New Hampshire, North Carolina and N.C. State at Rutgers

Recap

The Big Storyline: N.C. State finally made its 2022 debut and showed that it will once again be the team to catch in the EAGL with its quad meet victory featuring two other EAGL teams.

Implications: N.C. State got off to a solid start to the 2022 season, breaking 195 and finishing ahead of the other three teams. While the scores did seem to get stuck in the 9.7s, this meet will be one that the Wolfpack can build on. Rutgers put up a solid performance on three of the four events, including 49-plus scores on vault and floor, but bars was a struggle for the Scarlet Knights.  North Carolina did not see a repeat performance from its season debut a week ago, having to count a couple of falls but still keeping a solid ranking position both nationally and in the EAGL. New Hampshire showed improvement from its debut last week but still had to count two falls on beam. The Wildcats will need to work out its issues that event if they want to keep pace with the other teams in the conference.

Records: N.C. State’s score was the second-highest opening score in program history. Alyssa Worthington’s 9.925 on beam was a career high. Several Rutgers gymnasts notched new career highs in this meet with Belle Huang recording a 9.950 on floor, Mia Betancourt with a 9.850 on vault, Emily Leese with a 9.850 on floor and Calah Newman with a 9.875 on beam. 

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 14 North Carolina, No. 34 New Hampshire and N.C. State at No. 35 Rutgers

Why You Should Make Time to Tune in: This meet is loaded with underrated gymnasts. North Carolina’s Lali Dekanoidze made her college debut last week and showed everyone that she’s going to do great things during her time in Chapel Hill. Both New Hampshire and Rutgers are coming off a rough start to the season but have the potential to record much higher scores. N.C. State’s season debut was canceled last week, but it’s always an exciting team to watch. Last time we saw the Wolfpack compete was during its historic regionals run.

Need More Proof? Keep an eye out for three freshmen from North Carolina: Isabelle Schaefer, Julia Knower and Dekanoidze. All three won event titles in their first collegiate meets. Hailey Lui and Alyssa Worthington from New Hampshire are gorgeous on beam, and teammate Kylie Gorgenyi is a rock in the all-around. Emily Shepard is a treat to watch on all four events for N.C. State while Hannah Joyner from Rutgers is also great on all four events, especially beam.