Carolina Gymnastics Wins First Dual Meet Of 2010

Sunday, January 24

Williamsburg, Va.

2:00 PM

North Carolina

William & Mary

January 24, 2010 | Women's Gymnastics

By: UNC Athletic Communications

Jan. 24, 2010

Williamsburg, Va. -

Results

The University of North Carolina gymnastics team traveled to Williamsburg, Va. on Sunday where it defeated William & Mary in the team's first dual meet of the season. The Tar Heels won every event and outscored the Tribe 193.375 to 184.450. Christine Nguyen won the all-around title for the second straight week after capturing three individual event titles. Zoya Johnson returned to the line-up after recovering from surgery to win vault.

"I felt that in the first three events we came out stronger than last week," said Head Coach Derek Galvin. "One of our goals this week was that we wanted to be mentally tougher and the team did that in the first three events. As a team we were a little bit tentative on beam, but we talked about it and that is what we're going to focus on before our next meet."

The Tar Heels started the dual meet on uneven bars and scored 48.225 points. Nguyen won the event with a 9.775 and freshman Elizabeth Durkac took second. Durkac scored a 9.700 on bars. Senior Kara Wright placed third with a 9.650. Krista Jasper and Meredith Magjuka tied for fourth on the event, both scoring a 9.550. Johnson tied for sixth with a 9.500. Sophomore Elizabeth Lindley, who did not compete last season due to an injury, performed for the first time as a Tar Heel and Galvin said she had a great dismount.

In the second rotation Carolina competed on vault and as a team looked stronger than last week. Zoya Johnson performed a full twisting Yurchenko and took the vault individual title with a 9.850.

"The very impressive thing about Zoya is that she's only been training vault for a few weeks," Galvin said.

Freshman Michelle Ikoma finished second with a 9.750 and Wright took third with a 9.700. Durkac placed fourth with a 9.650 and Nguyen scored a 9.625 for fifth place on vault. Karli Jones competed a new vault and gained valuable experience on the event. The team scored a 48.575 on vault.

The Tar Heels' third event was floor exercise where seniors Nguyen and Wright placed first and second. Nguyen scored a 9.825 and Wright scored a 9.800. Jones scored a 9.725 and finished in a four-way tie for third with teammate Taylor Brown and two William & Mary gymnasts. Jasper placed seventh with a 9.650. Galvin was especially happy with Brown's performance on floor. The sophomore completed two double backs in the routine that Galvin said was stronger than last week's performance.

Carolina finished the meet on balance beam. Galvin said it was the team's weakest event, but felt that the team's legs may have been tired after floor exercise. Nguyen and Durkac placed first and second on beam with Nguyen scoring a 9.875, the highest score of the afternoon, and Durkac scoring a 9.650. Magjuka took third with a 9.525 and Wright was fourth with a 9.450. Senior Tina Jacob completed a sweep of the top-five spots with a 9.350. Freshman Maura Masatsugu saw her first collegiate action this week when she competed on beam. As a team the Tar Heels scored a 47.850 on balance beam.

With a 39.100, Nguyen captured her second all-around title of the season. Wright, the Tar Heels only other all-around competitor this weekend, place second with a 38.600. Galvin said that it was a great meet to gain experience and was pleased with how the team performed in its first three rotations.

The Carolina gymnasts have a week off from competition before they travel to Maryland on Friday, February 5.

Team Scores
The University of North Carolina - 193. 375
The College of William & Mary - 184.450

Vault
1. Zoya Johnson - 9.850
2. Michelle Ikoma - 9.750
3. Kara Wright - 9.700
4. Elizabeth Durkac - 9.650
5. Christine Nguyen - 9.625
10. Karli Jones - 9.175