UNC Wraps Up Regular Season with Senior Meet on Saturday

Saturday, March 17

Chapel Hill

1 p.m.

North Carolina

Pittsburgh

Seniors Madison Nettles, Lauren Weisel, Morgan Lane, and Kaitlynn Hedelund will finish their careers in Carmichael Arena on Saturday, March 17th against Pittsburgh.

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

March 15, 2018 | Women's Gymnastics

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina gymnastics will finish up the regular season at home in Carmichael Arena on Saturday, March 17th at 1:00 p.m. against the Pittsburgh Panthers. Only their fourth home meet of the season, the Tar Heels are looking forward to hosting for the first time in nearly one month and to celebrating the efforts of their senior class: Kaitlynn Hedelund, Morgan Lane, Madison Nettles, and Lauren Weisel.

"The seniors have played a significant role on our team not only athletically but academically," said UNC head coach Derek Galvin.
"All four have been exceptional students. They've been great team members, all four are extremely hardworking. I'm going to miss them tremendously."

Carolina is looking for redemption coming off of last week's competition against Arizona, San Jose State, and Air Force. Dropping two spots to No. 39 in the country (RQS 195.300) and three to No. 9 in the country on floor exercise (RQS 49.315), the Tar Heels knows only two more scores can help propel them into the NCAA Regional competition.

"What we talked about this week was embracing the challenge and the challenge for us right now is we have to raise the bar of our level of performance," said Galvin. "In order to earn a qualification bid to NCAA Regionals, we've got to improve our regional qualifying score. To do that, we need to have a strong team performance this Saturday and at the EAGL Championships. So what we've talked about with the team is embracing the challenge, looking at this as an opportunity. Our training has actually gone well this week. We're getting people a little bit healthier which is certainly going to be helpful. Their bodies are a little bit more well-rested. Having two long travel weekends in a row, going to Alabama and then to Arizona, I think their bodies needed a little bit of recovery time. They're getting that this week because we don't have classes. The attitude within the team is really good among the team members and the coaching staff. We feel like the training, like I said, has gone very well and it's encouraging."

With spring break allowing Carolina's student-athletes more time to rebuild, the team hopes to make the most of the opportunities ahead and to send off the seniors with their best performances yet.

"I think that everyone on the team recognizes that this is the final home meet for the seniors and they want to do well for the seniors, they want to make this a memorable competition in a positive way. The seniors have just continued to do what they've done all year. They've trained with focus, they've been pushing themselves…I think the seniors have tried to lead by example in their work ethic and in the way they approach competition, Morgan [Lane] has been very consistent, Madison [Nettles] has been a hard worker. They've all presented the right kind of training attitude this week and I think that most of the other people on the team have followed suit."

WEEK #10: UNC TAKES HOME THIRD IN ARIZONA

The North Carolina Tar Heels finished third in a quad meet competition against Arizona (195.725), San Jose State (195.025), and Air Force (194.275) in Tucson, Ariz. on Friday, March 9th with a score of 194.850.

In the first rotation, Carolina scored 48.175 on the uneven bars. Senior Madison Nettles led the Tar Heels with a 13th-place score of 9.675. Seniors Morgan Lane and Kaitlynn Hedelund each scored 9.650 for their performances while sophomores Mekyllah Williams and Alexis Allen contributed 9.625 and 9.575, respectively.

On balance beam, UNC earned their third-best rotation score of the night, 48.575. Morgan Lane's score of 9.800 earned her a spot in a four-way tie for fifth-place accolades, and freshman Rylie Dewhurst tied her career-high score of 9.750 on beam to tie for 13th. Raine Gordon, Kaitlynn Hedelund, and Alexis Allen added 9.700, 9.675, and 9.650 to Carolina's total event score.

Moving onto floor exercise, Carolina finished with a rotation score of 49.100. Sophomore Khazia Hislop earned place on the podium with a third-place score of 9.850 while teammates Madison Hargrave, Lauren Weisel, and Morgan Lane all tied for fourth-place honors with scores of 9.825. In a three-way tie for eighth-place, Mikayla Robinson and Madison Nettles both scored 9.775 to help the Tar Heels take home six of the top ten scores in the event.

For the fifth consecutive meet, the Tar Heels finished their rotation on vault with a score of at least 49.000. Led by Madison Nettles' and Khazia Hislop's first-place scores of 9.850, Carolina combined for exactly 49.000 on vault. Alexis Allen finished in a three-way tie for sixth with her score of 9.800, and Madison Hargrave, Morgan Lane, and Mikayla Robinson all tied for 13th with scores of 9.750.

Morgan Lane broke the 39.000 threshold in the all-around competition for the seventh consecutive meet. Placing fourth against Arizona, San Jose State, and Air Force with scores of 9.750 on vault, 9.650 on bars, 9.800 on beam, and 9.825 on floor, the senior maintained her streak of earning no less than 39.000 this season.

THE OPPONENT: PITTSBURGH

The No. 37 Pittsburgh Panthers moved up to fourth in the EAGL conference (RQS 195.440) after posting a score of 195.500 against West Virginia and George Washington. Pitt has broken the 196.000 mark twice this season, scoring 196.100 against Texas Women's, Auburn, and NC State and a season-high 196.475 against West Virginia, Temple, and Penn State.