Gymnastics Posts Season-High 196.650, Wins All Four Events Against Pitt

Friday, February 16

Chapel Hill, NC

7 p.m. ET

North Carolina

196.650

196.125

Pitt

Photo by: AINSLEY E. FAUTH

Gymnastics Posts Season-High 196.650, Wins All Four Events Against Pitt

February 16, 2024 | Women's Gymnastics

Complete Results

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The University of North Carolina gymnastics team put together its best performance of the season, securing its first Atlantic Coast Conference win in program history over Pitt on Friday night at Carmichael Arena.

The Tar Heels won all four events including the all-around en route to a big 196.650-196.125 win over the Panthers. Coming into the meet, UNC's best team score of 2024 was 195.325.

Carolina's 196.650 is the second highest team total posted in the ACC so far this season. It's also the eighth highest score in program history.

UNC also set season-high scores on three rotations: bars (49.3), beam (49.025) and floor (49.225). Adding in its 49.1 on vault, the Tar Heels scored above 49.0+ on all four rotations for the first time this year.

All-Around
Julia Knower won the 10th all-around title of her career with a 39.425, topping her season-high 39.225 from Jan. 19. She was just .025 off her career high. The junior also won vault, beam and floor and now has 30 event titles to her name.

Knower's all-around score came after a 9.9 on vault, 9.75 on bars, 9.85 on beam and 9.9 on floor. Her vault was a career high while her bars, beam and floor routines were her best of the season.

Rotation One – Vault (49.1)
Knower got the night started with a career performance on vault in the opening rotation, finishing as the outright winner for her third vault title. The junior's 9.9 set a new career best to erase the 9.875 she posted as a freshman on Feb. 19, 2022. Her 9.9, which also crushed her previous season-high 9.825, moves her up to be tied for fourth all-time on the event in program history.

Cory Shinohara also set a season high with her 9.85, demolishing the 9.675 she had previously posted twice earlier in the year. Also with a 9.85 was Lali Dekanoidze while Gwen Fink, Kaya Forbes and Paige Prejean all tallied 9.75s. Prejean tied their season-high.

UNC put together its second-best effort of the year on vault with a 49.1, slightly behind Pitt's 49.125.

Rotation Two – Bars (49.3)
Carolina dominated bars in its second rotation as three athletes had scores of 9.9 or higher. Isabelle Schaefer led the way with her winning score of 9.925 to match her career- and season-high for the third time this year. That score is tied for third all-time in the UNC record book.

Posting a pair of 9.9s to tie for second overall were Dekanoidze and Fink. Dekanoidze's 9.9 marked her 25th routine above the threshold of her career and was her best of the year. Fink's 9.9 matched her career high first set on March 10, 2023, also good enough for a new season-high.

Jamie Shearer's 9.825 crushed her previous season-best of 9.675 done twice prior. Knower's 9.75 was also her highest of 2024, surpassing the 9.7 she had registered the past five meets.

The Tar Heels saw their highest score of the season on bars with a 49.3 – well above their previous best 48.95 and ahead of the Panthers' 49.05.

Rotation Three – Beam (49.025)
Knower once again paved the way on beam, as her 9.85 tied her highest routine of the season for the third straight meet. She was part of a three-way tie for first place and collected her seventh beam title.

Also scoring for the home team with back-to-back 9.825s were Camryn Rueda and Fink, with Rueda - the reigning ACC Newcomer of the Week - matching her career-high first done in the season opener. Hallie Thompson's 9.8 matched her season high while Jessica Naranjo's 9.725 contributed to UNC's team score.

Carolina's 49.025 on beam was again its highest cumulative tally of the season, cracking the 49-barrier for the first time after its previous team-best 48.9 from Jan. 19. Pitt totaled 48.725 on this event.

Rotation Four – Floor (49.225)
Again being crowned an outright winner, Knower dazzled on her signature event on floor in UNC's final rotation. Her 9.925 set a new season's-best and her second routine above 9.9 this year. It was also the ninth event victory on floor of her career.

Forbes and Schulze both tallied 9.875s as Schulze's performance set a new career best. Her previous personal record was 9.825 from Jan. 26. Amy Wozniak picked up a career best of her own with a 9.825, eclipsing her 9.775 done twice in January. Bella Miller also scored for the Tar Heels with a 9.725.

Both Carolina and Pitt totaled 49.225 on floor. The Tar Heels' score was their highest of the season, besting the 49.15 done on Feb. 2.

Up Next
The Tar Heels pack their bags and head to Clemson, South Carolina, to take on the Tigers in the first meeting between the two teams at Littlejohn Coliseum. Competition will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET and will air on ACCNX.

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