University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC to Double Up This Weekend at NC State and Towson
February 9, 2017 | Women's Gymnastics
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The University of North Carolina gymnastics team is scheduled to compete in two meets this weekend, as the team will travel to NC State and Towson for quad meets.
“We have an adventurous weekend ahead of us,” said UNC head coach Derek Galvin. “It's been quite a few years since we've done two meets in the same weekend. I think the team is in a good position to handle that well.”
North Carolina was scheduled to host a quad meet, featuring Towson, Pittsburgh and William & Mary, on Friday, but the competition was cancelled after an emergency water shortage was declared by the Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA).
As regularly scheduled, North Carolina will travel to Raleigh, N.C., to take on NC State, Pittsburgh and William & Mary in the newly renovated Reynolds Coliseum. The meet is slated to begin at 7 p.m.
“It should be a really good competition. Pittsburgh and NC State have had some good meets and we did well in our last meet. William & Mary is capable of stepping up too,” said Galvin.
On Monday, UNC announced that an additional competition had been added to the 2017 schedule to make up for the missed opportunity to compete. This meet, which will be competed on Feb. 12, will feature Towson, West Virginia and Temple. The Shelli Calloway Invitational will begin at 2 p.m. in the SECU Arena on the campus of Towson University.
“We've got a quick turnaround after the meet Friday night. We will come back to Chapel Hill and hopefully get a good night's rest. We take off mid-day on Saturday to drive up to Towson,” said Galvin.
Galvin continued, “Towson, West Virginia and Carolina are all in that same scoring range. It's going to be a great competition.”
The Tar Heels are currently ranked fifth in the EAGL with a record of 2-3 (1-1 EAGL). North Carolina looks to move above .500 in its overall and conference record on Friday.
“We had a really good practice yesterday. I was encouraged by what I saw. We may be shuffling up the lineup a little bit, but I think this is a great opportunity for our team to get two away meet scores in the same weekend,” said Galvin.
MEET #1: NC STATE, PITTSBURGH AND WILLIAM & MARY
The first competition of the weekend features a duo of EAGL rivals – NC State and Pittsburgh. Following five weeks of competition, the Wolfpack are ranked third in the conference, while the Panthers are sixth. William & Mary, which hails from the Eastern College Atlantic Conference, currently holds a record of 1-5.
NC State, which has a record of 4-6 (0-0 EAGL), competed in a quad meet in Philadelphia, Penn., on Sunday, which featured Penn, Cornell and Bridgeport. The Wolfpack scored a 193.725 to take second place behind the Purple Knights, which notched a 194.000. Although the Wolfpack were missing four starters due to injuries, the team still managed to garner 11 top-five finishes and set a season-best of 49.150 on the uneven bars.
William & Mary was scheduled to compete in Carmichael Arena at the UNC Pink Meet, but did not log a competition last weekend due to the cancellation.
Pittsburgh currently boasts a record of 4-4 (0-2 EAGL). On Friday, the Panthers notched a score of 193.525 to take second place in a quad meet that featured Temple, Ursinus College and West Chester. The Panthers scored a season-best of 48.500 on the beam, a 48.875 on the floor, a season-best of 48.775 on the vault and a 47.375 on the bars. This will be the second time in 2017 that the Tar Heels have faced off against the Panthers, as UNC put together a solid team performance to take down the EAGL rival on Jan. 27.
MEET #2: TOWSON, TEMPLE AND WEST VIRGINIA
Towson (4-6, 0-3 EAGL) was also scheduled to compete in Friday's quad meet, but instead joined a quad meet at George Washington to make up for the cancellation. The Tigers posted a season-best score of 194.950 to finish third in the meet, which featured George Washington, New Hampshire and Ball State. Throughout the meet, six gymnasts posted career-best scores and five set new season bests. Tyra McKellar was named the EAGL Gymnast of the Week on Tuesday after winning the all-around with a score of 39.250.
Temple, which has a record of 7-6, had a historic performance at the Ken Anderson Memorial Invitational, as the Owls posted the highest team score in school history. The team score of 195.950 earned the owls first place in a home quad meet, which also featured Pittsburgh, West Chester and Ursinus College. This was the first time since 1995 that the Owls have defeated the Panthers. On Tuesday, Daisy Todd earned her third consecutive ECAC Rookie of the Week honor following a season-best performance of 38.900 in the all-around.
West Virginia holds a record of 5-2 (1-1 Big 12) and is currently ranked No. 24 in the nation. On Saturday, the Mountaineers defeated Kent State, 195.950-194.875, to move to 22-9 all-time versus the Golden Flashes. The Mountaineers won in dominating fashion, sweeping the event titles and the all-around competition.
