University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Host Pittsburgh for Senior Day
March 4, 2015 | Women's Gymnastics
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina will return to action on Sat, March 7 in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Tar Heels will host Pittsburgh for senior day in Carmichael Arena. The meet is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
“We saw [Pittsburgh] last week at their place and it's time to even the score,” said head coach Derek Galvin.
Prior to the meet, North Carolina's four graduating seniors – Haley Watts, Acacia Cosentino, Janell Sargent and Kristin Aloi – will be honored for their contributions to the program.
The seniors on competing in Carmichael Arena for the final time:
Fifth-year senior Acacia Cosentino said, “I'm really excited for senior day, but it's also bittersweet. I'm really excited for one more time in Carmichael and I think we have great potential to do really well this weekend.”
“I'm really excited for [senior day]. I've had a great experience at Carolina and I'm ready to celebrate it with my team this weekend,” said Kristin Aloi.
Beam specialist Janell Sargent said,” “It is definitely a bittersweet thing. I'm going to miss my family at Carolina so much, but I'm going to try and enjoy the last moment of it and get to enjoy being part of the team.”
The Tar Heels' previous competition:
On Sat, Feb 28, Carolina took third place in a competitive quad meet in Pittsburgh, Pa. The Tar Heels tallied a score of 193.500, defeating Temple but falling to West Virginia and Pittsburgh.
Throughout the meet, several UNC gymnasts exhibited stellar performances.
In the all-around competition, Kaitlynn Hedelund tied for first place with a score of 38.950. This represents Hedelund's highest finish of the year. She placed in the top eight of three out of the four rotations – vault, bars and beam. On Tuesday, Hedelund was named East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) Rookie of the Week.
Morgan Lane finished fourth in the all-around competition with a score of 38.850. Lane finished in the top three in two rotations – beam and floor. On the balance beam, she scored a 9.875, tying for second place among all competitors. Lane notched a 9.875 on the floor exercise, tying for third place.
Several UNC gymnasts notched season-high scores during the meet. On the balance beam, Sarah Peterson scored a season-high 9.800. On floor, three Carolina gymnasts had season highs – Aloi, Lauren Weisel and Lindsey Lemke. Aloi and Weisel both notched a 9.750, and Lemke scored a 9.650.
During her dismount on the balance beam, Haley Watts suffered a knee injury and will be unable to compete for the remainder of the season.
“It's definitely sad to get an injury towards the end of the year,” said Watts. “I wanted to close out senior year with a bang, but it's an opportunity for the team to step-up and gain their confidence.”
This weekend's opponent:
In Pittsburgh's final home meet of the season, the Panthers hosted West Virginia, North Carolina and Temple. Pittsburgh tallied a season-high score of 194.875, placing second.
On all four rotations a Pittsburgh gymnast won first place. Lindsay Offutt won both beam and floor, scoring a 9.900 on both events. Offutt's score on beam tied her career-best. On vault, Lisa Soto notched a 9.850 taking first place. The Panthers' Miya Dotson scored a 9.850 on bars, which was good for first place.
Pittsburgh tallied season-high scores on two rotations – vault and beam. The Panthers notched a 48.750 on vault and 48.875 on beam.
Going into this weekend's competition, North Carolina has a record of 12-6 (4-2 EAGL) and Pittsburgh has a record of 4-8 (1-5 EAGL).
“For this weekend, everyone on the team is focused on getting a solid team performance on every event from every individual,” said Galvin.
“In gymnastics, this is an exciting time of the year because the end of the regular season is rapidly approaching,” said Galvin. “Post-season conference championships and NCAA's are right around the corner.”
Following this weekend's meet, North Carolina will be back in action on Sat, March 13 in Auburn, Ala. The meet is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in Auburn Arena.
Players Mentioned
