March 31, 2007

Meet Results

Setting a season-high score of 9.925, Senior Christine Robella captured the floor exercise title at the 2007 East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) Championship on Friday at University of Maryland's Comcast Center. Robella also won the all-around with a score of 39.350.

"Christine had such a strong meet," says Coach Derek Galvin. "The fact that Robella won the all-around and floor exercise is verification in our belief that she is the top gymnast in the league and one of the best gymnasts to ever compete in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League."

In addition to her wins in the all-around and floor exercise, Robella also placed third on the balance beam with a score of 9.850, which ties her season-high on that event. Competing in 11 meets, Robella has won the all-around six times this season, and she has won or tied for first place in at least one event in eight of the 11 meets she participated in.

NC State tallied a 195.475 to win the EAGL Championship. West Virginia followed closely with a 195.300 followed by North Carolina taking third with a 194.925. Pittsburgh was fourth (194.150), George Washington finished fifth (192.775), Rutgers was sixth (192.600), New Hampshire placed seventh (191.525) and Maryland finished in eighth place (191.175).

"Penny Jernigan and I thought the energy level and enthusiasm of the team was exceptional," says Galvin. "We had to count a fall on balance beam which was the difference in the meet. NC State and West Virginia didn't count any falls, but I'm still really proud of our performance."

Freshman Kara Wright also had a strong meet, finishing in fifth place in the all-around (39.000). Wright had the team's highest scoring performance on uneven bars placing sixth with a score of 9.825, a career best.

Freshman Christine Nguyen led the team on balance beam with her second place finish. Nguyen's score of 9.875 marked her second-highest scoring performance of the season. All season long Nguyen has excelled on the balance beam; Nguyen tied or finished first on the event in nine of the 11 meets she competed in. In addition to Nguyen's strong performance on balance beam, Robella and Tina Jacob also tied for third place with a 9.850.

On vault, Jennifer Valby tied for sixth place with a score of 9.825, her highest score and best performance of the season. Equally impressive, Sarrie Rubin scored 9.800 on floor exercise, which ties her season-high score.

Carolina has locked in a bid for the NCAA Regional Championships. The meet will take place on April 14.