Gymnastics Primed For 2023 EAGL Championships On Saturday

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The University of North Carolina gymnastics team is set for the 2023 East Atlantic Gymnastics League Championships, taking place Saturday, March 18, in Durham, New Hampshire.

The Tar Heels will compete in the second session beginning at 7 p.m. ET inside the Whittemore Center on UNH's campus, starting on bars before moving to beam, floor then ending on vault. The meet will be streamed on YouTube.

Joining UNC in the evening session is NC State, Towson and host New Hampshire. The first session includes George Washington, Pitt, LIU and Temple.

North Carolina, the preseason EAGL favorite, enters postseason competition having been crowned the back-to-back undefeated regular season conference champion for the second year in a row. UNC finished the regular season at 15-6 overall and a perfect 6-0 in the EAGL.

Heading into Saturday, UNC has four routines ranking in the EAGL's top-5:

Lali Dekanoidze – 1st on bars (9.975)
Lali Dekanoidze – T-3rd on vault (9.900)
Julia Knower – 1st on floor (9.950)
Julia Knower – 4th in all-around (39.450)

Additionally, the Tar Heels own the highest bar score of any of the eight EAGL teams at 49.425, which was done in the regular season finale on March 10. They rank second overall, and 22nd nationally, on bars.

UNC's top team scores during the 2023 season are:

Vault: 49.125 (March 10)
Bars: 49.425 (March 10)
Beam: 49.175 (Feb. 12)
Floor: 49.350 (Jan. 28)
Total: 196.475 (March 3)

Five gymnasts in Elizabeth Culton, Dekanoidze, Kaya Forbes, Knower and Isabelle Schaefer combined for 10 All-EAGL honors, six of which were first-team selections – the second-most in the league. Knower led the team with four All-EAGL accolades, tied for the second-most by any gymnast in the conference.

North Carolina is seeking its sixth EAGL Championship title in program history and first since 2011. This is the Tar Heels' last time competing in the EAGL, as the Atlantic Coast Conference will be sponsoring gymnastics once again in 2023-24.

Last year, UNC finished fifth at the conference meet in head coach Danna Durante's first year at the helm with a team score of 195.550. The Tar Heels had 12 routines that earned All-Tournament honors.

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Players Mentioned

Elizabeth Culton

Lali Dekanoidze

Kaya Forbes

Julia Knower

Isabelle Schaefer

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University of North Carolina Athletics