Gymnastics Looks to Capture EAGL Championship

NC State Travels to EAGL Championship
NC State will be looking to capture its third EAGL conference crown, when the Wolfpack travels to College Park, Md., for the 12th annual EAGL conference championship this Friday at 6:00 p.m at Maryland. The Pack won back-to-back titles in 1999 and 2000, and has finished in the top-three in eight of the leagues 11 meets.

As the 2007 season has gone on, NC State has improved each week. The Wolfpack is currently the only team from the EAGL ranked in the top-25, and NC State has notched its top three team scores of the season over the last three weeks. Over those last three meets, a NC State gymnast has either won or shared eight of the 12 individual titles.

Live stats will be available at www.netscore.com/Meets. The meet will also be broadcasted on ACC Select.

Recent EAGL Championships
NC State has been one of the most successful teams since the EAGL was formed in 1996. The Pack is tied among all conference teams with eight top-three finishes in the 11 EAGL Championship meets, and is third with two conference championships to its credit.

Last season the Pack narrowly missed another EAGL title, as NC State was second on the day at Rutgers with a 195.075. NC State hosted the EAGL Championships for the second time in 2005, and was fourth with a 194.975. In 2004, NC State finished third with a score of 196.000 at Pittsburgh, and at the 2003 meet NC State scored its highest score ever at the conference championships, a 196.675, and narrowly missed out on the team title by finishing second to host New Hampshire.

NC State’s biggest success at the conference meet was when the Pack won back-to-back titles in 1999 and 2000. NC State won its first title in 1999 at Maryland with a score of 196.050, then followed that up the next year at Pittsburgh with a 196.000. In all, NC State has scored at least a 196.000 in four conference meets, and in two of the past four.

EAGL Championship Hosted by Maryland = NC State Win
This year marks the second time the EAGL Championships have been held at Maryland. In the 1999 meet, NC State captured its first ever EAGL title with a team score of 196.050, with the next highest team scoring only a 195.475. That day the Pack had three gymnast finish in the top-three in individual events, including Amy Langendorf earning a share of the bars title.

Hancock Looks to Repeat as Vault Champion
Leigha Hancock entered last years EAGL Championship as a major threat to win both beam and floor, but it was her other event that netted her an event title. Hancock set a new career-high with a 9.9 on vault, and became the first NC State gymnast to ever win the vault title at the EAGL Championship. In all, only seven NC State gymnasts have ever won an individual title at EAGL, and Hancock will be looking to become the first ever to win a second.

This season Hancock comes into the EAGL Championships having a much more successful season on vault ranking fourth in the EAGL. She has tied her career-high on vault two times this season with scores of 9.9. She has three vault titles this year, including one in the Pack's final home meet against Pittsburgh.

Wolfpack in the Rankings
NC State is ranked No. 22 in the www.troester.com/gym poll this week, with a RQS of 194.770. The Pack is the only team in the EAGL ranked in the top-25 this week. NC State is currently ranked No. 18 nationally on floor with a RQS of 49.060. The Pack is also ranked 25th on vault (48.905), 29th on beam (48.520), and 30th on bars (48.695). NC State leads the EAGL on floor, is second on both vault and bars, and third on beam.

Hancock Named Specialist of the Week Four Times
Junior Leigha Hancock led the way in the EAGL this season, having won EAGL Specialist of the Week honors a league-high four times. Only one other gymnast was honored more than once this season. Hancock is no stranger to the award, as she won the same honor four times last season as well.

• January 23 - Hancock’s first time honored was after the Pack’s home opener. She had NC State’s top showing on vault, tying her personal-best with a 9.90 for second place. She also turned in a 9.80 on beam and a 9.70 on the floor exercise.
• February 20 - She was honored for the second time after the Hearts Invite. She set a then season-high on the floor, 9.9, while notching a second-place finish. She also tied for third on the vault, scoring a 9.875, and was 10th on beam with a 9.725.
• February 27 - Hancock recorded NC State’s top score in all three of her events at the Master’s Classic for her third honor, and second straight. She received a 9.80 on both vault and balance beam and a 9.875 on floor. She placed second on floor, third on beam and eight on vault.
• March 13 - Hancock’s final honor was after the second Quad Meet. She had a season-high 9.90 score on beam for first place. She also scored a 9.875 on vault and a 9.775 on the floor.

Seaman Named Rookie of the Week Four Times
Freshman Taylor Seaman also earned an EAGL-best this season, winning EAGL Rookie of the Week honors a total of four times, including three weeks straight at the end of the season. The Pack has been quite familiar with Rookie of the Week honors, as back in 2005, three different NC State gymnasts won the award a total of six times.

• January 23 - Seaman’s first honor came after the Pack’s opening home meet. She was NC State’s top finisher on bars, scoring 9.825 for third place. She notched the Wolfpack’s second-best scores on both vault (9.875) and floor (9.85) and placed sixth in the all-around with a 38.800.
• March 6 - Seaman earned her second award after competing on three events at No. 1 Florida. She scored a 9.75 on vault, a 9.6 on uneven bars and was sixth on floor with a 9.8.
• March 13 - Seaman was named for the second straight week after the Pack’s second Quad Meet. She set a new career-high of 39.275 in the all-around. This is the highest all-around score among all of the Wolfpack team this season. She also placed second on beam (9.825) and fourth on bars (9.8).
• March 20 - Her final time honored during the season came after the Pack's final home meet, and was her third straight week honored. Against Pittsburgh, she took second in the all-around with a 39.175 total. She also tied for second on floor with a 9.85, and was third on both vault (9.825) and beam (9.8).

Hancock Leads the Way for the Pack
Junior Leigha Hancock cleaned up the awards last year from the EAGL, being named first-team onn both beam and floor, and winning the vault title at the EAGL Championship. This year should be much of the same, as Hancock has been the Pack's most consistent performer throughout the season.

Hancock has competed on vault, beam and floor once again this season. She is currently ranked first in the EAGL on floor, second on beam and fourth on vault. In addition, she has been named the EAGL Specialist of the Week a league-best four times. She leads the Pack with six event titles on the season, two each on all three of her events, and has finished outside the top-10 only three times out of 35 routines.

Over the last few meets, Hancock has been even more impressive. She has won floor each of the last two meets, scoring both a 9.925 and a 9.9. On beam she has two wins in the last three meets, and has not scored below a 9.8 or finished outside the top-three in the last five. On vault, she won with a career-best 9.9 in the Pack's final home meet, and has been 9.8 or above in eight of the last nine meets.

Pair of Seniors Finishing Their Careers Strong
NC State has a total of seven seniors this season, a pair of which have been competing since their freshmen seasons. Rachel Katz has been one of the Pack's top vaulters all four years, and this year has been strong on floor and beam as well. Amanda Jones has competed in all four events during her career, and even in the all-around. This season, Jones has been in the beam and bars lineup each time out.

Katz currently ranks seventh on vault and 11th on floor in the EAGL. She brought home a first place finish on vault with a 9.875 at Michigan State, the 13th vault title of her career. Katz had a season-best 9.875 on floor in two of the last three meets, and earned the floor title with that score in the second Quad Meet.

Jones has won three titles on bars this year. She tied her career-best with a 9.85 for her first title at Rutgers. She has a total of four 9.825 scores on bars, and has only scored below a 9.725 on bars once this season. On beam, Jones has four straight top-10 finishes, and posted a season-best 9.8 in the Pack's second Quad Meet.

The Freshmen Impact
NC State has always had much success in its freshmen performers, and this year is no different as a pair of Wolfpack rookies have been in the lineup since the opening meet.

Taylor Seaman has been one of the top rookies in the EAGL, capturing EAGL Rookie of the Week honors a league-best four times. Seaman was in the all-around line-up from seasons start, and if it wasn't for a mid-season ankle injury she would have competed all year in the all-around.

Seaman currently ranks sixth in the EAGL on floor, eighth in the all-around, and ninth on bars. She has won the all-around twice this season, and scored a career-best 39.275. She also has one vault title, winning at Penn State. Recently, Seaman has scored at least a 9.7 in 11 of her 12 routines over the last three meets, including topping 9.8 a total of nine times in that span.

Lauren Deuser came to NC State as somewhat of a hidden gem, as the Pack coaches were not sure what they would be getting till they had some time with her in the gym. But Deuser has been a major surprise for the Pack, as she has been in the bar and beam line-up all season.

Deuser had her top meet of the season at Rutgers earlier this season. She won the beam with a career-best 9.875, and also had a top season score of 9.775 on bars. She also matched that 9.775 on bars against Pittsburgh.

Three Pack Gymnasts Contributing to All-Around Success
This season NC State has a total of three gymnasts competing in the all-around. In addition to freshman Taylor Seaman, juniors Kelsey Lee and Heather Zolton will also be in the all-around at the EAGL Championship.

Seaman has led the way by competing in the all-around a total of nine times this season, while Zolton has done it in the last eight, and Lee in the last seven. Those three gymnasts have topped 39.000 a total of six times and have claimed the all-around title in three meets. Seaman currently boasts the teams top score, with a 39.275, and Zolton has scored over 39.000 in the last three meets.

Shepard Not in Sophomore Slump
Sophomore Ashley Shepard had a huge impact for the Wolfpack last season, as she was in the floor line-up each meet, and was rewarded for her efforts by being named to the All-EAGL second-team. This season, Shepard remains one of the top scorers on floor, and has added a very solid vault routine to the Pack's line-up.

Shepard currently ranks fifth in the EAGL on floor with an RQS of 9.830. She won floor with a 9.85 at Rutgers, and has scored a 9.8 or better in six meets. On vault, she scored a season-best 9.825 for third place at Florida for fourth place.

Pack Places 12 on All-Academic Team
The NC State gymnastics team placed 12 members on the 2007 EAGL All-Academic Team. The Wolfpack had 10 athletes reappearing on the All-Academic list, while two members were honored for the first time. Of the league-record 96 gymnasts, 17 were honored for the fourth time in their careers, including five members from NC State. Crisann Calvo, Amanda Jones, Rachel Katz, Brooke Outland, and Suzanne Price of North Carolina State were all named to the EAGL All-Academic Team for the fourth time straight year. Here are the Pack’s members honored: Elyse Adams (Biological Sciences), Crisann Calvo (Psychology), Lauren Deuser (Textiles), Amanda Jones (Accounting), Rachel Katz (Nutrition), Jamie Mula (Psychology), Brooke Outland (Political Science), Mackenzie Payne (Biological Sciences), Suzanne Price (Mechanical Engineering), Ashley Shepard (Microbiology), Lauren Singer (Communications), Luci Vance (Textiles).

Topping Out
A total of seven different NC State gymnasts have combined to share or win 18 events thus far this season. Junior Leigha Hancock leads the way with six overall titles, two wins apiece on all three of her events (vault, beam, floor).

2007 First-Place Finishes

Gymnast	No.	Events
Lauren Deuser	1	Beam (1)
Leigha Hancock	6	Vault (2), Beam (2), Floor (2)
Amanda Jones	3	Bars (3)
Rachel Katz	2	Vault (1), Floor (1)
Taylor Seaman	3	Vault (1), All-Around (2)
Ashley Shepard	1	Floor (1)
Heather Zolton	2	Bars (1), All-Around (1)

North Carolina State University Athletics

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