Gymnastics Heads To Steel City For Valentine’s Date With Pitt

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The 22nd-ranked North Carolina gymnastics team will spend Valentine's Day doing what it loves: competing. The Tar Heels continue Atlantic Coast Conference action on the road in Pittsburgh, Pa., for a date with Pitt on Friday, Feb. 14, at 7 p.m. ET.

Taking place at Fitzgerald Field House, the meet will air on ACCNX with Jeff Hathhorn and Olivia Miller on call.

Meet Info
Who: (22) Carolina at Pitt
Where: Pittsburgh, Pa. – Fitzgerald Field House
When: Friday, Feb. 14 – 7 p.m. ET
Links: Live Stream | Live Stats

Ten Things to Know

North Carolina is ranked No. 22 this week, its highest of the year after being No. 23 for three weeks. The team was No. 36 in preseason and No. 26 after Week Two.
This week, the Tar Heels rank 25th nationally on vault (48.87), 24th on bars (49.025), 19th on beam (49.0) and 31st on floor (48.965). In the ACC, UNC ranks fourth on vault, third on bars, third on beam and fifth on floor.
UNC has eight rotations of 49.0+ this year, three of which have been on bars and three of which have been on beam. Through five meets last year, the team only had three rotations of 49.0+.
JoJo Valahovic was named the ACC Newcomer of the Week on Feb. 11 for the second week in a row. She won the honor after a career-high 9.9 on floor and a career-high-tying 9.85 on beam in UNC's meet vs. Clemson on Feb. 9, placing third in both events.
Valahovic is the first gymnast in program history to win multiple ACC weekly honors in the same season. Four of her five collegiate beam routines have been 9.825+ and she is one of three ACC freshmen to record a 9.9+ on floor this year.
Last time out vs. Clemson, UNC had a season-high 196.575. Three rotations were 49.0+ for the first time this year, highlighted by a season-best 49.425 on floor. That is the second highest floor rotation in the ACC this season.
Several gymnasts rank in the ACC's top-10: Lali Dekanoidze (1st, bars, 9.888), Kaya Forbes (8th, vault, 9.815), Julia Knower (7th, A-A, 38.895), Jessica Naranjo (8th, beam, 9.845) and Isabelle Schaefer (9th, bars, 9.855).
Dekanoidze scored a 9.975 on bars on Jan. 24 to match her own program record for the fourth time. She is one of six gymnasts in the country to score a 9.975+ on bars, and the only one in the ACC.
Naranjo placed second on beam at Stanford on Jan. 31 with a 9.925. That bested her previous career-high of 9.875 from the 2024 ACC Championships. It moved her up to be tied for fourth all-time in program history.
The Tar Heels were picked to finish fifth in the ACC Preseason Coaches Poll. The team received one first-place vote. Pitt checked in at sixth.

The Panthers are slotted at No. 40 in this week's national poll and are sixth in the ACC. Pitt's highest national event ranking is on vault, where it checked in at No. 30. Elizabeth Cesarone is fifth in the ACC with an average vault score of 9.830.

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Gymnastics Heads To Steel City For Valentine’s Date With Pitt

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Players Mentioned

Lali Dekanoidze

Kaya Forbes

Julia Knower

Jessica Naranjo

Isabelle Schaefer

JoJo Valahovic