2024 ACC Gymnastics Championship Preview: NC State looking for second title 40 years after first

Four teams are set to battle for the first ACC Gymnastics Championship in 40 years inside Greensboro Coliseum on Saturday, March 23.

NC State claimed the first-ever ACC Gymnastics Championship title in 1984 and is this year’s No. 1 seed to grab the crown again after going undefeated in the conference and winning the ACC regular season title. No. 2 seed Clemson will be fighting for the title against the Wolfpack. The Tigers are coming off their highest road score of the season (196.825), which matched NC State’s road score last weekend, and they are the only two teams in the ACC to have posted 197s this season.

This will be the lone year for only these four teams to compete for the championship as conference realignment will bring current No. 2 Cal and No. 20 Stanford into the mix next season.

Of note: NC State and Clemson are locked for the NCAA tournament, while Pittsburgh and North Carolina are mathematically-eliminated as teams.

How to watch

The ACC Gymnastics Championship will be held at Greensboro Coliseum on Saturday, March 23 at 7 p.m. ET. You can watch live on ACC Network. Follow live scores here.

Starting order:

• No. 19 NC State (No. 1 seed) – Vault
• Clemson (No. 2 seed) – Bars
• Pittsburgh (No. 3 seed) – Beam
• North Carolina (No. 4 seed) – Floor

Team preview

#19 NC State

NC State is the No. 1 seed at the championship. They’re ranked first in the ACC on vault, bars, and beam and second on floor. They’ve already claimed the first regular season title after beating all three teams twice and are looking to remain undefeated to claim the championship crown. The Wolfpack will begin their fight for the title on vault, where they’re ranked first in the conference.

Clemson

Clemson is the No. 2 seed – ranked first on floor and second on vault, bars, and beam. The Tigers have proven to be a contender this season, posting huge scores as a first-year program. They have broken 197 twice (both times at home). They have lost twice to NC State this year, so they will be looking for a revenge win in the championship. The Tigers begin their night on bars.

Pittsburgh

Pitt is the No. 3 seed – ranked third on floor and fourth on vault, bars, and beam. The Panthers are slated to begin on beam – statistically their weakest event, so they’ll be looking to hit 6-for-6 to start their night strong. 

North Carolina

UNC is the fourth seed – ranked third on vault, bars, and beam and fourth on floor. The Tar Heels are starting on their lowest-ranked event, floor, but they just came off a season-high floor score last weekend (49.3), so they will be looking to duplicate that performance on Saturday. 

Top contenders for individual titles at the 2024 ACC Gymnastics Championship

Vault

• Chloe Negrete (NC State) is ranked first in the ACC on vault. Her NQS is 9.880, and she just came off of a 9.925 last weekend. 
• Lali Dekanoidze (North Carolina) is ranked second in the ACC on vault. She earned a 9.925 in the first meet of the season and just came off a 9.9 last weekend. 

Wild cards

• Molly Arnold (Clemson) is coming off a career-high 9.975 last weekend for her Yurchenko 1.5 – the highest vault score in the ACC this season.
• Ashley Knight (NC State) has an NQS of 9.865 and a high of 9.925. Her front handspring pike half is a showstopper.

Bars

• Emily Shepard (NC State) is ranked first in the ACC on bars, and her NQS is a 9.9. She earned a career-high of 9.975 in February – the highest bars score in the conference. 
• Isabelle Schaefer (North Carolina) has posted four scores of 9.925 this season.

Wild cards

• Lali Dekanoidze (North Carolina) was an All-American on bars last season. She has a season high of 9.950.
• Katie Harper (NC State) has seen tremendous growth in her freshman season. Four of her past six scores have gone 9.9+, including a season-high 9.95.

Beam

• Rebecca Wells (Clemson) is ranked first in the ACC on beam and has posted two scores of 9.95 this season. She has been extremely consistent for her Tiger team with a 9.910 NQS.
• NC State’s Emily Shepard and Chloe Negrete are tied for second in the ACC. The fifth-year veterans have both been strong and consistent beam workers for the Wolfpack. Negrete has hit 9.9+ five times this season, and Shepard has hit 9.9+ four times, including one 9.95.

Wild card

• Lilly Lippeatt is Clemson’s beam leadoff and has hit every routine, showing lots of confidence as a freshman. She’s hit 9.9 once.

Floor

• Brie Clark (Clemson) is ranked first in the ACC on floor and has a NQS of 9.915. She has only gone below 9.9 twice this season and notched a 9.95 once.
• Chloe Negrete (NC State) also has an NQS over a 9.9 and earned a 9.95 once this season. She has achieved a 9.975 before but hasn’t reached it this season, so she could peak at the right time.
• Emily Shepard (NC State) has a NQS over 9.9 and has scored 9.9+ six times on floor this season.

Wild card

• Molly Arnold (Clemson) hasn’t scored below a 9.825 all season and has a high of 9.95. 

All-Around

• Emily Shepard (NC State) is ranked first in the all-around and won seven straight ACC Gymnast of the Week honors. She posted a career-high all-around of 39.750 earlier this season and will be on the hunt for the title.
• Rebecca Wells is ranked second and has been scoring just below Shepard in their matchups but has earned a high of 39.550 this season.