After losing to UNC-Chapel Hill in a dual-meet on Feb. 12 and finishing second in the Feb. 19 quad-meet despite a season-high score, NC State Gymnastics got back in the win column by edging North Carolina’s 195.000 and Temple’s 194.825 with new season-high score of 196.200 on Saturday, Feb. 27.
“We’ve continued to build in every major competition,” said head coach Kim Landrus. “In terms of detail, we’ve improved immensely. We worked a lot in the gym on our landings and today it really showed. When you compare today to the beginning of this season, they’ve done an excellent job embracing getting better and taking advantage of opportunities.”
The afternoon began with NC State on the vault, where it continued to post its usual high scores. As has become her usual custom, sophomore Chloe Negrete shined with a 9.850, the Pack’s highest score on the vault. Sophomore Emily Shepard, who recently earned her third EAGL Gymnast of the Week award on the season, solidified the Pack’s position on the vault with a 9.800 of her own. Altogether, NC State was able to corral 48.825 points in the event, placing the Pack behind, though in a dangerous position to eclipse, North Carolina’s 48.900 on the floor in the first rotation.
In the second rotation, the Pack would in fact eclipse the Tar Heels, this time on the backs of a great performance on the bars. NC State had four gymnasts earn scores above 9.800, contributing to a 49.125 in the event. Freshman Carina Jordan got things started off with a 9.825. Senior Lauren Kent made an appearance on the bars and made the most of it, earning a stunning 9.850.Senior Katie Cox’s 9.875 and Shepard’s 9.900 wrapped up a dominant rotation on the bars, and the combined score of 97.950 was good enough to top North Carolina for first place in the meet.
“Every day at practice, we give it 100%,” Shepard said. “There’s gonna be ups and downs, but on the good days we really run with it, and we learn from the bad days in practice and at the meets. We put in a lot of hard work in the gym, and I’m proud of the team because it showed today.”
After the bars, NC State followed up with one of its most consistent rotations it has had this season. All six NC State gymnasts on the beam earned scores of 9.800 or higher. Among the gymnasts who performed well on the beam were usual suspects Negrete and Shepard, each scoring 9.850. But joining them was senior Nicole Webb, who’s 9.850 capped off a rotation that provided a glimpse at what NC State could be when everything clicks.
“I personally think I did best on the beam,” Shepard said. “It’s been a battle for me this season because I know I’m physically capable of every skill I do but going in with confidence has been a little bit of a struggle. I’ve been relying on a lot of people close to me – they’ve been pushing me to keep going and get through this bump in the road. I’m proud of myself tonight because all the work I put in showed through.”
With its floor routine in the fourth rotation, NC State put a lid on North Carolina and Temple’s chances of making a comeback in the meet. Negrete’s 9.875 was only one of the many high scores the Pack had on the floor tonight, including 9.825 from Jordan and Shepard, and a 9.800 from freshman Madison Benson. For the third straight rotation, NC State earned a score over 49 points, and with its scores in the other events managed to finish with a 196.200, breaking the season-high score it earned in last week’s quad-meet.
The Pack picked the right time to peak, as the EAGL conference championships are on the horizon, set for Saturday, March 20. But coach Landrus didn’t seem phased at all by the prospect of competing on a bigger stage next month.
“Our preparations remain the same every week and it won’t change with the conference championship,” Landrus said. “We want to keep getting better every day, use each competition as an opportunity to build throughout the season, and continue the climb to the top at the end of the season.
The next time NC State takes the mat, the team will make the trip north for a meet against New Hampshire. That meet is scheduled for Saturday, March 6 in Durham, New Hampshire.
Sophomore Chloe Negrete greets her teammates after performing on the vault on Saturday Feb. 27, 2021 at Reynolds Coliseum. Negrete scored highest on the vault with a 9.850. The Wolfpack took first place in the tri-meet over North Carolina and Temple with a score of 196.200.
