Stumbles on balance beam cost UNC gymnastics in narrow loss to N.C. State

CORRECTION: Due to a prodcution error, an earlier version of this article incorrectly identified the gynmast in the photo accompanying the story. The gynmast pictured is sophomore Lily Dean. The caption of the photo has been updated with the correct name. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for this error. 

The North Carolina gymnastics team lost to N.C. State University, 195.200-194.650, on Friday night, and now hold a 4-2 record this season. 

What happened?

On Friday, the North Carolina gymnastics team hosted its annual Diversity and Inclusion Meet.  

The meet began with the vault, as juniors Mikayla Robinson and Khazia Hislop both scored a 9.900, leading the way for the Tar Heels and tying for a first-place finish in the event.  They were followed by senior Madison Hargrave, who scored 9.875, good for third place. At the end of the first rotation, the Tar Heels led the Wolfpack, 49.125 – 48.825.  

Five Tar Heels finished in the top 10 for the uneven parallel bars.  Sophomore Rylie Dewhurst led the way and scored a 9.825, and secured a first-place finish in the event.  Dewhurst was followed by teammates Drew Aldridge, Grace Donaghy and Mekyllah Williams, who all finished tied for third place with a score of 9.775.  At the completion of the second rotation, the Tar Heels held a narrow lead over the Wolfpack, 98.000-97.500.

Although the team stumbled and suffered some falls on the beam, senior Jamie DeCicco scored a 9.850, and secured a second-place finish in the event.  DeCicco was closely followed by Hisop, who posted a 9.825, good to tie for a third-place finish. North Carolina finished 47.700 in the event, and were outscored by the Wolfpack who posted a 48.975.  After three events, N.C. State led the Tar Heels, 146.225-145.700. 

In the last event, North Carolina looked to bounce back, and dominate on the floor exercise. Hislop led the way with a 9.875, and tied for first place with N.C. State’s Drew Grantham. Hislop was followed by teammates Robinson and Hargrave, who both tied for third place with a score of 9.825.  Although six Tar Heels finished in the top 10 on the floor exercise and won the event, 48.950-48.725, it was not enough to beat the Wolfpack. At the completion of four rotations, the Wolfpack edged out the Tar Heels by a narrow 195.200-194.650 margin. 

Who stood out?

Hislop stood out throughout the meet and placed in the top three on the balance beam, vault and uneven parallel bars.  She tied for first place on vault, with a near perfect score of 9.900. Hislop also scored a 9.875 on floor, and tied the Wolfpack’s Gantham for first place in the event.  

In addition to Hislop, Robinson also stood out for the Tar Heels.  Robinson tied Hislop for first place on vault, with a 9.900. That was not the only top three finish for Robinson, she also scored 9.825 on floor, and tied teammate Hargrave for third place.  

When was it decided?

Although the Tar Heels led the Wolfpack after the first two rotations, they took some falls on the balance beam that would prove costly. Though UNC won three of four events on the day, the team was unable to overcome a 47.700 score in the beam, which proved to be the difference in a narrow loss.

Why does it matter?

The Wolfpack handed North Carolina its second loss of the season. That puts the Tar Heels at 4-2 after a hot start, with the team's only other loss being to No.1 Oklahoma this past Saturday.  With seven meets left this season, the Tar Heels will look to bounce back after this loss to their East Atlantic Gymnastics League rival.  

When do they play next?

The North Carolina gymnastics team will next travel to Pittsburgh, and compete in a tri-meet against the University of Pittsburgh and Temple University on Friday.   

@TorreNetkovick 

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