Historic Reynolds Coliseum will provide the setting for the Sweetheart invitational this weekend as the Wolfpack gymnastics team welcomes No. 10 Nebraska and EAGL rival North Carolina for the invitational set for 7 p.m. on Saturday. Reynolds has played host throughout the years to countless events ranging from NCAA tournaments, to presidential addresses and is also home to many athletic teams on campus.
Built in 1949, Reynolds was at the time the biggest athletic indoor facility between Atlantic City and New Orleans. There is work completed behind the scenes at Reynolds in preparation for gymnastics meets the public will never see in order to facilitate the change over from basketball to gymnastics to wrestling and back again.
This weekend, the seasoned Reynolds set-up crew will have to change the floor over from a court worthy of the ACC’s finest to a springy, padded labyrinth of equipment that will have nationally-ranked gymnastics teams flying in every direction.
“We have a great staff of about ten guys who help set up the equipment before and after the meets,” Pack gymnastics head coach Mark Stevenson said.
The process of switching Reynolds from a basketball setting to one equipped for a gymnastics meet begins with a whole other set of gymnastics equipment, including the floor, vault, and bars, which is stored in the basement of the building. The process of putting the equipment together takes about two and a half to three hours to completely set up.
After the meets are finished, David Bowles, maintenance supervisor for Reynolds, supervises his crew in taking down the equipment. Once the equipment is broken down, then the crew uses a hand pushed Zamboni to clean the wooden floor of all debris and chalk left over from the meet. The process of breaking the equipment down and getting the floor ready for basketball takes about two hours.
“David and his crew are phenomenal group of people to work with,” Stevenson said.
Having the right equipment in place is only half the battle; the rest comes down to performance. Last weekend the gymnastics team defeated George Washington University by a score of 194.325-190.275. Senior Taylor Seaman led the team, capturing first place in the all-around with an individual score of 39.15. She posted top team scores on both the floor and bars.
It was the second meet in a row that the Pack avoided a single fall in any event. Other top performing gymnasts from the meet included sophomores Jess Panza, who scored a 9.825 on beam, and Brooke Barr, who scored a 9.875 on vault.
“I had a rough start to the meet in George Washington,” Panza said. “My team and my coaches helped me get through the meet and helped pick me up.”
This weekend, the Pack will face yet another top-10 team as it invites No. 10 Nebraska and UNC-Chapel Hill to Raleigh. Nebraska comes to town boasting a 9-1 record and having just posted a season-high team score of 196.475 in the IGI Chicago Invite. EAGL rival North Carolina will arrive at Reynolds having lost its first meet of the season to the University of Maryland, 194.150-193.800.
“We need to compete against the higher level teams to get where we want to be in terms of our overall program,” Stevenson said.
In practice this week, the Pack focused on continuing the success maintained in its past couple meets against George Washington and Florida.
“We are trying to stay consistent,” freshman Rachel Fincham said. “Also we have been doing our job not counting falls in the last two meets.”
Stevenson said the annual Sweetheart Invitational would not be possible without the around-the-clock work done by the staff of Reynolds Coliseum. The goings-on behind the scenes may not be noticed by the average spectator unless something goes wrong, but Bowles and his crew have ensured that that rarely, if ever, happens.
Everything will be ready and in place by the start of the meet at 7 p.m. Saturday night. The event is free for students, who are encouraged to wear pink.
