The gymnastics team won its fourth EAGL championship Saturday in true Wolfpack fashion, coming from behind to defeat West Virginia and UNC-Chapel Hill with a score of 195.700.
The lineup had N.C. State in the first set of teams and the two major competitors, West Virginia and UNC-Chapel Hill, in the second set of teams. This meant that the Pack competed first while the Mountaineers and Tar Heels had byes. The major competitors then competed in the second rotation, with the cycle alternating through eight rotations.
The Pack started the tournament on beam and scored a 48.550. This score was good enough for first place after the first rotation but with West Virginia and UNC having byes that score wouldn’t stand for long. While the Pack sat out the second rotation, both Carolina and WVU passed the Pack, leaving them in third.
“We started out a little shaky on beam, we had a lot of little mistakes,” coach Mark Stevenson said. “We came off with a 48.55 so we were already spotting the other teams a half a point. We knew we had a lot of work to do.”
This continued through the Pack’s second and third event; the team would end each full rotation in third place. After the beam the Pack moved to floor where it posted a 48.900 and then moved to vault where the team posted a 49.075. According to freshman Brooke Barr, the team utilized a positive attitude and the byes to stay focused throughout the meet despite trailing through the first three full rotations.
“We always had a positive outlook on it,” Barr said. “Having byes helped because we got to go down to the locker room and really focus and talk as a team and really work on what we wanted to do with the rest of the meet.”
The Wolfpack ended the night on bars needing big scores to stay competitive for the crown. The team posted just that, notching a 49.175 on the event. The lowest counting score for the Pack was a 9.825. Sophomore Brittany Vontz and junior Lauren Deuser scored a 9.850, sharing the individual title for the event.
“It was the best bars of the year by far,” Stevenson said. “They saved it all for the last event and did a great job of putting it together.”
The Pack then had to sit and watch and West Virginia, on vault, and UNC-Chapel Hill, on floor, finish their rotation with the opportunity to pass the Pack. According to Barr, the sitting and waiting was hard, but the team managed to hold on to the title as West Virginia and UNC-Chapel Hill scored a 195.500 and 194.825, respectively.
“It was really hard to sit and wait at the bye because they are good competitors,” Barr said. “Especially West Virginia on vault, they really hit. It was scary and your heart races. But we did our job and that’s what counts.”
The Pack will now concentrate on the NCAA Regional Tournament. According to Stevenson, the 195.700 the team scored was vital to its standing in the Regional tournament.
“It does a couple of things for us. It solidifies the fact that we are going to regionals,” Stevenson said. “With all the injuries and stuff we dealt with early in the season, we were 90 percent in last week. We are 100 percent in now.”
Nonetheless, Stevenson admits that the team still has room for improvement.
“It will definitely help us, we know we can still get better and we know the scores won’t be any tougher, they scored a very good meet.”
The Pack will be hosting the NCAA Regional Tournament April 4 in Reynolds Coliseum. According to Stevenson, when the students show up, it makes a big impact on the team.
“We sure would love to have the students show up at the meet,” Stevenson said. “It makes a big difference for us when they do.”
