Team HOP continues to thrive as UNC falls to NC State in the first ever ACC gymnastics meet in the state in over 40 years
Posted by Ryan Davis on
Gwen Fink won the All-Around narrowly with a 39.275 edging out teammate Julia Knower (39.225) and competitors from NC State. However, Fink and Knower's tallies were not enough to secure victory over in-state rival NC State.
The showdown in Carmichael Arena meant the first matchup between the two programs in the new era of ACC gymnastics and was featured on the ACC Network. The two programs split their home and away series in 2023 with the home team winning each meet. 2024 wrote a new story as North Carolina State came in and put their stamp on the meet and won convincingly 196.225 to 195.325.
NC State was led by the reigning and 2x EAGL gymnast of the year, Emily Shepherd, who put up a steady 39.250 in her All-Around efforts and is currently leading the conference after week 3 in her pursuit for the first ever ACC Gymnast of the Year.
Shepherd hails from Kansas and, as a 5th year graduate student taking a Covid year, continues to pile up the accolades, and make her mark on the program and the conferences in which she participates.
In an unfortunate turn of events, Team HOP and UNC star Lali Dekanoidze had a mishap on her bar dismount landing which led to an injury and is questionable for the upcoming week's meet. It was a scary situation as many recall her season-ending injury during her freshman campaign.
To no surprise, Hallie Thompson bounced back on beam with a solid 9.775 and competitors Bella Miller and Isabelle Schaefer turned in contributing performances for the Tar Heels, while specialist extraordinaire Chloe Negrete also starred for the Wolfpack in addition to Shepherd. Former UNC commit and current NC State competitor Ashely Knight made her debut in Carmichael Arena, albeit in a different leotard.
This week, UNC will host red hot Clemson in Chapel Hill for the first time ever and NC State will host ACC conference member, Pitt.