North Carolina State University Athletics
@PackGymnastics to Host Denver in Season Opener
1/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
RALEIGH, N.C.- The NC State gymnastics team will host 20th-ranked Denver on Jan. 9 for its season opener inside Reynolds Coliseum.
The meet is slated to begin at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN3.
From the Coach's Perspective
"This meet is a great season opener for us; Denver has always been a competitive team. We've done home and away competitions with them for a number of years now and they've always provided great competition for us.
"More than anything we're just excited to get out there in front of our fans and show the new faces we have on our team. We have a young team this year and a lot of new faces and I think that our fans and the nation are going to be pleasantly surprised by the talent we have."- Colleen Johnson, Associate Head Coach
Freshman ImPACKt
The Wolfpack introduces several new faces, as six freshmen have joined the team. Despite the youth of the 2015 squad, several are slated to compete right away.
Chelsea Knight, a Waldorf, Md. native, is poised to make a strong impact in her debut season for the Wolfpack.
She arrived at NC State with a strong résumé, capturing the 2012 and 2014 Level 10 Maryland State Championship on vault while placing in the top 10 at the 2013 Level 10 Junior Olympic Nationals in the all-around competition and qualifying for the 2012 Level 10 JO Nationals.
Nicole Wild, a Waxhaw, N.C. native, was also a state champion- capturing the Level 10 North Carolina state title in the all-around competition. Like Knight she is also a two-time qualifier for the Junior Olympic Nationals, qualifying in 2013 and 2014, finishing 10th on bars in 2013.
All-American Status
Junior Brittni Watkins will return as one of the Wolfpack's two all-around competitors. In her second season with NC State she was named EAGL Gymnast of the Year, earned EAGL titles on vault and floor and earned All-America honors as an all-arounder.
Last season she recorded 25 first-place finishes and an all-around score of 39.000 or higher nine times. Of those nine times Watkins notched a career-best score of 39.425 against Missouri, which ties for the 10th best mark in program history.
Returners to Watch
The upperclassmen of the 2015 squad return with much experience, as several are slated to make an impact on the team and bring depth to all four events.
Junior Aubrey Hine returns as a floor specialist for the Pack. Last season she saw action in 10 meets on the floor exercise and recorded a career-best score of 9.825 on three occasions.
Lane Jarred brings a vast amount of experience to the 2015 squad. Just one of two seniors on the team, she enters her final campaign with a number of accolades, including the EAGL title on floor in 2014 and several All-EAGL first team and EAGL First-Team All-Tournament mentions on floor and beam.
Jarred saw action in 13 meets during the 2014 season, notching scores of 9.8 or better on nine occasions.
Junior Michaela Woodford returns to the squad 100 percent after limited competition last season due to an injury. She is slated to compete as the second all-arounder for the Wolfpack this year.
As a sophomore Woodford saw action in seven meets, notching a season best 9.800 on the uneven parallel bars. She competed as an all-arounder once last year, compiling a score of 39.100 against New Hampshire.
Scouting Denver
No. 20 Denver enters the 2015 season returning 12 gymnasts from last year's squad. In the 2014 campaign, the team set a school record on vault and won the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference title with a 16-5 record on the season.
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