University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Pittsburgh, Temple, Cornell
Tar Heels Place Second in Quad Meet in Pittsburgh
March 22, 2008 | Women's Gymnastics
March 22, 2008
Traveling to Fitzgerald Fieldhouse at the University of Pittsburgh, the University of North Carolina gymnastics team faced EAGL rival Pittsburgh as well as Cornell and Temple in a quad meet on Saturday, March 22. The Tar Heels placed second with a score of 193.725, falling just behind Pittsburgh (194.100); Cornell (192.000) took third and Temple (188.625) placed fourth. The Tar Heels move to 15-6 as they get ready for the EAGL Championships next weekend.
"Vault and bars were very strong events for us today," said head coach Derek Galvin. "Because we only have five competitors on each of those events, we can't afford a fall. But, we had a very strong bar routine with Tina Jacob posting a personal best of 9.800. Vault was pretty good with Jen Valby and Christine Nguyen having strong performances. Shawna Kelly also had great performances on vault and bars, which we needed."
The Tar Heels began the meet on floor, scoring a 48.225. Sophomore Christine Nguyen and freshman Karli Jones tied for fifth on floor, scoring 9.750. Junior Jennifer Valby set a personal best on floor, scoring 9.700 and placing eighth.
On vault the Tar Heels again had to compensate for injuries, only competing five gymnasts on the event. Christine Nguyen tied her personal best on vault, scoring 9.900 and placing first. Jennifer Valby also had a strong performance, scoring 9.850 on vault and placing second. Senior Shawna Kelly placed fourth with a score of 9.775 and sophomore Kara Wright scored 9.725, scoring seventh. As a team, the Tar Heels scored 48.925 on vault.
Only competing five gymnasts on bars, the UNC gymnastics team scored a 48.775, with strong performances from all competitors. The Tar Heels were led on the event by sophomore Tina Jacob who finished in first place, scoring 9.800 and setting a personal best on bars. Teammate Christine Nguyen placed just behind her with a 9.775. Shawna Kelly scored a 9.750, placing third on bars. Karli Jones and Kara Wright tied for fifth place with score of 9.725.
The Carolina gymnastics team struggled on beam, having to count a few falls, but finished the event scoring a 47.800. Tina Jacob stepped up for the Tar Heels, scoring 9.775 on beam and placing second. Kara Wright finished fifth with a score of 9.675 and Karli Jones scored a 9.525 to finish tenth on beam.
"We faced some challenged on beam," said coach Galvin. "We had to count a fall and the following routines were not as strong as we would have liked. However, Tina Jacob had a strong routine on beam and, in fact, a very good meet overall. The girls are hanging in there. We got a score that was stronger than what we had in our first meet when everyone was healthy and we have people who've stepped up and are doing well for us. We have EAGL Championships next week and we hope we can continue to hold our position so we have a shot a making NCAA Regionals."
The Tar Heels will test their merit as they compete in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League Championships on Saturday, March 29 in Morgantown, West Virginia at 4:00 p.m.
Players Mentioned
