University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 20 Gymnastics Shatters Records In 197.325 Victory
February 20, 2004 | Women's Gymnastics
Feb. 20, 2004
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - With three broken records, a perfect score and several near-perfect scores, the North Carolina gymnastics team earned an unprecedented 197.325 to beat NC State (195.725) Friday at Carmichael Auditorium. Sophomore Courtney Bumpers destroyed her own school all-around record after posting a new UNC vault high score and dazzling the crowd with her second consecutive flawless floor exercise routine.
umpers' 9.975 on vault led the team to a new high score, a 49.525. The score trounced the old record of 49.275, set earlier in the season at Bowling Green State University. The Tar Heels followed the vault with a record breaking uneven bars performance. The 49.40 on bars improved the record 49.25 set last weekend at NC State. Carolina finished the meet in first place with a record 197.325, throwing out its old high score of 196.775, earned at the 2003 Governor's Cup. All of Carolina's current team records have been set in competition with NC State.
"Every time I think, alright, we can't go any higher," said Carolina Head Coach Derek Galvin. "And then we do."
umpers, who won every event except balance beam led the all-around with a 39.725. Despite her tough performance, she was narrowly trailed by junior teammate Olivia Trusty, who set a career high 39.70 all-around score. Trusty and Bumpers both broke the previous all-around record of 39.60. Trusty led the Tar Heels to their record breaking uneven bars score after setting a UNC individual record of 9.95. She posted a career high 9.975 on floor exercise to earn a runner-up position.
Freshman Christine Robella had the best performance of her short career, finishing third in Carolina's sweep of the top four all-around spots. A 9.95 floor exercise and 9.90 balance beam performance drove her to a career high 39.525 in the all-around. Robella's balance beam finish tied a personal best.
Sophomore Mikel Hester proved a solid competitor for the Tar Heels, finishing fourth only to her teammates in the all-around. She repeated her 9.90 vault performance from last weekend's Hearts Invitational to finish second. Hester's 39.375 all-around score was the second best of her career.
"I don't know if we can ever repeat this performance," said Galvin. "Four gymnasts finished above a 39.0, and they didn't just chip through that wall - they busted through it.
"This team is such a gain team. They love to compete, they love to perform," Galvin added. "We've had many wonderful teams in the past, but a definite quality of this team is that they never quit. They're an extremely talented group of athletes, but they also have huge hearts."
Carolina, now 13-1, will return to action on Sunday when the Tar Heels host Rutgers, Towson and William & Mary at Carmichael Auditorium at 2 p.m.
Team Scores
North Carolina 197.325*
NC State195.725
Carolina's Scores
Vault 49.525* (1st)
1. Courtney Bumpers 9.975*
3. Olivia Trusty 9.925
4t. Mikel Hester 9.90*
6. Christine Robella 9.875
7t. Amy Williams 9.85
9t. Anna Wilson 9.825
Bars 49.40* (1st)
1. Olivia Trusty 9.95*
2. Christine Robella 9.90
3. Courtney Bumpers 9.875*
4. Maddy Curley 9.85*
5t. Anna Wilson 9.825
7t. Mikel Hester 9.80
Beam 48.775 (2nd)
1t. Courtney Bumpers 9.875
3t. Olivia Trusty 9.85*
3t. Mikel Hester 9.85
8. Christine Robella 9.80
11. Maddy Curley 9.40
12. Elisabeth Alsop 9.25
Floor 49.625 (1st)
1. Courtney Bumpers 10.0*
2. Olivia Trusty 9.975*
3. Christine Robella 9.95
5. Maddy Curley 9.875
7. Mikel Hester 9.825
12. Anna Wilson 9.45
All-Around
1. Courtney Bumpers 39.725*
2. Olivia Trusty 39.70*
3. Christine Robella 39.525*
4. Mikel Hester 39.375
*denotes personal best
Players Mentioned
