On Friday night, the North Carolina gymnastics team squared off against Temple in Carmichael Arena.
The Tar Heels jumped out to an early advantage and won convincingly, 195.300 to 194.375. UNC improved significantly from last week’s score of 194.375.
What happened?
After the first rotation, UNC led Temple by a score of 49.000 to 48.650, as the Tar Heels' vault score proved better than the Owls' on bars.
The Tar Heels would end up beating the Owls in vault, as well as placing the top four finishers in the event. In uneven bars, Temple took home a narrow victory, but performances from sophomore Grace Donaghy and senior Morgan Lane who prevented the Owls from crawling closer to the Tar Heels' lead.
Temple then moved to floor, while UNC went to beam. Following the third rotation, the Tar Heels held a slim margin of .200. However, North Carolina was confident going into its best event, floor. In the final rotation, UNC secured a win with a 49.100 score in floor.
Who stood out?
In vault, Sophomore Mikayla Robinson had a career-high with a score of 9.800. Senior Kaitlynn Hedelund, sophomore Khazia Hislop, and sophomore Mekyllah Williams all tied for first in the vault event with a high of 9.825.
Donaghy was UNC’s saving grace in bars, as her top score of 9.800 greatly improved the Tar Heels' overall score in the event. Despite two early falls in beam, North Carolina came back with an impressive and nearly flawless routine from sophomore Alexis Allen, who received a career-best 9.900 to lead all scorers, and a pair of 9.850s from Hislop and Lane.
