University of North Carolina Athletics
Getting To Know You: Morgan Lane
October 21, 2014 | Women's Gymnastics
By Zoya Johnson, GoHeels.com
Have you seen freshman Morgan Lane's logic defying tumbling series on Facebook? If not, you should.
Now that we've gotten your attention, let's get to know more about this exciting newcomer from Columbus, Ind. This powerful performer stands just 4-10, but as anyone who's seen her huge balance beam combo can attest, she packs a punch.
Lane got her start in gymnastics taking Mommy and Me classes as soon as she could walk. After aging out of those, the start of her career was anything but smooth.
"We went through four coaches in a period of five years at that first gym and finally after we got a stable coach, the gym went bankrupt," she says. "For six months we traveled from gym to gym to practice during competition season before another gym opened. That gym is now my home gym - Victory Gymnastics Academy.
"I love my gym and would not trade it for the world, but it was kind of difficult to progress because I was the only Level 10 on the team. There was no one there to push me and there was no one there that was doing the same skills. I was more of the role model of the gym which I loved because it forced me to do my best to set a good example for all of the smaller girls."
And that she has. Lane qualified to the National Invitational Tournament in 2012 where she captured second place on balance beam. She then qualified for the USA Gymnastics Junior Olympic National competition in 2013 and 2014 where she represented Region Five.
When it came to making her decision to join the team at Carolina, she immediately felt at home in Chapel Hill.
" I fell in love with everything about Carolina the first time I visited," she says. "The weather is so much nicer down here than back home and the campus is gorgeous. The balance between gymnastics and school was perfect for me and there is a good focus on gymnastics, which I love, because everyone is pushing us to improve. The biggest emphasis is on classes and getting good grades. That is really important to me because it is most important in the long run and it is nice to have a coach that shares that perspective. When I came to visit, Derek was incredibly kind and supportive. I can't imagine having a better coach. Amy is also amazing. She is really good at pushing us and seeing our potential in the gym."
In high school, Lane was a member of the National Honor Society, ranked 11th in her class of 450 students, and was a four-time member of the academic honor roll. She expects do great things in and out of the gym during her time at Carolina.
"My favorite class right now would probably be my first year seminar: CHEM 089: Society Ethics and Biotechnology," she says. We are relating a lot of medical technologies to what is going on the world right now. I am really excited to start taking some nutrition classes next year because I am considering majoring in nutrition."
Her favorite, and strongest event, is the balance beam. She plans to compete her press handstand, lay out, lay out combination on her beam tumbling pass, which is sure to be a crowd pleaser. Lane is also vying to compete in the all-around and has hopes of securing a spot in the vault line-up with her Yurchenko full-on, or Luconi pike-off. She also has upgraded her bar and floor routines.
Lane is now a full-fledged Tar Heel, but both of her parents are Duke graduates.
"There is definitely some Duke, UNC rivalry talk at home," says Lane. "Every time we visited UNC, they drug me to Duke to walk around or visit the Duke gardens or forest. For Christmas and birthdays I always make sure to give my dad a nice UNC shirt. They are always more than happy to put on some Carolina blue to come cheer us on at our meets."
Despite her Duke upbringing and only a few short months of Carolina exposure, Lane is already finding things to be proud of as a Tar Heel.
"My favorite thing about being a part of Carolina Gymnastics is everything about the team we have," she says. "We're one big family and the older girls are really supportive and willing to help me and the freshman in and out of the gym. Having girls my level has pushed me harder and I have already gained so much confidence and have pushed myself harder than ever before because I am not just doing this for myself anymore, I am doing it to better the team. Gymnastics is so much more fun when you have a team of awesome girls like this. The energy in the gym is amazing, it gets me so excited just to be in there doing gymnastics.
"My favorite thing about being part of the Carolina Athletics Community is probably just the fact that we're a part of something bigger. We want to do and be the best that we can be because we represent the University of North Carolina and people look up to us. I want people to not just remember how good we were at gymnastics, but more importantly, I want them to remember our character, and how good we were as teammates and students."
Coaches Galvin and Smith both believe Lane is a dynamic athlete and a delight to coach.
"Her focus and desire to give her best as a student, and as an athlete, here at Carolina, is readily apparent in the way she conducts herself in everything she pursues," says Galvin.
"The first thing that comes to mind when I think about Morgan is the '...And though she be but little she is fierce' quote by Shakespeare. She has big, beautiful and really interesting gymnastics and we are so excited for Carolina Gymnastics fans to get to know her and see her compete."
The team hopes you have enjoyed getting to know Morgan Lane and that you will continue to check in with her and the rest of Carolina Gymnastics as they continue to build for this and the coming seasons.
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