The RBC Center was not friendly to N.C. State gymnastics Sunday. The Wolfpack took second in the Flip for a Cure event, finishing with a score of 191.2, more than four points behind No. 5 Florida. However, State finished far ahead of third-place William and Mary, who registered a 186.725.
Gymnastics was forced to compete in the RBC Center because of a scheduling conflict for Reynolds Coliseum with women’s basketball, and they were not fond of the venue change.
“I think we all enjoy being at Reynolds because it’s smaller, so when you have more fans it seems more packed and high-beat,” senior gymnast Kylah Bachman said.
Coach Mark Stevenson agreed that his team is more comfortable in Reynolds.
“It’s a different venue than what we’re used to, so it’s like an away meet instead of a home meet, which always makes it a little more difficult mentally for the kids,” he said.
The Pack overcame some of their discomfort and performed well in spots. Sophomore Heather Zolton and Bachman finished second and third in the all-around, respectively, with scores of 38.425 and 37.875. Also, Bachman tied for third on floor, scoring 9.8, and sophomore Leigha Hancock scored a 9.8 to tie for second on balance beam.
Stevenson said he was disappointed with the team’s overall performance, but that he was pleased with some of the individual efforts.
“As a team I thought we did a really poor job. Certain individuals did an outstanding job today. If the individuals could get our team to regionals, that would be a good thing, but it has to be the team,” he said. “We made mistakes, and it’s nobody’s fault but our own. We’ve got to go back and fix them and we will.”
One of the highlights for the Pack was Bachman’s floor routine.
“I had a really good time on floor. That’s definitely my best floor routine this year,” she said.
Stevenson described the routine by simply saying, “It was beautiful.”
Despite a tough day there, the experience at the RBC Center was not viewed in a totally negative light by the gymnastics team.
“It was different. Regionals and big competitions are going to be in this big of a place, so it’s good to get the experience,” Bachman said.
Stevenson said competing in a large arena like the RBC Center provided a glimpse of what the team will face when it goes to regionals.
“When we go to Georgia [site of regionals] they’ll have a place not this big. I think it seats 10,000, but it will be sold out,” Stevenson said.
Stevenson said he enjoyed the event at the RBC Center.
“The positive thing about this place is the people here are so wonderful to work with that it’s just amazing. There’s a lot of good. We certainly enjoyed having the meet here.”
No matter how nice the event is at the RBC Center, Reynolds is still the place where the gymnastics team wants to be, according to Bachman.
“Reynolds is still better,” Bachman said.
