CLEMSON — The Clemson Gymnastics Team captured their inaugural ACC win Sunday night, as the 19th-ranked Tigers decidedly defeated the Pittsburgh Panthers in a 196.2-194.775 finish at Littlejohn Coliseum.
The Tigers improved to 2-0 in the young season and 1-0 in the ACC.
Following the victory, Clemson head Coach Amy Smith met with the media, sharing her thoughts about her team’s success and the camaraderie she sees in Clemson.
For the second straight meet, Tiger fans packed Littlejohn Coliseum.
“The fan support here is unreal. it’s so cool,” she said. “Clemson shows up for Clemson, and the feedback from last week and the hype and the excitement coming into this, I mean to be able to do this with a startup program, I really hope that other power fives and other schools look at this and go wow it can be done.”
Following the win, Smith credited her team for starting strong on the vault, battling through adversity on the beam and uneven bars, and finishing strong on the floor. Sophomore Brie Clark finished the meet with the highest-scoring floor routine of the day, a 9.925.
“To close out floor the way that she did was spectacular. I mean, she’s such a showstopper. She is just pure joy,” said Smith.
Joy could be felt throughout the entire coliseum as Clark finished her final tumbling pass.
Smith served as the head coach at Utah State for five years and previously as an assistant at the University of North Carolina before joining the Tigers. She was also a decorated gymnast in her own right, earning All-American honors and a National Championship at UCLA.
Smith will return to North Carolina Friday when the Tigers take on the Tar Heels in their first away meet. The Tigers look to secure their third program win.
“You know it may not be that high of an energy atmosphere. We talk about that too, though, that the girls need to create that energy,” she said. “We’re excited to get on the road, excited to go up to Carolina and keep the ACC competition going.”
Vault
Starting the meet on vault, the Tigers posted a season-high 49.150 on the first apparatus. Jackson, Molly Arnold and Madison Minner scored 9.800, while junior Lauren Rutherford finished with a 9.850. Brown anchored with a career-high 9.900 to take the title and claim Clemson’s first-ever 9.900 on the event. Clemson led Pitt after the first rotation, 49.150 to 48.625.
Bars
Rotating to bars, the Tigers found their best performance came from Jackson. The redshirt junior tied her season best with a score of 9.825 to tie for the event win. Redshirt freshman Lilly Lippeatt and graduate Kaitlin DeGuzman added 9.800s on their first apparatus of the day. Wells and Rutherford rounded out the bars scores with 9.750 each.
The Tigers closed the second rotation with a 48.825 on bars and had the lead over the Panthers at the halfway point, 97.975-97.375
Beam
Redshirt sophomore, McCright, narrowly missed setting a new career-high after anchoring Clemson on the beam with a 9.900 after she stuck her dismount. Wells continued to shine on the event with a 9.850 that was matched by a 9.850 from Lippeatt. Jackson and Quinn Kuhl added 9.675 and 9.475, respectively, to bring the team total on the event to 48.750.
Heading into the final rotation, Clemson maintained a 146.825-146.475 advantage over Pitt.
Floor
Clemson came back strong to conclude the meet with a season-high 49.375 performance on floor. The rotation was highlighted by Clark’s 9.925, the first on any event for the Tigers. Every individual in the lineup tied a season-high, including Rutherford who joined Clark with a 9.900. Both Lippeatt and Arnold followed with a 9.875. Brown and Wells rounded out Clemson’s lineup with 9.800s.
–photo by Ken Ruinard / USA TODAY NETWORK