Gymnastics Set For Season Opener With No. 5 Florida Sunday

Sunday, January 8

2 PM

NC State

No. 5 Florida

Gymnastics Set For Season Opener With No. 5 Florida Sunday

1/6/2017 1:34:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics

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Wolfpack to compete inside Reynolds for first time in almost two years

RALEIGH- The NC State gymnastics team is set to open its 2017 season inside the newly renovated Reynolds Coliseum Sunday when it hosts No. 5 Florida at 2 p.m.

Sunday will be the Wolfpack's first appearance back inside its home venue since February of 2015. Their home opener will mark the first of a three-meet streak against teams listed in the top 30 of the 2017 NCAA preseason poll, as NC State will face No. 9 Georgia and No. 30 Utah State in its second week of competition.

The meet will be streamed on ESPN3 and live results will be available.

2016 Season Recap
NC State competed on the road in nine of its 10 meets, but managed to defeat four top 25 teams and held a 6-0 record against conference opponents and was the only team in the EAGL conference to hold an undefeated record. The Pack posted a 196.175 at George Washington, which is the 13th-best team score in the program's 36 years of history. The team additionally posted a combined five top 20 scores on vault, bars and beam.

Additionally, juniors Chelsea Knight and Nicole Wild advanced to the NCAA Regionals last season. Knight was selected on vault and finished seventh with a 9.85, and Wild finished 32nd on beam with a score of 9.675.

Squad Breakdown
The squad consists of 11 returners from last year's team along with four highly skilled and talented freshmen.

Alexis Beucler, Melissa Brooker, Drew Grantham and Hailey Mesmer make up the Pack's freshmen class. Beucler, Brooker and Grantham all have extensive resumes from their junior competition days, as all are Junior Olympic National qualifiers and hold multiple titles at the state and regional levels. Mesmer additionally holds several top-three finishes at the state and regional championships.

The Pack returns a strong sophomore class of four gymnasts that made a big impact on the team's regular season success, as well as NCAA Regional qualifiers juniors Knight and Wild. Among the senior class Amanda Fillard and Hannah Sobhan have a wealth of experience and leadership, as Fillard will play a valuable role on vault, bars and beam and Sobhan is a bars specialist.

RELATED STORY: Pack Gymnastics 2017 Season Preview

Scouting Florida
The Gators are listed fifth in the 2017 NCAA preseason poll. Last season they won the program's 10^th SEC Championship title and fifth consecutive NCAA Regional team title. Florida additionally placed fourth at the 2016 NCAA Championship and returns four All-Americans from last year's squad – Kennedy Baker, Alicia Boren, Claire Boyce and Alex McMurty.