Carolina Gymnastics Wins First Dual Meet of the Season

Sunday, January 30

Williamsburg, Va.

2:00 PM

North Carolina

William & Mary

Carolina Gymnastics Team Attending Tar Heel Town

January 30, 2011 | Women's Gymnastics

By: UNC Athletic Communications

Jan. 30, 2011

Meet Results

The Tar Heel gymnastics team topped William & Mary by 4.775 points on Sunday with a score of 193.325. It was the team's first dual-meet of the season and Junior Morgan Evan's third all-around title in a row.

"It was a more confident team performance, more focused team performance, particularly on floor exercise," said Head Coach Derek Galvin. "Last week it was good, this week was even better. The quality of our routines overall was stronger than last week."

The meet began on bars, where North Carolina started off placing four gymnasts in the top five. Morgan Evans took first with a 9.775, Elizabeth Durkac placed second with a 9.700 and Emily Cornwell placed third with a 9.675. Specialist Zoya Johnson took fourth with a 9.625.

The team only gained momentum in vault, taking the top three spots in the competition. Johnson performed a dynamic routine, adding in new elements for a high score of 9.875 and first place. Taylor Brown came in second and Evans placed third with scores of 9.725 and 9.700, respectively.

"It was a good meet, we started off on bars and that went well," said Galvin. "On vault, as a team, it was one of our strongest performances. There was a long delay before floor because of a William & Mary injury but when we started on floor, we did our best performance as a team on floor so far. We added a couple elements and performed them successfully. All the floor performances were very strong today."

Freshman Kirstin Aloi led the Tar Heels on floor, winning her first collegiate event with a strong 9.825. Krista Jasper tied for second with a 9.800 and Evans placed well again at fourth and a 9.775. Elizabeth Durkac and Emily Cornwell placed fifth and sixth respectively.

"Kristin [Aloi] has done well on floor in each of the first two meets; she also did a nice vault tonight," said Galvin. "Floor certainly was the highlight for her, we added a more difficult tumbling element in the middle of her routine and she did that very well. It has been exciting to see how much she has already grown as a college student-athlete."

Morgan Evans continued her outstanding day in the last event, winning beam with a 9.800. The Tar Heels had three other gymnasts finish in the top five on beam. Maura Masatsugu tied for second at 9.750, Krista Jasper placed fourth at 9.725 and Elizabeth Durkac took fifth at 9.675.

The Tar Heels finished the day, winning the team totals on every event except for a tie with William & Mary on beam. Morgan Evans won two events, bars and beam, ensuring a third-straight all-around title. Evans scored a 39.050. Teammate Krista Jasper placed second behind Evans in the all-around competition with a 38.525. Freshman Emily Cornwell placed fourth in all-around.

The University of North Carolina gymnastics team will have their first home meet of the season next Saturday, Feb. 5, at 7 p.m. The Tar Heels will face inner-conference foe Maryland.

"I know everyone on the team is really eager and looking forward to the competition next weekend," said Galvin. "We are looking forward to being back in Carmichael arena. We are eager to see what people's reactions will be--we think it's a great venue for gymnasts. We are excited about introducing this year's team to our home fans."

Team Scores

1. North Carolina- 193.325

2. William & Mary- 188.550

Vault- 48.425

1. Zoya Johnson- 9.875

2. Taylor Brown- 9.725

3. Morgan Evans- 9.700

6. Kristin Aloi- 9.625

8. Krista Jasper- 9.500

10. Emily Cornwell- 9.375

Uneven Bars- 48.275

1. Morgan Evans- 9.775