North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: Zolton, Pack Look to Repeat EAGL Championship
3/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
BY TIM PEELER
That’s the position NC State’s gymnastics team finds itself in this weekend heading to the 2008 East Atlantic Gymnastics League Championship in
“We are definitely expecting to do well, but I feel like there is a little more pressure this year, since we won it last year,” Zolton says. “We have had a great season so far, but we just have to keep it up. If we keep doing the things we have been doing, we have a great shot of winning. I definitely feel a little bit of pressure, trying to come back and doing the same thing we did last year.”
Wolfpack coach Mark Stevenson has won back-to-back conference titles before, taking his first two EAGL championships in 1999 and 2000. His third came last year, as the Wolfpack edged
This year’s team (18-8 overall, 5-2 EAGL) has been ranked for much of the year, reaching as high as No. 17 in the college gymnastics poll. Last weekend, it posted its highest score of the season, getting marks of 196.050 in the regular-season finale against
For Zolton, one of the reasons that the team has reached its peak at the most important time of the season is that desire to repeat at the conference level and advance to the NCAA Championships.
“One thing that coach has really emphasized is that every meet we go to is just about our team, to get better each time we compete,” Zolton says. “It is not about whether we win or lose against that particular school. It is about what is the best score we can come out with.”
Zolton, one of three seniors in the starting rotation for the Wolfpack, has been a consistent performer during her four years in
With her season-high all-around score of 39.150 last weekend against
Zolton, a club competitor for 15 years before coming to NC State, had never participated in team gymnastics. She initially struggled to adjust, both to the team concept and the weather peculiarity of a thing called “seasons,” something the
“I had a little bit of a rough time when I first got here,” Zolton says. “I wasn’t used to the whole team part of it. I was used to competing as an individual. That was different for me. I got along great with all the girls, but it was hard being away from home.
“I really didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know how the lineup worked. I just came in hoping to compete in all four events, which is what I was used to doing on the club level. So it’s been great competing in all four events all four years. I’m pretty pleased with how things have worked out.”
Zolton knows, however, that her career is winding down. The Sport Management major is set to graduate in the fall, though she is still deciding on a career path. To be honest, she’s been too focused on finishing her gymnastics career to make any long-range decisions.
“I haven’t quite figured out what I am going to be doing just yet, but it is definitely making me a little nervous, graduating and being done with gymnastics,” Zolton says. “It makes me nervous and a little sad. At the same time, I think my body is ready to be done with gymnastics. After the season is over, I am going to focus on what I need to do to graduate and what is going to happen after that.”
But there will be time later to worry about that. For now, Zolton and her teammates are focused on repeating their conference championship.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
