University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Open Season at the Lindsey Ferris Invitational
January 10, 2017 | Women's Gymnastics
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The North Carolina gymnastics team will kick off the 2017 season on Saturday, Jan. 14, at the 10th annual Lindsey Ferris Invitational in Washington, D.C. The competition is slated to begin at 1 p.m. at the Charles E. Smith Center on the campus of George Washington University.
The Tar Heels have competed in the event nine times since its creation in 2007. The meet is dedicated to Lindsey Ferris, a 2001 George Washington alumna who served as a Special Agent for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations prior to her passing in 2006.
“We're going in with the intent of having a strong team performance,” said head coach Derek Galvin. “We want to come out of the starting blocks quickly this year.”
The composition of the team will be dramatically different in 2017, as 12 of the 17 competitors have yet to compete in a collegiate gymnastics meet. However, the five returners have had accomplished careers as a part of the UNC gymnastics program.
Morgan Lane is coming off a stellar sophomore campaign in 2016 in which she became the first gymnast in UNC history to score a 39.000 or better in the all-around in every meet. Currently, Lane is tied for third place in the North Carolina record book on the beam (9.950) and tied for sixth in the all-around (39.400).
Kaitlynn Hedelund was limited by a leg injury in 2016, but she still managed to qualify for the NCAA Regionals on the uneven bars for the second consecutive year. She is currently tied for fourth place in the UNC record book on the uneven bars (9.900).
Madison Nettles transferred from Texas Women's University and competed for the Tar Heels during the 2016 season. She excelled on the vault, earning Second Team All-EAGL honors and setting a career-best of 9.775 on Jan. 31.
“We need to have a good team performance to set the expectations at a higher level. We want other teams looking at our team and realizing that this is a good team that can have a fair amount of success this season,” said Galvin.
THE OPPONENTS: GEORGE WASHINGTON, CORNELL & PENN
Tenth-ranked George Washington got off to a strong start last weekend, as it defeated Yale at the Little Boston Invitational at the Hynes Convention Center. The Colonials posted a score of 195.550 and had impressive performances on the balance beam (49.075) and floor exercise (49.075). George Washington swept the all-around with Alex DeMoura taking the title (39.175), Cami Drouin-Allaire finishing in second place (39.100) and Jillian Winstanley earning third place (38.875).
“George Washington has a very good team. They won the Lindsey Ferris Invitational last year,” said Galvin.
Cornell and Penn will both open the 2017 season in Washington, D.C., on Saturday.
In 2016, Cornell captured its second ECAC Championship title in school history. The Big Red also captured a number of yearly awards, including Rookie of the Year (Lyanda Dudley), Specialist of the Year (Kaitlin Green), Assistant Coach of the Year (Melanie Dillipane) and Head Coach of the Year (Paul Beckwith). Cornell kicked off the season by setting the team scoring record (194.025) at the Lindsey Ferris Invitational.
Penn finished in third place at the ECAC Championship behind Cornell, Brown and William & Mary. The Quakers notched the second-best bars score (48.925) in program history during a tri-meet against Temple and Bridgeport. Kyra Levi was the named the ECAC Specialist of the Week twice during the season. Levi also set a career-high on the uneven bars (9.900), which is the third highest score in program history.
Players Mentioned
