The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/743343
NOVEMBER 2016 ■ 115 around and try to help fill the void left by the departure of star Brittni Watkins, who finished her decorated Wolfpack career last April. All told, NCSU lost four seniors from last year's team. Knight is "very good" on bars and con- sistent on the beam. "She is powerful and elegant on the floor, and probably our best vaulter," Ste- venson said. Wild is expected to compete in three events this season. "Nicole has been extremely good on bal- ance beam," Stevenson said. "She has been in the 9.8-9.9 range pretty consistently. She also does a very nice bar set, and will probably come back on the floor this year." Stevenson has high hopes for sopho- more Paris Phillips, who will compete in the all-around this season. He believes she's ready to take the next big jump in her development. "Paris is really coming on strong," Ste- venson said. "She is one of those kids that we brought in last year at Christmas, she and her sister [Alexa], and they did a great job on two events for us last year — vault- ing and floor." Alexa Phillips is trying to come back from an ankle injury suffered in the vault at the EAGL Championships last year. "She is just now getting back to full strength," Stevenson said. "We know she'll be good for us in vaulting, and her floor is coming around." Stevenson has coached sisters a handful of times, but never a set of twins. He is confident he can tell them apart. "They have little bit facial expressions and body shape is tiny bit different," Ste- venson said. "All of us have called them the wrong name at one point or another." Sophomores Caitlyn Fillard and Maggie Tamburro, and freshmen Melissa Brooker Three Gymnasts To Watch Junior Chelsea Knight The talented Knight reached the NCAA Regional Championship in the vault, finishing tied for seventh (9.850). She was first-team All-EAGL in the vault and all-around, and second-team on the bars. Knight finished eighth (38.875) in the all-around at the EAGL Championships. She posted a career-best 39.100 in the all-around at Iowa State last year. The Westlake, Md., native twice scored 9.900 on the vault freshman year, helping her to be named first-team All-EAGL in the event. Sophomore Paris Phillips The Athens, Ga., product was second-team All-EAGL in the vault during her debut season. She participated in every meet, competing in floor exercise in 10 and the vault in eight. Phillips finished tied for third in the vault and was tied for 12th on floor exercise (9.800) at the EAGL Championships. Junior Nicole Wild Wild qualified for the NCAA Regional Championship on the beam and finished tied for 32nd (9.675). She earned first-team All-EAGL honors on the beam, and was a second-team performer on the bars. Wild also was named to the All-EAGL scholastic team. The Waxhaw, N.C., native had a career-high 9.875 on the bards against Ball State, and 9.900 on the beam in two meets. ■ By The Numbers 4 Top-25 teams NC State defeated last year in dual meets. 6 Conference championships head coach Mark Stevenson has won during his first 36 years at NC State. He won an ACC title in 1984, and EAGL championships in 1999, 2000, 2007, 2009 and 2013. 11 NCSU gymnasts who earned a spots on the All-EAGL scholastic team, which is for com- petitors with a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher. Departed gymnast Courtney Turner accom- plished that all four years of her Wolfpack career, while current senior Hannah Sobhan has achieved the feat twice. Noting The Pack • NC State had one "home" meet last year at Raleigh Broughton High, so the return to renovated Reynolds Coliseum is exciting news this season. Head coach Mark Stevenson had a good group of recruits on campus in October. "If we can get the kids on campus, they'll think it's one of the greatest places they've been to," Steven- son said. "They did such a tremendous job making it look good. They upgraded our locker room spaces, and that has been a real plus to us." • The 2016 Rio Olympics helped make the USA gymnasts household names this past summer. NC State performers watched of course, but Ste- venson said the real impact from the Olympics could be felt with younger gymnasts, who caught the bug. "The gymnastics clubs that we recruit from will see a large influx of new young athletes going to- ward gymnastics due to the popularity of the Olym- pics," Stevenson said. Junior Nicole Wild was a first-team All-EAGL performer on the beam last season and qualified for the NCAA Regional Championship, where she tied for 32nd. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS