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North Carolina to Compete in Tri Meet on Saturday
February 26, 2021 | Women's Gymnastics
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The North Carolina women's gymnastics team is staged to compete in their third competition against North Carolina State University this season in a Tri Meet with Temple University in Raleigh on Saturday at 4 p.m. This weekend was supposed to be an off weekend for the team, but after William & Mary had to pull out of the meet, the Tar Heels were able to add another competition.
Last weekend, North Carolina competed in two meets in three days against four different East Atlantic Gymnastics League Opponents and came home undefeated on the trip. This advances the Tar Heels record to 8-1 (6-0 EAGL) and places them second in the EAGL conference with an average score of 195.270 on the season.
"We're really looking forward to another opportunity to get out there and compete," said interim Head Coach Marie Denick. "It's another opportunity for our team to be together and have some fun. We're really focused on what we can do and what we can control and we're really excited about that."
LAST FRIDAY
In its second quad meet of the season, the No. 24 Tar Heels took first place over Towson (193.925), Pittsburgh (193.700), and LIU Brooklyn (188.075) with a score of 195.500.
The Tar Heels trailed Towson by a 0.005 margin after their first rotation on the uneven bars, with Pitt close behind.
Sophomore Elizabeth Culton posted the highest score for the team in this rotation with a 9.825, but freshman Jamie Shearer was not far behind with a score of 9.800. Shearer's score a personal-best, topping her previous score of 9.725 the last two weeks. Freshman Kate Greene also had a strong performance, posting a 9.775 for her own personal-best on the event.
Despite narrowly trailing after the first rotation, the Tar Heels came out strong in the second rotation on the balance beam. The team posted their second-highest score of the season on the event with a total of 49.075. Nationally ranked No. 1 Elizabeth Culton led the team with a score of 9.925, securing her a first place podium finish. Redshirt-sophomore Hallie Thompson had the second-highest score for the team with 9.825, tying her career-high on the event. Junior Emery Summey also posted an impressive 9.800 to contribute to the team's score.
After the second rotation, the Tar Heels held a score of 97.850, with Towson in second (96.750), Pitt in third (96.300), and LIU Brooklyn in fourth (92.850).
For the third rotation, North Carolina moved on to the floor exercise and posted an impressive 48.875 in total. Culton led the team with 9.850, landing her another first place podium finish. Sophomore Brianna Greenlow was close behind with a score of 9.800 to earn fourth place. Junior Shailyn St. Brice had the third-highest score for the Heels with a score of 9.775.
The Tar Heels led the quad meet with a score of 146.725 after the third rotation.
North Carolina finished the night on vault with a team score of 48.275. Shailyn St. Brice, Hallie Thompson, and Elizabeth Culton all received a score of 9.675 on the event. Junior Drew Aldridge and Brianna Greenlow each received scores of 9.625.
Elizabeth Culton took first place in the all-around competition with a score of 39.275, and Brianna Greenlow received third with a score of 38.850.
North Carolina is back in action on Sunday at 4 p.m. at Temple University.
LAST SUNDAY
The No. 24 North Carolina women's gymnastics team participated in its second meet of the weekend on Sunday afternoon against Temple University. After posting a team score of 195.250 to Temple's 195.100, the Tar Heels were able to bring home a combined total of 4 wins this weekend.
North Carolina started the meet on the uneven bars and posted a combined score of 48.600, trailing Temple's first rotation score of 48.950. This combined score was the team's lowest of the season thus far, but they quickly rallied moving into the next rotations.
Freshman Kate Greene led the Tar Heels on this event, tying her personal-best score with a 9.850 and earning a first place spot on the podium. Sophomore Brianna Greenlow had the second-highest score for North Carolina, posting a 9.725, and was trailed closely by redshirt-freshman Hallie Thompson who score a 9.700.
For the second rotation, the Tar Heels moved on to the vault where they added a combined 48.800 – a season-high score for the team. Junior Drew Aldridge led the team with a career-high score of 9.875. This score placed her in a tie for first place with a Temple gymnast. Junior Emery Summey also added a 9.825, landing herself in a tie for third place on the podium with a Temple opponent. Sophomore Sophie Silverstein also contributed a career-high score of 9.725 on the event.
Following the second rotation on vault, the Tar Heels were able to take the lead 97.400-96.950.
On floor exercise for the third rotation, North Carolina was able to hold on to the lead established in the second rotation with consistent scores across the board. Sophomores Hannah Nam and Greenlow both earned scores of 9.775, and fellow sophomore Elizabeth Culton was close behind with her own 9.750. Following the third rotation, the Tar Heels were leading 146.100-145.800.
For the final rotation the Tar Heels were on the balance beam, an event in which they are currently ranked No. 11 in the country. North Carolina lived up to this name again this week, earning a season-high combined team score on the balance beam, as well, with a 49.150. Nationally ranked No. 1 Elizabeth Culton posted her third 9.950 of the season to lead the Tar Heels and earn a first place podium finish. Nam and Thompson each earned a score of 9.850 to tie for second place on the podium. Summey had the third-highest score for the team with a 9.800.
After a fall on the uneven bars, Elizabeth Culton was edged by a Temple opponent in the all-around competition by a score of 38.775 to 38.600.
The Tar Heels next competition will take place at William & Mary on March 6 at 1 p.m.
THE OPPONENTS
North Carolina competed against Temple in a dual meet in Philadelphia last weekend and defeated them 195.250-195.100. This has been their only meeting this season.
The Tar Heels have competed against NC State twice, going 1-1 with the Wolfpack. The Tar Heels lost their first competition to NC State in a Quad meet in Raleigh, but defeated them a week later in their first home meet of the season.
"We've had a great week of practice focusing on some details, and we're really excited to see those details come out on the competition floor," said Denick. "NC State and Temple are both great teams with great coaches and we're excited for a great competition."
Players Mentioned
