University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels to Take on Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Temple
February 26, 2015 | Women's Gymnastics
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina will return to action on Sat, Feb. 28 in Pittsburgh, Pa. The Tar Heels will square off against East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) rival Pittsburgh and two non-conference teams, Temple and West Virginia. The meet is set to begin at 7 p.m. in Fitzgerald Field House.
“We are looking forward to the opportunity to compete in Pittsburgh this weekend,” said head coach Derek Galvin. “It should be a very good competition.”
On Fri, Feb. 20, Carolina took first place in its third quad meet of the season, defeating NC State, Kent State and Rutgers. The Tar Heels tallied a total score of 194.950. During the meet, UNC had a resilient team performance, which the Tar Heels hope to carry into this weekend's competition.
Throughout the meet, several Tar Heels exhibited stellar performances.
For the third consecutive week, Morgan Lane won the all-around competition, notching a season-high score of 39.275. Lane placed in the top five in three out of the four rotations – beam, vault and floor. She notched a 9.825 on beam, taking first place, a season-high 9.825 on vault, tying for second, and a 9.800 on bars, tying for fifth. For the fourth time this season, Lane was awarded EAGL Rookie of the Week honors.
Haley Watts took second in the all-around competition, scoring a 39.025. Watts placed in the top seven in two rotations – beam and vault. She notched a 9.725 on beam, taking sixth place, and a 9.800 on vault, tying for seventh place. On Tuesday, Watts was named the EAGL Gymnast of the Week.
In the all-around competition, Lexi Cappalli finished in fourth place, scoring a 38.750. Cappalli finished in the top seven in three of the four rotations – floor, vault and bars. She scored a 9.850 on floor, taking fifth, a 9.800 on vault, tying for seventh, and a 9.800 on bars, tying for fifth place.
“Our gymnasts are coming off a good meet last weekend at NC State. The momentum that we had in the last three events will hopefully carry over into this weekend's competition,” said Galvin.
This weekend's opponents:
On Sat, Feb. 21, Pittsburgh was defeated by No. 12 Penn State by a score of 196.175-193.350. The Panthers are ranked fifth in EAGL standings with a record of 2-8 (0-4 EAGL).
“Pittsburgh was dealing with some injuries early in the season, but they have been improving and had a good meet last weekend,” said Galvin.
In Collegeville, Pa., Temple competed in a dual meet against Ursinus. The Owls were defeated by a score of 192.625-187.750.
At the Wendy M. Roach Invitational, West Virginia finished second, defeating Rutgers and No. 25 New Hampshire, but falling to Maryland. The Mountaineers tallied a total score of 195.200. West Virginia is nationally ranked on two rotations – No. 22 on vault and No. 24 on floor.
“West Virginia is a very good team,” said Galvin. We have seen them once this season at NC State and they outscored us.”
“We didn't get to train as much as we would have liked this week because of the weather, but, mentally, the team is in a very good place. I anticipate strong performances from them,” said Galvin.
Following this weekend's competition, North Carolina will be back in action on Sat, March 7 in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Tar Heels will take on the Pittsburgh Panthers at 1 p.m. in Carmichael Arena.
Players Mentioned
