University of North Carolina Athletics
Gymnastics Spotlight: Christine Nguyen
April 27, 2010 | Women's Gymnastics
April 27, 2010
Senior Christine Nguyen is one of the most decorated and accomplished gymnasts in the history of Carolina gymnastics. The East Atlantic Gymnastics League honored Nguyen as its Gymnast of the Year for three straight seasons and Senior Gymnast of the Year in 2010. On Carolina¹s senior night (March 20), Nguyen recorded a 39.575, the fourth highest all-around score in school history. The Plano, Texas native won six all-around titles in 2010 and captured the balance beam title at the EAGL Championship.
Head Coach Derek Galvin on Nguyen: Christine is truly an exceptional gymnast. She is one of the most impressive performers in the history of our program here at Carolina, and also within the East Atlantic Gymnastics League. She has an amazingly light and airy quality in her gymnastics performances. The artistic grace and elegance she displays sets her apart, and at the same time she is a very strong and powerful athlete. The aesthetic quality in her routines is most apparent on balance beam and floor exercise. At times it seems like she is floating in the space above the balance beam or floor exercise mat. You can find that same grace in her personality as well. And when she smiles it draws smiles from the people around her. Christine has thrilled and inspired us with the incredible talent she has displayed as a gymnast, and she has made our team, and our entire gymnastics program, better during the time that she has competed as a Tar Heel.
TarHeelBlue.com: What did it mean to you to score a personal best in all-around on senior night?
Christine Nguyen: It meant a great deal to me. For me to go out with a personal best in my last home meet ever is a moment that I will never forget.
THB.com: What did winning the EAGL Championship mean to you and to the team?
CN: For me personally, it felt as if I was standing on top of the world. And to share it with my senior class means even more. We have worked all four years for this and for it to finally result in the way it did, I could not have asked for it any other way. As for the rest of my team, I will never forget that the hard work each and every person on this team put forth made it possible.
THB.com: Looking back at your time as a Carolina gymnast what are your favorite memories?
CN: I would have to say traveling to and from the meets were by far my favorite memories. We made the most out of every situation, whether it was our flight being delayed indefinitely or our reservations for the hotel was given away leaving us sitting in the vans at 2 a.m. Each person¹s personality made it fun and bearable.
THB.com: What is your greatest individual accomplishment as a Carolina gymnast?
CN: My greatest individual accomplishment would have to be when I won the all-around at EAGL championships in 2008 and being named EAGL gymnast of the year three years in a row.
THB.com: What is the best class you took as a student at Carolina and why?
CN: Music 121 because it was something different from my major (Exercise and Sport Science).
THB.com: How will the lessons that you¹ve learned as a Tar Heel athlete transfer to post-college life?
CN: Being on the gymnastics team has helped me learn to deal with a lot of adversity. There are times when things don¹t always go as planned and people run into conflicts, but by being on this team has helped me to learn how to react to certain situations so that we can have the best possible outcome.
THB.com: What is the best advice Coach Galvin has given to you?
CN: Carry yourself with dignity and pride, and make people show you the respect that you deserve.
THB.com: Where is your favorite place in Chapel Hill, why?
CN: My favorite place in Chapel Hill is The Pit because there is always something going on and you can people watch as much as you want.
THB.com: What is the best thing about being a UNC gymnast?
CN: The best thing about being a UNC gymnast is that you can say you are part of the UNC gymnastics family. Not everyone gets a chance to build that relationship of being on a team that you can call your family, especially if the coaches are Derek and Penny. They really do care about the well being of each person on the team, and I am fortunate enough to be on a team that is small enough so that I can get to know every person as if they were my sisters.
THB.com: What is your favorite event and why?
CN: The balance beam is my favorite event because it is challenging. When I am up there I block everything out as if it is just me and the beam.
THB.com: What will you miss most about Carolina?
CN: I will probably miss seeing everyone that I have gotten to know over the past four years.
THB.com: What did it mean to you to be named EAGL Gymnast of the Year, three straight years?
CN: Being named EAGL Gymnast of the Year for three straight years really means a lot to me. To be nominated for this award has so much meaning. All the hard work and countless numbers of years that I have dedicated to this sport is all summed up in those awards.
Players Mentioned
