9.875.
Head coach Mark Stevenson had only good things to say about Knight’s performance.
“Chelsea’s always going to do a good job on the events she does; hopefully we can get her back on floor next week,” Stevenson said.
Grantham got the Pack started on the balance beam, posting a score of 9.775. Later in the rotation, freshman Alexis Beucler scored a 9.8, her season high on the event. Fillard also scored well on the beam, capturing a score of 9.725.
The Pack combined for a team score of 48.2 on the balance beam. Meanwhile, Carolina put together a score of 48.9 on the uneven bars to regain the lead over the Pack, 146.525-145.825. Pittsburgh scored a 48.975 on the floor exercise during the third rotation, boosting its overall score to 145.55, just .275 back of State.
On the fourth rotation, Beucler again started out strong for the Pack with a score of 9.8 on the floor exercise. She was followed by a 9.775 from freshman Melissa Brooker and a season-high 9.9 from Grantham. Alexa Phillips and Paris Phillips posted scores of 9.85 and 9.875, respectively, on the way to a season-high score of 49.2 for the Pack.
Stevenson raved about the heart and competitive spirit by the gymnasts while posting such outstanding scores at the end of a losing effort.
“They’re performing,” Stevenson said. “They’re out there making people appreciate their routines and when they do that the judges appreciate them too. I’m real proud of the kids.”
Despite the strong performance from the Pack on the floor, it was not enough to catch the Tar Heels. UNC captured a team score of 49.15 on the balance beam to seal the victory. Pittsburgh struggled on the vault with a score of 48.525 to finish third.
Stevenson seemed upbeat, though he expressed disappointment in the results.
“We’re finally starting to present ourselves as a high-level gymnastics team,” Stevenson said. “It’s hard to fault the kids for a mistake but we’re at a point now where we can’t afford mistakes.”
The Pack will be back in action Feb. 17 as it travels to Michigan to take on the Wolverines. State will return to Reynolds Coliseum Feb. 25 to host George Washington and Kent State.