University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
New Hampshire
Carolina Travels to New Hampshire for Sunday Afternoon Meet
February 22, 2020 | Women's Gymnastics
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The North Carolina women's gymnastics team will travel to Durham, N.H. for their third competition against the University of New Hampshire in eight days. The meet is set to take place on Sunday, Feb. 23 at 1 p.m. in Lundholm Gymnasium. The two teams competed twice last weekend with each team earning one victory over the other. Most recently, North Carolina defeated UNH 196.050-195.650.
"The team is excited about traveling to New Hampshire," said Head Coach Derek Galvin. "We are looking forward to competing once again with the University of New Hampshire team. The two teams are very evenly matched as we've seen over the last weekend and it should be a very exciting competition."
The Tar Heels currently hold a 5-5 (3-4 EAGL) record, and are hoping to defeat New Hampshire for the second time after becoming the only team in the EAGL Conference to do so on Monday night. As a team, the North Carolina women's gymnastics team currently ranks 22nd in the nation on floor exercise, and senior Khazia Hislop ranks 11th in the nation on vault.
LAST WEEK
After taking third in a tri meet with NC State and New Hampshire on Saturday, the Tar Heels brought consistent impressive performances again on Monday night to defeat New Hampshire, a previously undefeated conference opponent.
From the first rotation, the Tar Heels brought top-notch performances to lead night against the Wildcats. The team posted their highest score of the season on vault with a 49.150, leading against New Hampshire's 48.900 on uneven bars in the first rotation. Seniors Khazia Hislop, Mikayla Robinson, and Alexis Allen earned first, second, and third place respectively on the event for a podium sweep with scores of 9.900, 9.850, and 9.825. Sophomore Drew Aldridge posted her a season high of her own with a score of 9.800 on the event, as well.
The Tar Heels kept the momentum going as they moved on to the uneven bars, an even they had struggled on earlier this season. The team posted another season high score for the night, earning a 48.875 on the event and improving their score from Saturday's tri meet by almost an entire point. Freshman Elizabeth Culton tied for first-place on the event with a personal-best 9.875, followed close behind by senior Grace Donaghy who claimed third place with a season-high 9.825. Senior Mekyllah Williams also added a notable 9.775 to the team score.
North Carolina had improved their lead to .500 halfway through the meet and moved on to the balance beam. In the third rotation, the Tar Heels posted a consistent 48.850 with Culton leading the pack. The freshman earned a score of 9.825 to claim a third-place podium finish, with Hislop trailing close behind with a 9.800, and sophomore Emery Summey and freshman Hannah Nam each posting scores of 9.775. Heading into the final rotation, the Heels held a .375 point lead.
For the fourth time this season, the Heels broke 49.000, reaching a score of 49.125 on floor exercise as a team. Hislop led the team, earning her second 9.900 of the season to claim first place with teammates Culton and Robinson finishing close behind with scores of 9.825 each to tie for third place. Senior Jamie Antinori also added a season-high 9.800 to the team score.
Freshman Elizabeth Culton was the only Tar Heel competitor in the all-around competition, but was able to bring home first-place with a personal-best score of 39.275. Culton defeated two competitors from the University of New Hampshire, a senior and a freshman.
THE OPPONENT
The University of New Hampshire currently hold a record of 9-3 (5-1 EAGL), with wins over Illinois State, Pittsburgh, Towson, George Washington, Brown, West Virginia, Temple and NC State and losses to Southern Utah and West Virginia in a tri-meet. Last weekend, UNH and North Carolina competed against each other twice and each time won once. Sunday's meet will mark the third of four meetings between the two teams.
"We are looking forward to building on the momentum we created in the meet on Monday," said Galvin. "The team performance was exciting and fun and we want to continue that same scene to do exciting gymnastics. Do it in a way that's fun for the team and show improvements each week as we step into the competitive arena."
Players Mentioned
