University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels to Host Rutgers for Senior Night Matchup
February 25, 2016 | Women's Gymnastics
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The University of North Carolina gymnastics team returns to Carmichael Arena for the final home competition of the 2016 season on Friday, Feb. 26. The Tar Heels will square off against Rutgers starting at 7 p.m.
Friday's meet will be Senior Night and the three senior gymnasts – Lexi Cappalli, Sarah Peterson and Josselyn Mackey – will be honored prior to the competition.
“It's going to be a emotional meet for the seniors,” said UNC head coach Derek Galvin. “[It will be] the final time that Lexi [Cappalli], Sarah [Peterson] and Josselyn [Mackey] will have the opportunity to compete in front of the home fans in Carmichael Arena.”
Galvin continued, ““It's going to be a special evening for them and certainly for the whole team. The team wants to send them out on a really positive note.”
On Fri., Feb. 19, North Carolina travelled to Washington, D.C. for a quad meet against No. 19 George Washington, No. 27 New Hampshire and William & Mary. After a highly contentious meet, the Tar Heels finished in second place with a score of 193.750. UNC defeated New Hampshire (193.700) and William & Mary (193.175), but fell to George Washington (195.400).
The Tar Heels notched an impressive team performance against a highly talented field, and the team hopes to carry this momentum into this weekend's competition.
Several UNC gymnasts had stellar individual performances in the Charles E. Smith Center on Friday, which resulted in seven season-best scores.
During the course of the meet, Lexi Cappalli set four season-best scores, including vault (9.600), bars (9.750), beam (9.700) and the all-around (38.800). Cappalli's all-around score earned her seventh place among all competitors.
Christina Pheil notched a season-best score of 9.825 on the floor exercise. In addition, Pheil scored a season-best of 38.425 in the all-around competition to take ninth place.
Madison Nettles scored a season-high of 9.675 on the uneven bars to tie for 16th place with Alex DeMoura of George Washington.
This weekend's opponent:
On Saturday, Feb. 20, Rutgers posted a season-best score of 195.075 to take first place in a quad meet against Pennsylvania (192.400), Temple (191.625) and Ursinus (188.200).
The competition was highlighted by the team's 49.000 score on balance beam, which tied for the fourth highest score in program history.
Additionally, a Scarlet Knight gymnast earned first place on all four individual events and in the all-around competition. Libby Groden led the way with a first place finish on the uneven bars (9.750) and the all-around competition (38.925).
“We've got some challenging competition with Rutgers. They are ranked ahead of us. They have a very strong team this year, but we are going into this competition determined to give our very best effort,” said Galvin.
Following this weekend's competition, North Carolina will travel to Williamsburg, Va., on Saturday, March 5 to take on William & Mary. The Tar Heels' fourth competition against the Tribe in the 2016 season will begin at 4 p.m. in Kaplan Arena.
Players Mentioned
