NC State gymnastics had an action-packed afternoon at Reynolds Coliseum. On top of beating conference rival Clemson and recording its second-highest score in program history, the Wolfpack won the first-ever ACC regular season championship.
The red-and-white raised its newly earned trophy after upsetting No. 22 Clemson (4-2) 197.575-196.000 at Reynolds. The Pack’s (5-4) record-breaking score resulted from a team effort led by none other than star graduate student Emily Shepard, who put up the highest all-around score in program history.
Shepard’s near-perfect score of 39.750 wasn’t just the highest in program history, it became the new high for a member of an ACC school. On the way to 39.750, Shepard scored over a 9.900 in every event — another program first.
With Shepard’s help, NC State tallied season-high scores on three of the four events — the bars, vault and beam. The red-and-white scored a 49.275 on the vault, a 49.450 on the bars, a 49.375 on the beam and a night-high score of 49.500 on the floor.
The Pack finished its night strong with its impressive score on the floor. Three scores of 9.900 or above got the job done for NC State while the Tigers came .300 behind the Pack with a score of 49.200.
While Shepard fired a 9.925 in the event, her fellow graduate student, Chloe Negrete, led the team with a score of 9.950. Freshman Ashley Knight put up another strong score of 9.900 while freshman Maddie Hall put up a 9.875. NC State didn’t post a score lower than 9.825 in the event, helping the Pack overcome Clemson’s Rebecca Wells’ score of 9.900.
To start the conference-winning night, NC State edged out the Tigers on the vault. This was the lowest event total from either the Pack or the Tigers, but a 9.900 from Shepard paved the way for the win over Clemson in the event. Behind Shepard, Knight posted a 9.875 while senior Krista Zultevicz and Negrete each fired a 9.850.
Next, Clemson put up an admirable 49.375 on the bars, but Shepard and NC State were there to spoil the Tigers’ fun once again. The graduate put up her highest score of the night — a 9.975 — to lead the Wolfpack.
Freshman Katie Harper posted a score of 9.900 while graduate Alexis Ortega and sophomore Madeline Reid put up 9.850s. Meanwhile, sophomore Kailee Adomaites made her name known with a score of 9.875.
NC State had its largest margin of victory on the beam, beating out the Tigers who posted a score of 48.625 to the Pack’s 49.375. To no one’s surprise, Shepard led the Wolfpack with another impressive score. This time, she tallied a 9.950 while Negrete backed her up by posting a 9.900. To round out the event, Harper and sophomore Meg Adler put up a score of 9.850 each.
Even with the ACC regular season title locked up, NC State will continue conference play with its meet against Pitt on Sunday, Feb. 25, at 4 p.m.
