Tar Heels Defeated by No. 18 Penn State

Friday, February 11

Chapel Hill, N.C.

7:00 PM

North Carolina

Penn State

February 12, 2011 | Women's Gymnastics

By: UNC Athletic Communications

Feb. 11, 2011

Photo Gallery

The University of North Carolina Gymnastics Team was outmatched by the No. 18 Penn State on Friday, Feb. 11. The Tar Heels tallied their third highest team-score of the season, including personal bests fromKrista Jasper and Elizabeth Durkac. However, Penn State had too much depth for the North Carolina to handle, finishing the meet with an impressive 195.925. The Tar Heels fell to 9-3 overall, but head coach Derek Galvin was particularly encouraged by his team's continued improvement.

"This team, they appreciate each other and they do this for each other," said Galvin. "And as long as they keep doing that, we will continue to improve and continue to have a good experience."

Acacia Cosentino, a freshman from Chagrin falls, Ohio, was up first on vault for the Tar Heels, sticking her landing for a 9.400 for tenth place. Taylor Brown, a junior from Durham, N.C., then performed a dynamic vault and scored a 9.650, placing eighth. Kristin Aloi had a strong block but took a large step on her landing. She also performed a lower start value vault which resulted in lowering her score to a 9.225 for eleventh. For her second week in a row, Krista Jasper performed an upgraded 10.00 start value vault for a score of 9.625, good enough for ninth place. Morgan Evans started her meet out strong on vault, placing sixth with a score of 9.725. Zoya Johnson, a junior from Silver Springs, Md., performed an incredible vault for a team-high score of 9.825, taking third place. The Tar Heels finished with a score of 48.225 on vault.

The Tar Heels performed well on uneven bars, finishing with a 48.675. Senior Teri Diamond, from Gaithersburg, Md., turned in an impressive performance for the second consecutive week. She completed her exercise with a creative one and half back salto dismount. She stuck her landing for technically well executed routine. Diamond equaled her career high with a score of 9.800, placing fourth. Durkac, a sophomore from Yorktown, Va., performed a beautiful Pak salto transition from the high bar to the low bar. She took a small step on her landing for a 9.625 and ninth place. Evans, a junior from Norfolk, Va., earned a team-high score of 9.825 on the uneven bars, placing fourth. She had a dynamic routine that includes three outstanding release skills. She closed her routine by sticking a difficult dismount. North Carolina junior Johnson, from Silver Springs, Md., anchored the Tar Heels on bars, finishing in eighth place with a score of 9.700.

Carolina improved enormously on beam over last week, sticking their elements as well as their dismounts. They finished beam with a 47.675. Jasper was up first on beam, nailing her flips with perfect balance. She then dismounted with a gainer back pike off to a solid landing and a score of 9.675 for seventh. Diamond competed her beam routine for the first time this season. The captain performed a dynamic routine with an aerial and two back flips but was hampered by a fall on her flight series. Diamond would finish her routine for a 9.100. Aloi performed a difficult routine that ended with an impressive dismount, but she stepped on the landing, posting a 9.400 for tenth.

Durkac hit all of the elements of her beam routine, including an aerial and a flip into a double twisting dismount, garnering a career-best score of 9.750 for third place. The always-dynamic Evans, performed another solid routine, highlighted by a front full twist pike, earning a score of 9.600 and eighth place. Maura Masatsugu, a sophomore from Freemong, Ca., was last on beam for the Tar Heels. Masatsugu began her routine with a flight series that she performed perfectly. She had a fall on her side aerial skill but ended her routine well by sticking her landing, earning a score of 9.250.

Carolina finished the meet with upgraded tumbling, garnering a team floor-exercise score of 48.400. Freshman Kristin Aloi, from Winston Salem, N.C., turned in a solid 9.75 for the Tar Heels on floor. Durkac made her difficult upgraded tumbling but had a large hop and step out of bounds on her last pass which resulted in a score of 9.400. Taylor Brown performed her new floor routine for the first time this season. She has been hindered by a knee injury this year. She completed her first two passes flawlessly and completed her routine by sticking her most difficult high-flying element, garnering a score of 9.775 and a fifth place finish. Evans completed her all-around performance with a score of 9.625 on the floor. Jasper provided the grand finale, registering a career-best score of 9.850, taking second place.

Galvin was proud of his team's performance and was excited about hosting a talented Penn State team. "We know we've got a great venue," noted Galvin. "And I felt like again tonight we had a good crowd and they seemed to enjoy what they were seeing. You know, what we want people to come away with, whether Carolina wins the meet or not, we want them to be impressed by the way our student-athletes perform. And we want them to be impressed by the facilities that Carmichael offers. And I think that the more teams who come to see this facility, will come away impressed. The word is spreading that this is a great gymnastics venue."

Team Scores
Penn State- 195.925
North Carolina- 192.975

Vault- 48.225
3. Zoya Johnson 9.825
6. Morgan Evans 9.725
8. Taylor Brown 9.65
9. Krista Jasper 9.625
10. Acacia Cosentino 9.40
11. Kristin Aloi 9.225