ICYMI: "We can't let up," said @Pack_Gymnastics head coach Kim Landrus. "It's all the little details and the girls have been focusing so well on the little details and they have to continue to do that and they know that."
https://t.co/f2DMyvk5TC

UP NEXT
NC State returns to Valvano Arena at Reynolds Coliseum for a tri-meet with EAGL teams New Hampshire and North Carolina Saturday, Feb. 15 at 4 p.m.

The gymnastics team with back to back impressive performances have put themselves on track for another trip to the NCAA with about half the season to go. The 36 bids to the NCAA are purely score based. Your score is determined by the average of your top 6 meets (at least 3 of which must be away meets) dropping the best score. The best 36 qualifying scores will put you in to the tournament.

The format last year changed significantly, creating more "rounds" of the tournament, which makes it more fun that the old format that was 6 teams in a region, the top 2 advance. Now we have more of a march madness style bracket:

At Regional site (9 teams per region):
1st Round: 8/9 seeds go head to head on a Friday night
2nd Round: two quad meets with the top 2 in each quad advancing to the sweet 16
Sweet 16: 4 remaining teams in a quad meet with the top 2 advancing to nationals

At Nationals site:
Elite 8: two 4 team quad meets with the top 2 advancing
Final 4: one quad meet, best team wins.


So all that said, the goal would be to be one of the top 16 in the country because they seed those slots (17-36 get placed geographically). Also, top 16 is in theory favored to make the sweet 16, with a shot to go for nationals. A more realistic goal for the Wolfpack is to slide into that 17-28 ranking. That puts you directly into the second round without having to do the Friday night play in. Keep in mind that last year NC State was in the friday night dual, and won it to advance to the 2nd round, where they took 3rd of 4 teams.

Right now NC State sits at #27 nationally, but that score is based on a pure average, because teams haven't had enough meets to make a qualifying score. That ranking based on qualifying score will probably come out next week.

Ok, if you read this far, this is now NC State's scores to this point:

Home 1: 196.250 (would drop)
Home 2: 195.650
Home 3: TBD

Away 1: 196.025
Away 2: 194.425
Away 3: 193.800

Regional Qualifying Score: TBD

Remaining: 3 home meets, 4 away

I'd say that we have 3 scores already in the bank that are NCAA worthy out of 5 meets, so that's excellent. With two more home meets coming up, it's a chance to really lock in some high scores. Then we need to hit on at least 2 of the remaining 4 road meets. Next week I'll just update the scores.

The NC State gymnastics team returns to action in Valvano Arena at Reynolds Coliseum Saturday, Feb. 15 at 4 p.m. as it hosts East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) opponents New Hampshire and North Carolina in its Pink Meet.

MEET INFO
Date: Sat., Feb. 15
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Raleigh, N.C.
Arena: Valvano Arena at Reynolds Coliseum
Tickets: $5 youths, $7 adults
Streaming: ACC Network Extra
Live Stats: SideArm Stats
Social Media: @Pack_Gymnastics

PROMOTIONS
Pink Meet
Join the NC State Gymnastics team for a special day to honor those affected by cancer and celebrate the lives of those who've survived. Cancer survivors can register here to participate in team introductions at the meet. Don't forget to wear PINK!

Giveaways
Pink NC State Athletics Beanie (200)

Post-Meet Autographs
Join the NC State Gymnastics Sophomore Class for autographs following the meet.

I took my girls up today for the meet. We had a blast. Beating the cheaters in a comeback was fun. The best part is further brainwashing my girls!

Been a little busy this week, so just a quick update here. We posted a high 194 score at home on Saturday. Great to beat UNC, which is always to be celebrated, but probably not a score that will be used for our NCAA standing. Currently it sits at the Home3 score. We have enough meets to get our initial regional qualifying score. 194.970. Last year after week 8 the first RQS scores come out and that would have been at #33. Good enough to make the NCAA. The good news is that we have two meets this weekend, one home and one away, so we can boost both the home and the away ledger. Anyway 195+ is great, and especially on the road will give us a big boost.

Home 1: 196.250 (would drop)
Home 2: 195.650
Home 3: 194.950

Away 1: 196.025
Away 2: 194.425
Away 3: 193.800

Regional Qualifying Score: 194.970

Remaining: 2 home meets, 4 away

.@Pack_Gymnastics' history with William and Mary is one of good results for the Pack. NC State has a 19-0 winning history against William and Mary. The Pack scores an average of 195.240 when matched up against the Tribe.
https://t.co/p14yZbWnZm

Two 196+ scores over the weekend! Huge for the Pack. With the first official rankings based on regional qualifying score (they now call it national qualifying score, so I'll say NQS), we are tied for #27 in the country. Fairly comfortably in the tournament, and inside of the top 28, which would give us the bye to the second round. Earning a top 16 seed is going to be a long shot, so looks like our main goal is to stay in the top 36, which gets us in to the NCAA, with a secondary goal of staying top 28, which advances us to the second round.

Only 4 meets left, with only one of them at home.

Home 1: 196.500 (would drop)
Home 2: 196.250
Home 3: 195.650

Away 1: 196.025
Away 2: 196.025
Away 3: 194.425

Regional Qualifying Score: 195.675

Remaining: 1 home meets, 3 away

If we didn't improve our score at all for the rest of the season, our current qualifying score of 195.675 would have finished #35 last year at the end of the year. So it's possible that we've already done enough to make the big dance. But to be safe we just need to have one more solid away meet to bump that Away 3 score, and we will be all set.