University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
New Hampshire
Carolina Takes Down Wildcats In Annual Pink Meet
February 18, 2017 | Women's Gymnastics
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina came out strong against New Hampshire, the second-ranked team in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League, and topped the Wildcats, 195.875-195.075. Friday night's performance was UNC's best team score of the season and the Tar Heels extended their streak of scoring 195.500 or higher to three consecutive meets.
“Our goal coming in to tonight's meet was to do a little better than we did in the last meet, and I think we did that,” said UNC head coach Derek Galvin. “This was the third meet in eight days, having two meets in three days last weekend, and that can take a little bit out of your legs. I'm just really proud of how they pushed through training this week knowing they were tired.”
Galvin continued, “This is only our second home meet this year so they were excited about competing at home. I think that excitement reflected in their performance. We got a solid score and we're very close to breaking 196.000, which is one of our goals.”
A crowd of 1,907 was in attendance for the annual Pink Meet on Friday in Carmichael Arena. The meet was in support of two campus programs, “Get REAL & HEEL” and the Super Cooper College Buddies program. The “Get REAL & HEEL” program provides post-cancer support for breast cancer survivors, while Super Cooper provides essential resources to children that are undergoing cancer treatment.
“This meet is something that we've done for many, many years because of situations with team members whose parents have had cancer. I met with a group of women that were part of the “Get REAL & HEEL program” and seeing them get excited about coming to the event makes me want to do more events with them,” said Galvin.
Carolina's all-around gymnasts Morgan Lane and Madison Nettles had huge performances in the friendly confines of Carmichael Arena. Lane secured a season-best score of 39.350 to take first place. Nettles found herself in another tie, placing second with a score of 39.075 along with New Hampshire's Danielle Doolin and Meghan Pflieger.
North Carolina began the meet on the vault, posting a 48.750 on vault with several season-best performances. The Tar Heels trailed the Wildcats, 49.100-48.750, following the opening rotation. Alexis Allen earned the Tar Heels' best score, a 9.825 that secured first place in the event. Nettles took home second place for North Carolina with a score of 9.775. Senior Christina Pheil scored a career-high of 9.750, which placed her in a three-way tie for third with teammate Morgan Lane and the Wildcats' Meghan Pflieger. Additionally, Mikayla Robinson tied her own personal best of the season, scoring a 9.625 for the Tar Heels and placing tenth in the vault competition.
The Tar Heels made up the gap in the second rotation, taking a 0.300 lead over the Wildcats following a season-best performance (49.050) on the uneven bars. Lane and Kaitlynn Hedelund both led Carolina with scores of 9.850, which was a career-best for Lane and tied Hedelund's season-best performance. This score earned Lane and Hedelund a three-way tie for second place. Grace Donaghy made her first appearance of the night with her own career-high performance on the uneven bars, receiving a 9.825 and placing fifth in the event. To wrap up the second rotation, Carolina's Emma Marchese tied for sixth place with a score of 9.800 and Mekyllah Williams scored a 9.725 for the Tar Heels.
UNC extended its lead over New Hampshire in the third rotation with its best rotation score of the night on the balance beam. Hedelund made a significant contribution with a career-best score of 9.875, which earned her a tie for first place with three New Hampshire gymnasts. Although the other gymnasts in the lineup did not break season or career bests on the beam, they put forth incredibly strong performances. Khazia Hislop scored 9.850 to place fifth, while Lane and Emma Marchese finished in a three-way tie for sixth with scores of 9.825. Furthermore, Donaghy scored a 9.750 on beam in her second event of the night for the Tar Heels.
To wrap up the meet, Carolina stunned the home crowd with four Tar Heels either breaking or tying their career best scores on floor exercise. Lane found herself in yet another tie, this time with teammate and freshman-phenom Hislop for first place (9.925). This score was a career-best for Lane and a matching career-high for Hislop. Nettles tied her career-high with of 9.875, which earned her a tie for third place with Danielle Doolin of New Hampshire. Mikayla Robinson set a new career-best score with a 9.825 on floor to take sixth place. Pheil placed tenth in the event with a score of 9.400 in her second event of the night, following her career-best performance on the vault.
“I think that the team feels pretty good about what they did tonight, but they recognize that there's still some things we can correct and get stronger on. That's going to be the focus,” said Galvin.
Galvin continued, “I think Emma, Khazia, Mekyllah, Alexis, Grace, Mikayla and Jamie are starting to really settle into college gymnastics. I think they're gaining confidence with each move and they're doing a super job for us.”
UP NEXT
Next Friday, the Tar Heels will host William & Mary for a home dual meet in Carmichael Arena. This will be the first time that the Tar Heels have hosted the Tribe in 2017 following the cancellation of the Feb. 3 quad meet. The meet is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in Chapel Hill, N.C.
“We're looking forward to being back for next Friday night and doing it again,” said Galvin.
Players Mentioned
