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• 2005 EAGL Coach of Year Only the third gymnastics coach in North Carolina history, Derek Galvin enters his 27th year in Chapel Hill. Galvin, who has been at the helm of the program since it became an NCAA sport in 1982, has an overall record of 303-173-1. Galvin has built a Carolina program that has seen an explosion of success in the last decade. The Tar Heels have won three East Atlantic Gymnastics League titles in the last six years and Galvin, or his assistant Penny Jernigan, have earned nine coach of the year honors. While the program has narrowly missed its goal of competing in the national championships, it has come within one place of advancing from regionals to nationals in three of the last five years. In 2004, the team came the closest to advancing, placing third at the Southeast Regional, just .025 points behind the second place team. The previous year, the Tar Heels missed the necessary second-place spot by .05 points. In 2006, Carolina finished 17-8 and advanced to the NCAA regional championships for the fifth straight season. Last year, the Tar Heels overcame several key injuries to post a 16-6 record and advance to the NCAA Regionals for the sixth straight year. As the team closes in on its goal of making it to nationals, individual performances continue to stand out. Christine Robella earned All-America honors in 2005 on floor exercise. It was her first All-America honor and the fourth in Carolina's history. Courtney Bumpers, a 2006 graduate, achieved the ultimate individual honor in 2005 - winning floor exercise at the NCAA championships with a perfect score of 10.0. It was the second straight floor exercise national crown for Bumpers, who also earned All-America honors in 2003 with a fourth place finish on balance beam. Galvin's teams have historically excelled both in the gymnastics arena and in the academic environment, and 2007 was another outstanding season in the classroom. In 2007, 12 UNC gymnasts were named to the EAGL All-Academic Team, including Teri Diamond, Tina Jacob, Shawna Kelly, Angela Lauten, Christine Robella, Miranda Ross, Sarrie Rubin, Rachel Schneider, Claire Smith, Courtney Turco, Kara Wright and Alice Xu. Ross, Smith and Turco were honored all four years at North Carolina. In the last 22 years, gymnasts coached by Galvin have been chosen for the National Association of College Gymnastics Coaches' Scholastic All-America Gymnastics Team 106 times. In 2007, Jacob, Kelly, Lauten, Ross, Smith, Turco, Wright and Xu were awarded the honor. Natalie Halbach, a 2003 graduate, was the first female student-athlete in the Atlantic Coast Conference to receive the Walter Byers Postgraduate Scholarship, the most prestigious academic award given by the NCAA. Halbach was also the second Carolina gymnast to be honored as a GTE Academic All-America, following in the footsteps of former Tar Heel gymnast Stacy Kaplan. Galvin has a long history of success at Carolina. In his first year as head coach in 1982, he guided the Tar Heels to a fourth place finish at the Southeast Regional. His 1985 and 1986 teams both finished third at the meet after placing first in the Atlantic Coast Conference. In addition to UNC's accomplishments as a team, Carolina has been represented every year at NCAA regionals by at least one individual gymnast. In 2003, Bumpers and junior Anna Wilson were the first Carolina gymnasts since 1986 to qualify for the NCAA national championships as individuals. Bumpers recorded the then-highest finish ever of any ACC or EAGL gymnast with her fourth place finish on the balance beam in the final round before achieving her championship status in the next two years on floor exercise. In 2004, the Tar Heels had arguably the best year in school history. Galvin was named the NCAA Southeast Region Coach of the Year for the third straight season after directing the team to a 22-1 record and a second place finish in the EAGL Championships. The Tar Heels earned a regional appearance and the .955 winning percentage was the highest in school history. It was a record-breaking year in team and individual results with the Tar Heels setting school records on every event except balance beam and scoring above a 197.0 in four meets. Bumpers, who earned the program's third-ever 10.0 in 2003, turned in seven perfect scores on floor exercise and surpassed her previous school record on the vault and in the all-around competition. She has the school's highest all-around total with a 39.725 and the highest vault score with a 9.975. Olivia Trusty set a record on uneven bars with a score of 9.95. Galvin was named the EAGL Coach of the Year for the fourth time in 2005, leading his team to a regular season record of 14-4-1 and the conference championship. Carolina finished the year ranked 23rd in the country and tied for third place at regionals. Galvin has been involved in gymnastics in various capacities throughout his life. He was a member of the Carolina men's team before the discontinuation of the program in 1974. Staying involved in the sport, he spent four years coaching at Gymdancetics, a training center established by Fred Sanders, former coach of the Carolina men's team. Under Galvin's guidance, team members dominated state competition and advanced to the United States Gymnastics Federation championships. In 1978, he became director and head coach of the Triad Gymnastics Academy. The following year he accepted an administrative position with the research and consulting firm of Syllogistics, Inc., but remained active in area gymnastics. His first season as head coach of the Tar Heels was in 1982. Galvin has made contributions to many other areas of the gymnastics community. In 1982, he was named to the NCAA Southeast Region Advisory Committee and served as committee chairman for several years, including the 2005 season. He was the gymnastics site coordinator for the 1987 United States Olympic Festival in Chapel Hill. He is an active member of the NACGC and has served as a clinician of several USAG and NCAA Y.E.S. clinics. A native of Dublin, Ireland, Galvin moved to Arlington, Va., with his family when he was 10 years old. He competed on two state championship gymnastics teams under coach Jesse Meeks at Yorktown High School and graduated from Carolina with a psychology degree in 1976. Galvin and his wife, Debra, have two children. Both graduated from college in May 2003 - their son, Derek Sean, from UNC and their daughter, Ryan, from the University of Virginia. |
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