University of North Carolina Athletics
2005 Gymnastics Preview
January 11, 2005 | Women's Gymnastics
Jan. 11, 2005
For the North Carolina gymnastics team, nothing could be more exciting than the start of a new year with the same goal: earning a bid to the national championships. Junior Courtney Bumpers, the defending national floor exercise champion, will lead the Tar Heels into competition as the most experienced gymnast in school history. At the NCAA Championships at UCLA last April, Bumpers became the first national champion in school history, adding to her status as the first Carolina gymnast ever to earn All-America honors.
Although the program graduated two top gymnasts in Maddy Curley and Anna Wilson, 2005 will bring new hope to a team that returns 12 letterwinners, including Bumpers and three others whom head coach Derek Galvin calls some of the best athletes he's ever coached -- junior Mikel Hester, sophomore Christine Robella and senior Olivia Trusty.
After missing a national bid in 2003 by .05 points and in 2004 by .025 points, the team is on a mission to represent the University of North Carolina for the first time in school history at the 2005 NCAA Championships. The keys to success will be a high level of skill and talent as well as passion and commitment from every member of the team.
Head coach Derek Galvin, entering his 24th year with the Tar Heels, refuses to make lofty predictions at the beginning of any season, but there is no denying that an appearance at the NCAA finals is on everyone's mind.
"You certainly can't get any closer than we got last year," says Galvin. "We want to put ourselves in position by the things we do in the fall and throughout the competitive season to be prepared for the NCAA regional meet. If we're fortunate enough to qualify for the regional meet then our goal is to be one of the top 12 teams that are lucky enough to go to the finals."
Tough competition in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League will make the task a bit harder. Maryland, NC State, New Hampshire, Pittsburgh and West Virginia will all be stronger this season. Carolina faced fierce battles with EAGL powerhouse West Virginia in 2004, beating the Mountaineers during the regular season, losing to them at the EAGL Championships and again topping them at regionals.
"From top to bottom it's a stronger league this year," says Galvin. "I've already talked to the team about the unfinished business from last year."
Olivia Trusty, the uneven bars school record-holder, is the top senior this season. She was one of five all-arounders in 2004 and a dependable member of the floor exercise team, which finished the season with a No. 1 national ranking. Trusty's three 9.975 scores on floor exercise in 2004 were second only to Bumpers' 10.0's. She exhibits the most strength on vault, uneven bars and floor exercise but has shown significant improvement on balance beam in the preseason.
Seniors Elisabeth Alsop and Amy Williams performed specialized roles on the team in 2004 -- Alsop was a consistent member of the balance beam lineup, and Williams performed on vault in every meet. Both, Galvin says, have a chance of breaking into the lineups of other events this season, with Alsop training on uneven bars and floor exercise and Williams on balance beam and floor exercise.
Morgan Stanley, the fourth senior on the team, suffered a shoulder and back injury in the final home meet of the 2004 season and has decided not to compete in 2005. She will instead serve as a student assistant coach, a position Galvin says will capitalize on her strength in leadership.
VAULT
Every member of the 2004 vault team, which set a school-record 49.525 against NC State in February, returns this season. Bumpers, who posted a record 9.975 last year, and Trusty will anchor a lineup that also includes Hester, Robella and Williams, all steady performers on the event in 2004.
"Vaulting has been exciting during the preseason," boasts Galvin. "Courtney and Olivia are the top two vaulters in the history of our gymnastics program. Christine is right there with them, as are Mikel and Amy, so we are returning five of the best vaulters in our program's history."
Bumpers and Trusty will be performing the same Phelps vault they did last year, already a 10.0 start value, and adding a more difficult half twist to it. Williams' Phelps vault, Hester's handspring front pike with a half twist and Robella's handspring front with a full twist are excellent vaults.
In addition, sophomores Courtney Turco and Lisa Tegethoff and freshman Shawna Kelly give the Tar Heels tremendous depth. Kelly will perform a Yurchenko full vault.
"We have excellent vaulters returning," says Galvin. "With the addition of Shawna Kelly to the lineup, we'll be as strong if not stronger than last year."
UNEVEN BARS
Uneven bars is one of three areas that will be significantly affected by the loss of Curley and Wilson, but the team will find comfort in the fact that Trusty, the school record-holder on the event, returns with a more challenging routine. The Tar Heels will also look to Bumpers and Robella to again be key competitors.
Hester, Alsop and junior Cecilia Liu have all upgraded their routines to include more difficult elements. Liu has not competed much for Carolina so far because of injuries, but she shows signs of returning to the dominant uneven bars status she had at the club level.
"Cecilia is looking stronger in the preseason than I have ever seen her look before," says Galvin. "Her execution and endurance have greatly improved."
Bumpers, Hester, Trusty and Robella will most likely take the top four spots again, with Alsop, Liu, Kelly, Turco, sophomore Claire Smith and freshman Alice Xu competing for the final two slots in the meet lineup.
"We're actually stronger on bars this year in terms of depth," says Galvin. "We have the numbers of people, but now we're building the execution to try and bring it to the same level as Maddy and Anna. They had excellent execution."
BALANCE BEAM
Like uneven bars, the balance beam lineup will struggle with the absence of Curley and Wilson, but will also see an increase in depth this season. Of the seniors, Alsop focused specifically on beam in 2004, earning a career-high score of 9.90 at Bowling Green. Trusty competed on beam in every meet last season, and her experience will be an advantage for the Tar Heels. Williams has been training on beam with a shot at entering the lineup.
Bumpers and Hester will represent the junior class on the event. Bumpers finished fourth on balance beam two years ago at the NCAA Championship and was a consistent competitor in 2004.
"Courtney has added some difficulty to her routine, already one of the toughest balance beam routines in the country," says Galvin.
Robella, who earned a 9.90 at the EAGL Championship last year and has a personal best 9.95, should be one of the Tar Heels' top balance beam competitors in 2005.
Also from the sophomore class, Turco and Smith appear more consistent in their balance beam routines, and Miranda Ross has been focusing specifically on that event.
All four freshmen have shown potential to compete on balance beam, creating a sizeable amount of depth.
"We've got so much depth on that event," says Galvin. "Some of the toughest competition we face will be in practice, competing against one another for a place in the lineup."
FLOOR EXERCISE
Floor exercise was by far the Tar Heels' strongest event in 2004. The team closed the season with a No. 1 national ranking and registered a school-record 49.875 against Rutgers, Towson and William & Mary in February. Seven perfect scores from Bumpers and several 9.975's garnered by Hester, Robella and Trusty made this one of the most dominant floor exercise teams in the country.
"Last year was certainly one of the most exciting years in the history of our program when you talk about floor exercise squads," says Galvin. We had eight strong performers and six exceptional tumblers competing for us last year."
Four of those six return in 2005, but floor exercise is again an event that Curley and Wilson contributed to significantly. Wilson was the second gymnast in the history of Carolina gymnastics to land a 10.0 and the first to do so on floor exercise. Curley was the 2002 runner-up at the EAGL Championship on the event.
"It's certainly a loss," says Galvin. "But some of the returning members of the team have improved significantly from last year, and we have three freshmen who are also going to be vying for a spot on the floor lineup."
Seniors Alsop, Trusty and Williams all bring strength and experience to the lineup, and juniors Bumpers and Hester add to it. As the best tumbler in the history of the Carolina program, Bumpers brings a whole new level of experience while Hester has one of the most well executed routines on the team.
"Just with the junior and senior class, we've got five great competitors," says Galvin. "Then you add Christine Robella, who scored a 9.90 and tied for second with Olivia at NCAA regionals, and you've got potentially another great floor team. Christine is a tremendous performer on floor and a former two-time Junior Olympic National Champion, and she's going to be exciting to watch again this year."
Despite the difficulty of her floor exercise routine last season, Bumpers is increasing the complexity of her skills. She has added a roundoff whip-back -- a back layout executed closer to the ground -- into a double pike as her final tumbling pass. It is a powerful series, says Galvin, that most gymnasts don't have the strength for at the end of a routine, especially when added to the explosiveness of Bumpers' first two passes.
"It's going to be interesting this year to see if anyone else in the country can match the level of her tumbling," says Galvin. "And if anyone can match it, I don't think anyone will use more difficult tumbling than her."
Four of the sophomores -- Turco, Smith, Tegethoff and Ross -- and all four freshmen have been training on floor as well. Turco and Smith have shown a high level of improvement during the preseason.
The 2005 season opens on Sun., Jan 16 at the George Washington Invitational. Galvin believes the team has the depth to be a strong squad, but execution and consistency will be the greatest tests throughout the season.
"I'm expecting this team to compete confidently and enthusiastically," he says. "Anything less than that would not be respectful of what our program has achieved in the past few years."
