High-pressure practice helps gymnastics team
For the North Carolina gymnastics team, high-pressure situations aren’t just reserved for meets.
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For the North Carolina gymnastics team, high-pressure situations aren’t just reserved for meets.
With nostalgia running high on senior day, Christine Nguyen turned in a performance to remember.In her last performance at Carmichael Arena, the senior swept all four events on her way to recording a score of 39.575, the fourth highest all-around score in North Carolina history.Nguyen’s historic performance, along with two other personal best all-around performances from teammates Kara Wright and Morgan Evans, led UNC to a dominant 196.225-187.200 victory against Rutgers on Saturday.But the Tar Heels’ success wasn’t just limited to an individual level. The team recorded its best overall score since April 2004 and improved on its top performance this year by two points.“This is the best meet we’ve had in several years,” coach Derek Galvin said. “I wanted the seniors to go out and have the best meet they could possibly have in their final home meet, and they did that.”Even more impressive, North Carolina hit all four events, meaning no falls were recorded in any of the 20 UNC performances in the meet.The Tar Heels started off strong, jumping out to a commanding four-point lead after the first round of events. The strong showing on the vault, Galvin said, set the tone for the Tar Heels’ success on the next three events.Though UNC had a large margin for error from the start of the meet, the Tar Heels refused to ease up on the Scarlet Knights and continued to impress the judges.“If anything, we went harder,” Nguyen said. “We knew we could improve more, and today we just pulled it all together.”With Rutgers’ worst showing of the year, the Tar Heels received their largest margin of victory this season.Saturday’s victory came after a great performance at Maryland on Tuesday, one that Galvin said garnered a lot of confidence for the Tar Heels as they enter the postseason.With two big wins in a row, Galvin said the Tar Heels are peaking at just the right time.UNC will be competing next in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League Championships on Saturday with the NCAA Regional Championships on the horizon.
This Valentine’s Day, the UNC gymnastics team had a not-so-hot date with the balance beam. Echoing their struggles from a meet at William & Mary, the Tar Heels hit a rough patch on the balance beam and ultimately fell to Maryland in their first home meet in two years.“We just weren’t as solid on beam as we have been at practice,” coach Derek Galvin said.Despite three falls on the beam, the team lost by less than one point and placed in the top spot of each event.Senior Kara Wright placed first on vault with a score of 9.925 and tied with Elizabeth Durkac for first on uneven bars with a score of 9.825. Senior Christine Nguyen placed first on the balance beam and floor exercise with scores of 9.825 and 9.9, respectively.Galvin was pleased by the Tar Heels’ showing in the floor exercise.“We broke 49 (points) as a team,” he said. “Any time you do that, it’s a very good thing.”After starting the competition with a less-than-perfect score on vault, Nguyen had a strong performance and took the top All-Around spot.Nguyen’s strong showing included a new tumbling pass in her floor routine.“Christine did her double Arabian on floor,” Galvin said. “She and Kara just added that to their routines this week.“I know Christine was a little nervous, but she did a great floor routine.”Freshman Michelle Ikoma, who competed on the vault and floor against William & Mary on Jan. 24, joined the team’s lineup on balance beam. But it was the floor exercise she was most excited about.“Floor was awesome,” she said. “You felt the energy of the crowd and your teammates. I’m normally really tired before my last pass, but I just knew that I could do it.”Wright said she was happy about the team’s return to Carmichael Arena this year.“It’s awesome competing at home again and having the support of your home crowd,” she said.Galvin said the crowd in the Carmichael Arena — more than 2,000 were in attendance — was probably the largest he had seen of any home meet.This year, the team partnered with UNC’s Get REAL & HEEL, a program that raises awareness for breast cancer and helps survivors. The crowd wore pink in honor of the partnership, and a cancer awareness fair was held before the meet.Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
Going into the 2010 season, the gymnastics team is returning home.With renovations to Carmichael Arena complete, the Tar Heels are looking forward to a season that includes several home meets.This season marks the first time the gymnastics team will host home tournaments in two years, coach Derek Galvin said. “The only girls who have experienced competing here are our juniors and seniors, and it will be nice to have the seniors compete there for their final season,” he said.In the victory at William & Mary on Jan. 24, Galvin said the team looked confident and composed, but the last event— balance beam — was not up to optimal level.In practice, Galvin said a major priority is improving the level of execution and quality of routines.Seniors Kara Wright and Christine Nguyen agreed.“Since the last meet we’ve kind of been working on polishing our routines,” Wright said. “Now we know we can make them, so it’s all about our confidence in ourselves and in our teammates.”Nguyen added that details like hitting handstands, staying in bounds and sticking landings will be important for a winning season. Last year, UNC finished third in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League.This year, four freshmen joined the Tar Heels, and some have already been competing. Freshman Michelle Ikoma competed on vault and floor exercise at William & Mary. She said the transition into college gymnastics took her a semester to adjust, but she is ready for this season.“I’m just loving competing in college,” she said. “It’s so much more fun.”The team is hosting its first home meet on Feb. 14 against Maryland. Wright said the team has already seen improvement since its last meet, and she expects the team’s performance to get better as the season continues.“The plan is to peak at the end of the season at EAGL Championships and regionals, and we can make history,” Wright said.
If only the North Carolina gymnastics team's final event had taken place on the dance floor and not the spring floor. After the East Atlantic Gymnastics League Championships on Saturday a stunned UNC team awaited awards. The Tar Heels had marched out after the third event in first place. Then they lurched out after the final event floor exercise" in third. ""We had a great start"" coach Derek Galvin said. We got to floor and just ran into problems.""As her team waited"" freshman Zoya Johnson received an opportunity to boost her team's morale.""The announcer had seen me dance" Johnson said. He gave me the nickname Zoya ‘Smack That' Johnson. So yeah" he called me out."" With that" the announcer initiated an impromptu dance off" which led to Johnson's first-place finish for UNC.""It gets everybody's spirits up for a little bit"" Johnson said. I just wanted to dance.""Now the Tar Heels are hoping their 194.825 score at Raleigh will be enough to secure a ticket to another big dance — the NCAA Tournament. The championship score will contribute to the team's regional qualifying score" which will be considered by a selection committee.Bids will be announced today" and Galvin said he is confident about the team's chances to qualify.""Hopefully this score will give us what we need to qualify for NCAAs"" Galvin said. We're ready to see what we can do there."" In Saturday's championships" UNC led off with their strongest vault all season with a 49.050 score. They followed up with solid performances on uneven bars and balance beam — enough to lead N.C. State going into the final event. In the preseason seniors Rachel Schneider and Jennifer Valby had set winning the EAGL Championships as their main goal.Things seemed to be going according to plan.Before the final event" Schneider urged her teammates to hold on to their first-place standing.""She was just saying" ‘We do this every day in practice. Be confident"'"" junior Kara Wright said. ""But I think our nerves got to us."" The team's performance in the floor exercise was riddled with undisciplined falls and out of bounds penalties. Even junior Christine Nguyen" EAGL Gymnast of the Year for the second consecutive year" suffered an uncharacteristic near-fall on the floor.""It was really upsetting" Schneider said. Going in we had it. And on floor" you just don't think things will go wrong."" Wright anchored the Tar Heels" adding a strong floor performance to her day's repertoire. She placed second in the all-around competition with a score of 39.175.When the judges finally verified scores UNC finished third behind N.C State and West Virginia.Wright was awarded the team's third-place trophy — a small replica of an eagle.She turned to give it to Schneider" who politely shook her head. ""I thought the seniors deserved to hoist it"" Wright said. But she didn't want the third-place trophy."" Now the team is awaiting the chance to hoist another.""We're disappointed"" Schneider said. But now we have more information to be competitive in two weeks at regionals. We're ready to fight.""Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
At 7 years old Christine Nguyen was too scared to execute a cartwheel on the high beam. Since then" she has gone on to train alongside Olympic medalists and stood alone as 2008 EAGL Gymnast of the Year.But those reasons are not why she stands out among the gymnasts in Derek Galvin's 27-year coaching career.""Strength of character" that's what grabs hold of me Galvin said. We've had ladies who were not the best competitors" but they were phenomenal young women.""With Chris-tine"" it happens to be a combination of both.""She finished last season with the individual all-around title at the EAGL Championship and finished first place all-around in six of the Tar Heels' 11 meets.""I think that it would be a challenge for her to repeat what she did last year" Galvin said. But her training is going well" and she's competing well. It could conceivably happen.""Nguyen" a junior has placed first in four events and twice all-around in her three meets this season.But for all her accolades and accomplishments Nguyen did not begin her gymnastics career out of any recognizable affinity toward tumbling" dancing or flipping.""I was bouncing all over the place"" Nguyen said. My teacher recommended that my mom put me into a sport because I was always getting in trouble.""Her parents found a solution" and Nguyen found her passion.At 14 she enrolled in the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy in Plano Texas where she practiced more than six hours a day. She never lacked role models" practicing alongside Olympic champions Carly Patterson and Nastia Liukin.""It was definitely an unforgettable experience" she said. It helped me grow a lot" and I give a lot of credit to WOGA for where I am now.""Nguyen came to UNC as a member of the USA Gymnastics national team. Since then"" she has developed into an anchor for the Tar Heels.""I'm just so thankful that she decided to come to Carolina to be a part of this program"" Galvin said. She's really helped define this team.""One such example this season was the team's meet against the University of New Hampshire on Jan. 31" in which Nguyen finished first on beam" floor exercise and all-around.Her performance helped the team obtain its highest team score since the 2005 EAGL Championships.""She's actually stepped up a lot more as a vocal leader" teammate Rachel Schneider said.She's always worked hard and done her best" but she's done a really great job helping other people.""And perhaps that is indicative of Nguyen's big goal. Ask her about her personal records" and she smiles. Can she recall the meet when she set three of her personal bests?No.Can she verify the scores?No.What strikes Galvin about Nguyen has never been her numbers" athletic power or unique elegance. It's that she is interested in being a part of something bigger.""I want our class to be the first in school history to ever make nationals" Nguyen said. Now" that would be the best feeling ever.""