Tar Heels Take Ninth Straight George Washington Invitational

Sunday, January 16

Washington, D.C.

2:00 PM

North Carolina

George Washington Invitational

Carolina Gymnastics Team Attending Tar Heel Town

January 16, 2011 | Women's Gymnastics

By: UNC Athletic Communications

Jan. 16, 2011

Meet Results

Gymnastics 2011 Yearbook

The University of North Carolina gymnastics team won their ninth straight George Washington Lindsey Ferris Invitational Sunday with a score of 193.900, finishing 1.925 ahead of George Washington. The Tar Heels were led by a balanced effort--finishing first in vault, uneven bars, beam and all-around.

"Coach Jernigan and I were both very pleased with the team's performance. The attitude and effort from our team was exactly what we were looking for," Coach Derek Galvin said. "They competed very well together as a team. It was a strong team performance, they were very supportive of each other and it was just a really good atmosphere."

"We felt that throughout the preseason that this is a good team, you can certainly have a group of talented athletes but they are not necessarily a cohesive team. This is a cohesive team. The character of this team is just really strong. Its fun as a coach to work with a group like that."

The Tar Heels started the Invitational out with a bang as two gymnasts placed in the top three on bars. Morgan Evans started out her day with a flawless performance, taking first place with a score of 9.850. Zoya Johnson also stuck her routine, placing third with 9.750 points. Three other Tar Heels tied for fifth place posting scores of 9.725, including Krista Jasper, Elizabeth Durkac and freshman Emily Cornwell. The strong effort on uneven bars set the tone for the rest of the meet.

"Good strong, clean performances on bars and beam gave us some momentum going into other events," Coach Galvin said. "Particularly the start on bars, everyone hit their routine. We actually had of our six bar routines, four stuck their landings. For our first meet, I don't know if we have ever done that before."

North Carolina continued their outstanding start into the balance beam competition. Maura Masatsugu was part of last year's EAGL Championship beam line-up and has a beautiful routine again this year, winning the event with a score of 9.850. Evans placed fifth with a score of 9.800. Freshman Kristin Aloi started her day and season off well, taking sixth place at 9.775.

Aloi contributed big again in her first meet, leading the team in floor exercise with a second-place finish, posting a 9.850. Evans also performed a strong routine, with a fifth place score of 9.825. In her first time competing on floor, Durkac finished 19th with a 9.675 score.

Johnson and Evans continued their successful day with the vault competition. Johnson took the title with a 9.875 score, Evans tied for fourth with a score of 9.775. Aloi finished 13th at 9.625 and Krista Jasper finished 18th with a score of 9.600.

Morgan Evans won the all around title with a personal-best score of 39.250. Her score placed ninth in the all-around record books for North Carolina, knocking her old score of 39.225 down to tenth.

"It was really satisfying that [Evans] had that kind of a meet," Coach Galvin said. "This season she is starting healthier, she is a strong gymnast and she had a strong meet. It was fun to watch her compete. Anytime an all-arounder scores around a 39 or above, that's a good meet."

"Everybody on the team that competed had a strong performance and that's what it took, because we are a little bit tender on vault and on floor right now. Each person competed well individually, but they did it as a team--they were doing it for each other."

The Tar Heels next meet is at 1 p.m. on Jan. 22 against Rutgers.

Team Scores

1. North Carolina- 193.900

2. George Washington- 191.975

3. Rutgers- 191.725

4. Cornell- 191.275

5. William & Mary- 190.275

6. Temple- 189.625

7. Penn- 189.425

Vault-48.375

1. Zoya Johnson- 9.875

4. Morgan Evans- 9.775