NC State gymnastics places third in quad meet, closes out 2023 regular season

Ethan Bakogiannis, Sports Editor • March 12, 2023

Senior Emily Shepard poses in her floor routine in the meet against Rutgers at Reynolds Coliseum on Saturday, March 4, 2023. Shepard scored a 9.950 for the event. NC State beat Rutgers 197.225-196.225.

NC State gymnastics finished its 2023 regular season with a third-place finish in a quad meet against Florida, Texas Woman’s University and Washington on Sunday, March 12.

The Wolfpack (12-8) posted a total score of 196.375, enough to net third place in the quad meet. No. 3 Florida put up an impressive score of 198.175 — good for first place, while Washington placed second with a score just higher than NC State’s at 196.625. Finally, Texas Woman’s finished with a final tally of 195.575, placing fourth.

NC State put up an admirable performance overall but couldn’t edge out the next-highest scorer in Washington. The Pack’s night was headlined by a strong showing from senior Emily Shepard and by tying its season-high score on the bars.

The bars were the red-and-white’s strongest rotation on the night — the Pack tied its season-high score of 49.225 in the event during the third rotation. Shepard paved the way for NC State on the bars, scoring a career-best 9.925 while senior Alexis Ortega scored a 9.850. Rounding out the rotation, sophomore Lauren Rutherford and graduate student Meredith Robinson each scored 9.825, and freshman Kailee Adomaites recorded a score of 9.800.

To start off the night, however, NC State put up its best score of the meet on the floor, posting a 49.300 in the first rotation. Senior Chloe Negrete and junior Krista Zultevicz both tallied scores of 9.875 — a career high for Zultevicz on the floor. Meanwhile, Rutherford scored a 9.850 and junior Gabrielle Diaz posted a 9.800.

The second rotation on the vault was the squad’s second-lowest score of the meet, with the Pack scoring a 48.950. Both Shepard and Rutherford put up scores of 9.825, Ortega logged a 9.750 and both Negrete and freshman Meg Adler notched scores of 9.725.

NC State finished up its regular season on the beam, where it scored its lowest total of the night at 48.925. Once again, Shepard shined for the Pack, tallying a team-high score of 9.850. Ortega put up scores of 9.825 and 9.800, Negrete scored a 9.775 and sophomore Macy Jennings scored a 9.725.

Next, NC State is set to compete in its last EAGL Championship meet of the season on Saturday, March 18.