Tar Heels Add Three Gymnasts To 2020 Class

Chapel Hill -- The University of North Carolina gymnastics program has announced the signing of three letters of intent from Kathryn (Kate) Greene, Tienna Nguyen of and Cory Shinohara.

"All three of these young ladies possess all of the qualities to be successful student-athletes here at Carolina in and out of the gym," exclaimed head coach Derek Galvin. "We are all very eager to have them join us in Chapel Hill. We are excited about the impact they will make on the Carolina community and our gymnastics program!"

Greene, a native of Durham, N.C., is currently homeschooled and trains at Bull City Gymnastics under the guidance of Amanda & Stephen Maness. Kate is a three-time level 10 Junior Olympic National Qualifier (2017, 2018, 2019), as well as a qualifier to the prestigious Nastia Liukin Cup (2018). She is also a five-time Level 10 State and Regional Champion on vault, beam, bars and the all-around. In 2019, Green had two top-10 finishes at the JO National Championships on bars and the all-around.

"We are beyond excited to have Kate join our program," said the Carolina gymnastics staff. "Not only has she been a phenomenal gymnast in state, regional and national competition, but she will also bring a passion for North Carolina as she has grown up watching and attending Carolina Gymnastics meets. We see her having the capability to contribute on all four events. She is a hard worker with an infectious energy that is going to help push this team to new heights."

Nguyen attends iUniversity Prep where she is an exceptional student-athlete. An Allen, Texas, native, Nguyen trains at Zenith Elite Gymnastics Academy under coach Simona Iuga. She has competed internationally multiple times representing Vietnam, including at the highest level at the 2018 World Championships in Doha, Qatar and the 2019 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. During the 2018 World Championships, she completed an element that has never been competed at the World Championships or Olympics, and was awarded with the new floor element name, "The Nguyen."

"Tienna is going to bring a unique flare to college gymnastics here at Carolina. Having international competition experience, she will make an immediate impact on all four events," exclaimed the Tar Heel gymnastics staff. "She is a tremendous bar swinger and has great confidence on beam that will be a great addition our team. Tienna's enthusiasm for gymnastics will be encouraging to everyone around her."

Shinohara, a native of Wilmington, Mass., hails from Wilmington High School and Brestyan's American Gymnastics under coach Mihai Brestyan. Brestyan's has been known for generating Olympic and world champions as well as numerous JO National Champions and very successful NCAA collegiate gymnasts. Cory will join our team beside former Brestyan teammates Khazia Hislop and Lily Dean. Cory is a three-time JO National Qualifier (2016, 2017, 2019). She joins Nguyen with having international competition experience, where she has competed in Japan in 2017 and 2019.

"Cory is a truly delightful person and we are so excited she will be joining us in Chapel Hill," said the Carolina staff. "She is such a powerful and dynamic athlete that she will make an immediate impact on vault and floor while bringing along exceptional routines on the other events."

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University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Lily Dean

Khazia Hislop

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