University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Cancun Classic
Nguyen Wins Beam Title at Cancun Classic
January 3, 2009 | Women's Gymnastics
Jan. 3, 2009
- Cancun Classic Results
Cancun, Mexico - University of North Carolina gymnast Christine Nguyen scored a 9.90 to win the balance beam title at the Cancun Classic. Nguyen led a strong performance by the Tar Heels, who scored a 190.325 to finish fourth in the first session.
"We were very pleased with our team's performance," said head coach Derek Galvin. "We had great team support, our energy level was great and we are thrilled by some of our individual performances. Given that this is our first meet, we realize we have some work to do, but to compete at the level we did against seven other ranked teams was encouraging."
In addition to Nguyen's effort on balance beam, junior Tina Jacob scored a 9.775 to finish third on the same event. Junior Kara Wright was sixth on the vault and was the team's top all-arounder with a 38.250.
"This was a very competitive meet against several ranked teams," said Galvin. "Everyone that competed for us had an individual highlight."
North Carolina, which entered the meet unranked, outscored Michigan - a competitor in the NCAAs last season - on two events (bars and beam) and tied the Wolverines on vault.
North Carolina began its first rotation of the season on floor exercise scoring 46.150 under difficult circumstances in the arena. Wright scored the highest for the Tar Heels on floor with a 9.725 and sophomore Karli Jones scored a 9.500.
The Tar Heels moved to vault for the second rotation where they scored a team total of 47.950. Wright's score of 9.750 on vault led UNC on the event. Senior Jennifer Valby and sophomore Karli Jones both had the second-highest score for the Tar Heels on vault with a 9.575.
On the uneven bars rotation, Carolina did not have any falls and earned a score of 48.300.
The Tar Heels ended the season opener on balance beam with a team score of 47.925. Nguyen took the beam title with a 9.900, the highest score on any event in the meet.
LSU posted a 194.900 team score to place first in the competition.
The team has enjoyed its time in Cancun and will go on a snorkeling adventure Saturday before returning to Chapel Hill Monday morning. The Tar Heels' season continues at the George Washington Invitational on Friday Jan. 16, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. ET in Washington, D.C. This meet will mark the Tar Heels' first meet of the season against EAGL rivals, facing George Washington University and Rutgers University.
"This was a great experience for our athletes," said Galvin. "They've had a wonderful time. We had a cheering section here in Cancun that supported the Tar Heels. We are looking forward to our next meet at George Washington."
Team Scores 1. Louisiana State University - 194.900 2. Boise State University - 193.700 3. University of Michigan - 192.700 4. University of North Carolina - 190.325Vault Taylor Brown - 9.450 Karli Jones - 9.575 Jennifer Valby - 9.575 Zoya Johnson - 9.525 Kara Wright - 9.750 Christine Nguyen - 9.525
Uneven Bars Morgan Evans - 9.700 Tina Jacob - 9.575 Rachel Schneider - 9.375 Zoya Johnson - 9.675 Kara Wright - 9.650 Christine Nguyen - 9.700
Balance Beam Krista Jasper - 9.475 Zoya Johnson - 9.050 Karli Jones - 9.650 Kara Wright - 9.125 Tina Jacob - 9.775 Christine Nguyen - 9.900
Floor Exercise Morgan Evans - 9.200 Zoya Johnson - 7.425 Rachel Schneider - 8.775 Karli Jones - 9.500 Kara Wright - 9.725 Christine Nguyen - 8.950
All Around Kara Wright - 38.250 Christine Nguyen - 38.075 Zoya Johnson - 35.675
Players Mentioned
