North Carolina State University Athletics
Gymnastics Travels to Rutgers for EAGL Championships
3/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
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Piscataway, N.J. - The NC State gymnastics team will be looking to capture its third EAGL conference crown, when the Wolfpack travels to Piscataway, N.J., for the 11th annual EAGL conference championships this Saturday at 6:00 p.m. at Rutgers. The Pack won back-to-back titles in 1999 and 2000, and has finished in the top-three in seven of the leagues 10 meets, tied for tops in the conference.
As the 2006 season has gone on, NC State has improved each week. The Pack has notched its top three scores of the season over the last four weeks, notching a combined record of 7-1 in the process, and has had several individuals not only set season-highs over that time but also new career-highs as well. Over the last four meets, a NC State gymnast has won 11 of the 16 individual event titles.
One of the NC State gymnasts that has enjoyed continued success recently is sophomore Leigha Hancock. She currently ranks second in the EAGL on both beam and floor, and led the conference with being named EAGL Specialist of the Week a total of four times this season.
Hancock has won the floor title in the last four meets, and six times this season. He is red-hot lately, scoring at least a 9.9 four times this season, and no lower than a 9.875 in the past four meets. She has also finished either first or second on beam in the last seven meets. Hancock has set new career-highs on all three of her events this season, 9.95 on floor, 9.925 on beam and 9.825 on vault.
Hancock recently sat down to talk about the EAGL Championships:
On how important it is to win the EAGL Championships: "Right now an EAGL Championship is a major goal of ours. Obviously we have NCAA Regionals in a couple of weeks and that determines who goes to the NCAA Championships, but every athlete from any sport wants their team to be the best in their own conference. At the start of each season, winning the EAGL Championships is one of our top goals to accomplish."
On last seasons EAGL Championships: "Last year was disappointing because we were either the first or second ranked team in the conference during the entire season. It was disappointing to finish fourth just because of how we came in and our course because we were hosting. I think that is why we are all excited this year, because we get a chance to go out and improve upon last years showing."
On the teams chances this season: "We definitely have the talent to compete, so if we keep it together and just go out and hit our routines we can came away with the conference trophy once again."
