University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
NCAA Regional Championships
Gymnastics Takes Third At NCAA Regional, Barely Missing National Championships
April 12, 2003 | Women's Gymnastics
April 12, 2003
ATHENS, GA - Amidst the region's best gymnastics competitors, strict judges from around the country and a crowd of 5,673 spectators, the North Carolina gymnastics team took third place at the 2003 NCAA Southeast Regional Meet Saturday at the University of Georgia.
Going into the meet ranked fifth out of the six competing teams, the Tar Heels defeated Maryland (193.825), Ohio State (193.650) and NC State (193.575). The team's 194.900; however, was not enough to beat No. 4 Georgia (197.125) and No. 9 Florida (194.950).
Freshman Courtney Bumpers and junior Anna Wilson led the team, finishing first and second in the all-around outside of the top two teams. Their outstanding finishes allowed both gymnasts to qualify for the NCAA Championships, to be held April 24-26 in Lincoln, Neb. Bumpers and Wilson were the only individuals to qualify for the meet.
umpers, the 2003 East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) Rookie of the Year, led the team on balance beam, floor exercise, vault and all-around. Her 9.900 score on balance beam tied her for a co-champion position with five other gymnasts and was the highest individual score of any Carolina team member at the meet.
umpers also finished third on floor exercise with a 9.875 and fourth in the all-around with a 39.125.
Junior Anna Wilson battled back from an ankle injury that did not allow her to compete in the EAGL Championship Meet on March 29. She earned a 39.000 all-around score, her highest since the team competed at Towson University on March 11 and good enough for fifth place out of 18 all-around competitors.
Other top ten finishers were sophomore Olivia Trusty on all of her events (vault, bars and floor), junior Maddy Curley on floor exercise and freshman Mikel Hester in the all-around.
North Carolina finished its first two rotations in fourth place with scores of 48.250 on uneven bars and 48.750 on balance beam. The Tar Heels trailed third place Florida by only .35 and second place NC State by .5.
Carolina's 49.000 floor exercise score pulled the team ahead to second place after three events. With a running score of 146.000, the Tar Heels held a lead of 1.50 over NC State, who moved into third place.
The Tar Heels' marched into vault with high hopes and recorded the second-highest score of the meet on the event, a 48.900; however, it was just .05 shy of a second place finish that would allow the team to qualify for nationals.
Head Coach Derek Galvin, recognized as the 2003 NCAA Southeast Region Co-Coach of the Year Friday, was very proud of the team's performance.
"This team has a huge heart," he said. "At this level everyone's got talent. You've got to have something extra."
The Tar Heels proved that they did have something extra, defeating NC State and Ohio State, who were ranked higher, and coming closer than any other Carolina team has to qualifying for the national championships.
Georgia and Florida, as the top two teams, will advance to the NCAA Championships in Lincoln, Neb. Carolina finishes its season as third in the Southeast Region, tying the highest place any Carolina team has ever achieved in an NCAA regional.
Meet Scores
1. Georgia 197.125
2. Florida 194.950
3. UNC 194.900
4. Maryland 193.825
5. Ohio State 193.650
6. NC State 193.575
Carolina's Top Individuals
Vault
7t. Courtney Bumpers 9.825
7t. Olivia Trusty 9.825
9t. Anna Wilson 9.775
16t. Amy Williams 9.750
Bars
10t. Olivia Trusty 9.725
18t. Mikel Hester 9.650
18t. Anna Wilson 9.650
18t. Fritzie Cathcart 9.650
Beam
1t. Courtney Bumpers 9.900
8t. Anna Wilson 9.850
19t. Elisabeth Alsop 9.750
28. Maddy Curley 9.650
Floor
3. Courtney Bumpers 9.875
4t. Olivia Trusty 9.850
9t. Maddy Curley 9.800
18t. Mikel Hester 9.750
All-Around
4. Courtney Bumpers 39.125*
5. Anna Wilson 39.000*
7. Mikel Hester 38.725
*qualifying score for NCAA Championships
