University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Minnesota
Tar Heels Face Defeat In Dual Meet Against Minnesota
March 7, 2008 | Women's Gymnastics
March 7, 2008
The University of North Carolina gymnastics team traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota to face the University of Minnesota Gophers on Friday, March 7. The Gophers defeated the Tar Heels 194.675-191.575. Having to compensate for multiple injuries, the UNC gymnastics team was forced to compete with only five gymnasts in two events, bars and vault.
"We had to count a couple of faults on bars and since we only had five competitors on vault and bars, it made it a little bit tougher," said head coach Derek Galvin. "We didn't have any extra scores to drop, so everything was counted. It was an uphill battle after the first event and we finished with a strong performance on beam. Seniors Alice Xu and Angela Lauten led us off on beam and did a really good job and Christine Nguyen had an excellent meet all together. The team was very tired. We got in very late last night and had some transportation problems. It wasn't our best performance, but I was really pleased with the way the team came back with a strong performance on the last event. We're going to focus on next week's meet at N.C. State and hopefully have a stronger performance on bars, which will definitely pull our score up significantly."
The UNC gymnasts began the meet on uneven bars, which presented some early challenges. Having to count two falls on bars, the Tar Heels scored a team total 46.300. Sophomore Christine Nguyen led the Tar Heels on floor, scoring 9.700 and placing 5th. Freshman Karli Jones placed just behind Nguyen, scoring 9.675. With a score of 9.650, senior Shawna Kelly took 7th on bars.
The Tar Heels competed on vault for their second event of the meet, scoring 48.475 as a team. Christine Nguyen took 1st on vault with a score of 9.825. Tying for 3rd, junior Jennifer Valby scored 9.750 on vault. Sophomore Kara Wright followed with a 5th place finish, scoring 9.725.
The Carolina gymnastics team took to the floor for their next event of the meet. Christine Nguyen scored 9.850, trying for 2nd on floor. Teammate Kara Wright took 4th on floor with a 9.775. Senior Alice Xu competed floor for the first time in two years for the Tar Heels, scoring 9.275. The UNC gymnastics team scored a combined 48.200 on floor, which was the first event of the meet that the team competed six gymnasts.
The Tar Heels gymnastics team finished the meet on beam with a strong performance. Christine Nguyen placed 1st on beam, posting an impressive score of 9.900. Senior Angela Lauten competed on beam for the second time this season, placing 6th with a score of 9.700. Four Tar Heels tied for 6th on beam with a 9.700: Angela Lauten, Kara Wright, Tina Jacob, and Karli Jones. As a team, the Tar Heels scored 48.600 on beam.
The Carolina gymnastics team is now 12-3 with only two competitions left in the regular season. The Tar Heels look forward to preparing for their next meet against EAGL rival N.C. State and the SEC's Louisiana State University on Friday, March 14 at 7:00 p.m. in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Players Mentioned
