April 15, 2007

Meet Results

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The University of North Carolina gymnastics team landed its highest score on vault since 2004 in a sixth place finish at the 2007 NCAA Southeast Regional on Saturday night. Performing at the West Virginia University Coliseum, No. 2 seed UCLA won the event with 195.975 points and No. 1 seed LSU claimed second with 195.950 points to receive the two bids to advance to NCAA Nationals in Salt Lake City, Utah, on April 26-28. West Virginia placed third with 194.775, while Auburn and NC State tied for fourth (193.950), and North Carolina (193.875) came in sixth.

"I am so proud of the way our girls performed," said Coach Derek Galvin. "The difference between fourth and sixth place was so small, which shows just how strong all the teams were at Regional."

Carolina ended the meet on vault where the gymnasts finished with a score of 49.325, the team's highest score of the season on that event. Freshman Kara Wright received the highest score on vault, a personal best 9.900 to tie for third place. In addition to Wright setting a personal best on vault, three more Tar Heels landed personal records on vault: Jennifer Valby (9.875), Shawna Kelly (9.850), and Sarrie Rubin (9.800).

On balance beam, freshman Christine Nguyen led the way for the team, finishing in a tie for third with a score of 9.800. Kelly led the team on uneven bars with a 9.725.

Another highlight of the meet came on floor exercise where the team had its strongest floor routines of the season. Christine Robella tied for seventh on floor with a score of 9.800.

"In terms of our goals on execution and landing, we accomplished everything we had hoped for," said Galvin. "We had a great season, and the seniors did a really phenomenal job of the leading the team."