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North Carolina
George Washington University
Carolina Opens 2019 Season at Lindsey Ferris Invitational
January 11, 2019 | Women's Gymnastics
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The North Carolina women's gymnastics team begins its season on Sunday, January 13, as it travels to the 12th Annual Lindsey Ferris Invitational in Washington, D.C. The meet will begin at 1 p.m. at the Charles E. Smith Center on the campus of George Washington University. The meet will be broadcasted on Facebook Live.Â
Since the creation of the competition in 2007, Carolina has competed in the Lindsey Ferris Invitational on eight occasions. 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 are very excited about this coming weekend," North Carolina head coach Derek Galvin expressed. "It is going to be a great atmosphere. Their arena is really good for gymnastics meets and they put on a great meet. We are excited to get up there and see what we can do."
Carolina is excited to compete and show off the 2019 squad. The Tar Heels return 11 letter winners from the 2018 season. They will be led by three returning upperclassmen with experience- Alexis Allen, Madison Hargrave and Khazia Hislop.Â
Allen is coming off a strong sophomore season on vault and beam. In her final meet of the season at the EAGL Championships, Allen placed fourth on vault with a career-high score of 9.850. She was named Second Team All-EAGL on vault for the 2018 season.
Hargrave set career highs on both vault and floor during her junior year. On vault, she set her personal best of a 9.825 against Brown. The next meet, she scored a 9.875 on floor to set that career high in a dual-meet with Alabama. She matched that score again against Pitt in the regular season finale.
Hislop shined during her sophomore season and looks to continue her success in 2019. A competitor on vault, beam and floor, Hislop registered career highs in all three events. On vault, she sported a 9.875 career high and won eight of her 11 meets. On beam she scored a 9.925 to record her career high. On floor, she scored a 9.950 to cement her career high in the record books. She took home six first-place finishes on floor including the EAGL Championships.Â
In addition to the experienced Tar Heels, Carolina has multiple new gymnasts that are eager to prove themselves. Transfers Megan Ruzicka and Emily White as well as freshmen Drew Aldridge, McKenna Appleton, Leah Gneco, Julianna Love and Emery Summey look to make immediate impacts for the Heels.
"The first meet is always like having a gift that is wrapped up in front of you," Galvin stated. "The package is wrapped but you are ready to unwrap it and see what it will be. We have a pretty good idea based on the way training is going but we are eager to compete."
THE OPPONENTS: GEORGE WASHINGTON, CORNELL and BALL STATE
George Washington holds the No. 26 spot in the WCGA Preseason Poll. It returns 13 letter winners from the 2018 season when it reached the NCAA Regionals and finished the 2018 season ranked 11th on vault, 11th on beam and 15th on floor exercise.Â
"GW has been one of the top teams in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League for many years," said Galvin. "It is going to be good to start off against an EAGL opponent."Â
Cornell continues to be one of the top programs of the Ivy League. Coached by Paul Beckwith, a friend of Galvin that he grew up competing against in high school, the Big Red finished 5th at the 2018 ECAC Championship. Last year at the Lindsey Ferris Invitational, Cornell finished in third place behind George Washington and Cornell.Â
Ball State finished last season 9-10 after starting the season 9-4. The sported a win over Cornell and split meets with George Washington during the 2018 season. Last year at the Lindsey Ferris Invitational, Ball State finished second behind George Washington.
Players Mentioned
