Sitting in the audience, you would never know something was wrong with North Carolina sophomore gymnast Kaitlynn Hedelund.
You could tell in her stance she had poise. The flick of her hands back as she landed perfectly on the mat told it all.
You'd never guess she was recovering from a sprained ankle. She masked it well.
“She’s a very talented athlete,” Coach Derek Galvin said.
Hedelund performed event after event Friday night at Carmichael Arena against N.C. State (7-2, 3-0 ACC) and William & Mary. And despite injuring her ankle near the beginning of the month, her fourth-place tie in the all-around competition helped UNC secure second place with 193 points.
“I really just focused on competing like I practice every day, and really just paying attention to my little details and cues that I have,” Hedelund said.
In an attempt to recover from her ankle injury, Hedelund did not compete on the vault a week ago against N.C. State. But she was determined to prepare herself mentally and physically and focused on putting her best foot forward as an all-around competitor.
She performed confidently, sticking almost every landing and setting personal records with season and career highs.
Hedelund notched a career-high score of 9.875 on the vault, placing first overall in the event. She then proceeded to notch a season-high score of 9.725 on the uneven bars, placing third overall, and a career-high of 9.825 on the balance beam to finish second overall.
