University of North Carolina Athletics
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Gymnastics Heads to NC State for Quad Meet on Saturday
February 5, 2021 | Women's Gymnastics
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The North Carolina gymnastics team will travel down the road to North Carolina State University to participate in a quad meet with Towson University and the University of Pittsburgh on February 6 at 4 p.m. After last week's home-opener against George Washington was postponed due to inclement weather in the Washington D.C. area, this will be the Tar Heels' second competition this season.
In their first competition this season against the University of New Hampshire, North Carolina posted a program record season-opening score of 195.200 to defeat the Wildcats and take a 1-0 start in the season and the East Atlantic Gymnastic League Conference (EAGL).Â
"It was unfortunate last weekend, but I think our team did a really good job overcoming that adversity," said interim Head Coach Marie Denick. "We were still able to practice in Carmichael, we changed our mindset a little bit and turned a negative into a positive, and utilized the extra time to practice on our competition equipment that we wouldn't have gotten before competing."
FIRST COMPETITION RECAP
In the Tar Heels' first meet of the season, they were able to showcase five new gymnasts: two true freshman, two sophomores, and one redshirt-freshman in Hallie Thompson, who was unable to compete last season due to injury.Â
These five new faces, and many others throughout the season, will aim to fill the gap left by the six senior competitors on the team who departed last spring.
The Tar Heels began the meet on the uneven bars, posting a score of 48.675. Sophomore Elizabeth Culton led the team with a score of 9.875, tying her personal best. Fellow sophomore Hannah Nam was close behind with a score if 9.800, and Greenlow was not far behind her, posting a 9.750 of her own. Culton took first place on the event and Nam landed in a tie for third.
Up next, the Tar Heels were on vault. The Tar Heels were looking to expand upon their .125 lead after their first rotation, and they were able to do so here. Junior Emery Summey led the team, taking second place on the event with a career high score of 9.850. Redshirt-sophomore Hallie Thompson was not far behind, earning a score of 9.825 to finish in fourth on the event. Junior Drew Aldridge also posted an impressive 9.775 on the event, helping the Tar Heels reach a score of 97.525 to New Hampshire's 97.325.
For the third rotation, the Tar Heels headed to the floor. Senior Lily Dean posted a score of 9.875 to tie her personal best and secure first place on the event. Teammate Elizabeth Culton helped her round out the podium with a score of 9.850, tying her own personal best. Following this rotation, the Tar Heels were able to improve their lead to 146.300 to 145.625, a .675 margin.
For their final rotation, the team moved on to the balance beam. Elizabeth Culton, the final competitor of the night, posted an impressive 9.950 to earn first place on the event and a new career-high score. The event also held a three-way tie for third place that included Emery Summey, Hannah Nam, and New Hampshire gymnast who all earned a score of 9.775.Â
North Carolina's victory over New Hampshire was their first win of the season, and their first EAGL win, as well.
THE OPPONENTS
North Carolina State University, the host of this weekend's quad meet, will go into the meet with a record of 4-1 (1-0 EAGL) after defeating Pittsburgh in their home-opener, taking first place in a tri-meet at Towson, and then taking second place in a tri-meet at Pittsburgh ahead of Towson, but behind Pitt. This will be the first of two meetings between the Wolfpack and the Tar Heels, as they are set to compete again next Friday in Chapel Hill.Â
Towson University enters this weekend's meet 2-4 after taking second place in two consecutive tri-meet's. Towson competed against Temple University in both competitions and defeated them each time, but fell to Eastern Michigan in their first meet, and NC State in their second.
The University of Pittsburgh is the final opponent this weekend and will enter with a 2-2 record (2-1 EAGL). Pitt fell to NC State in their season opener, and lost to No. 23 Kent State in their home-opener before taking first place in a tri-meet at home against NC State and Towson last weekend.
"This is going to be a really exciting meet with all EAGL opponents," said Denick. "The EAGL conference has been doing a really great job. Knowing that everyone's pre-season was so different and so challenging, it's been great to see EAGL teams putting routines together and putting out strong competitions. I think it's going to be a really competitive meet."
Players Mentioned
