Seniors Kylah Bachman and Beth Faulkner took their final curtain call at Reynolds Coliseum Friday night, and the rest of the N.C. State gymnastics team made sure they left on a positive note.
The Wolfpack won their final home meet of the season finishing with a score of 194.625, barely edging out second-placed Maryland, who scored 194.575. New Hampshire placed third with a score of 193.75 and George Washington rounded out the competition at 193.25.
Coach Mark Stevenson said the team did well, but will need to fix some mistakes on the uneven parallel bars.
“We did extremely well on floor and on vaulting,” Stevenson said. “We were a little rough on beam, but we fought through and we did a good job of hanging on to the top of the beam. On bars, we made a couple of mistakes that we will fix immediately.”
Bachman competed in all four events earning a third place finish in both the vault and the balance beam with scores of 9.825 and 9.775, respectively. She placed fifth in the individual all-around with a score of 38.425. Sophomore Heather Zolton placed fourth in the all-around while another teammate, junior Amanda Jones, placed sixth.
“It was really good for me,” Bachman said. “It was awesome because it was my last, and I think I did really well, and I was happy with the team’s performance.”
Sophomore Leigha Hancock also had a very strong performance finishing first in both the balance beam and the floor exercise with scores of 9.925 and 9.9. Freshman Elyse Adams earned first place in the uneven bars with a score of 9.8, while Jones and junior Rachel Katz finished tied for second, scoring a 9.775.
But the night belonged to both Bachman and Faulkner. With their parents in attendance, the duo was showered with several cheers from the crowd and hugs from all of their teammates.
Faulkner said she is going to miss the atmosphere of Reynolds Coliseum.
“I’m going to miss the whole team atmosphere, the fans, having little girls to come by and sign autographs for them and having friends and family come by,” Faulkner said.
Bachman said she would miss the team and competing.
“I love competing and I love being with my team, and it’s like so hyped up and that’s what you practice for,” Bachman said.
Faulkner added Bachman was not only a great athlete, but a great friend.
“Kylah is an unbelievable person,” Faulkner said. “She has the strongest faith of any person I have ever seen, and she’s an unbelievable friend.”
Bachman said she appreciated her senior teammate as well.
“Beth is awesome because she’s one of those friends who are always there for you, no matter what,” Bachman added.
Stevenson said he will miss them both.
“We’re certainly going to miss them,” Stevenson said. “We’re going to miss Kylah’s work ethic, and we are going to miss Beth for her stick-to-it-ness.”