Gymnastics Places Second In 2024 Season-Opening Quad Meet

Friday, January 5

Chapel Hill, NC

7:30 p.m. ET

North Carolina

193.725

194.925

Ball State

Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI

January 5, 2024 | Women's Gymnastics

Complete Results Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2 Photo Gallery 3

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The University of North Carolina gymnastics team began its inaugural campaign in the Atlantic Coast Conference on Friday night, finishing second in a quad meet at Carmichael Arena during the 2024 home and season opener.

UNC's total score of 193.725 secured a second-place finish in the quad ahead of Rutgers (193.400) and Utah State (193.175). Ball State won the meet with a final mark of 194.925.

Rotation One – Vault (49.150)
Lali Dekanoidze began her junior season with a bang, throwing down a career-high 9.925 on vault to tie for the meet's highest score. That score erased her previous best of 9.900 which she had done six times prior, also moving her up to be tied for third all-time in program history.

Kaya Forbes matched her career-best 9.875, a score she posted twice in her freshman campaign a season ago. Rounding out UNC's scorers on its first rotation were Gwen Fink with a 9.800 as well as Julia Knower and Isabelle Schaefer with matching 9.775s.

Carolina's total score of 49.150 surpassed all marks the team posted during the 2023 season. Ball State also finished with a 49.150, followed by Rutgers' 48.850 and Utah State's 48.525.

Rotation Two – Bars (48.875)
Last year's conference runner-up on bars, Isabelle Schaefer impressed with a 9.875 to lead the home team on its second rotation, also tying for the top score of the meet. Dekanoidze, current UNC program record holder for bars, posted a 9.825.

Also contributing to UNC's team tally was Fink (9.800) and Bella Miller (9.700), the latter who made her first appearance in Carolina blue. The Tar Heels also counted a 9.675, which both Knower and Jamie Shearer registered.

The highest team score of the meet belonged to the Tar Heels with their 48.875, who were ahead of the Cardinals' 48.825, Scarlet Knights' 47.925 and Aggies' 47.350.

Rotation Three – Beam (48.075)
Two scores of 9.825 led the way for the Tar Heels on beam in rotation three, as Camryn Rueda posted the mark in her collegiate debut while Fink's score was just shy of her career-high 9.850. Also scoring for UNC was Knower (9.725), Taylor Schulze (9.700) and Shearer (9.000).

After having to count a fall, UNC's team score of 48.075 stood above Ball State's 47.925 but trailed Rutgers' 48.375 and Utah State's 48.650.

Rotation Four – Floor (47.425)
Forbes capped off UNC's final rotation with a 9.875 on floor, the meet's second-highest score and just off her career-best 9.900. Amy Wozniak finished with a 9.775 to eclipse her previous high score of 9.725, followed by Knower's 9.725. Miller's 9.050 and Rueda's 9.000 also had to count.

The Cardinals paved the way with a 49.025, well ahead of the Scarlet Knights' 48.250. The Aggies totaled 48.250 and the Tar Heels ended the night with a 47.425.

The lone Tar Heel competing in the all-around, Knower finished fourth with a score of 38.900 to kick off her junior season.

Up Next
The Tar Heels pack their bags and travel to Salt Lake City, Utah, for another quad meet on Friday, Jan. 12, at the Maverik Center. UNC will face Arizona, Boise State and Nebraska during the first session of the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad hosted by ESPN Events.

More information about the invitational – the first of its kind – can be found here. Competition will commence at 9 p.m. ET (7 p.m. MT) and will air on ACC Network.

Stay up to date with Carolina Gymnastics by following the Tar Heels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.