The North Carolina gymnastics team brought the heat and outscored New Hampshire 196.050-195.650 at Carmichael Arena, achieving its highest overall team score of the season on Monday night's annual Pink Meet.
The Tar Heels swept the vault and had the top five scores in the event, while first-year Elizabeth Culton tied for first on the bars and placed first in the all-around category.
“I’m really happy I put together a good four events, but I’m even more excited for the team and the fact that we won and finally got that 196 that I know we’ve been shooting for that, so it’s really exciting,” Culton said.
The overall score of 196.050 is impressive — the last time the Tar Heels scored above 196 was in 2018. New Hampshire was also the only undefeated team in East Atlantic Gymnastics League competition until Monday night.
“It’s something we wanted for the team, we wanted them to taste that, so I think that’s really big for them," head coach Derek Galvin said. "Because we’ve been telling them that they’re a 196 team. We’ve seen it in practice and we’ve been telling them that 'We know what you can do, we have the belief and confidence in you.'”
In the floor routine, considered by Galvin to be the one of the team's best events, senior Khazia Hislop placed first with 9.900, only 0.05 below her career record.
With a roundoff handspring double back tuck in her arsenal of skills, Hislop stunned audiences and left her teammates cheering.
“I think that the key to success on the floor is just knowing that you’ve got it, and enjoying literally every single moment of the floor routine and having fun," Hislop said. "That’s the last thing I tell myself before my floor routine — do it just for fun — and it works.”
There was a Tar Heel on the podium in every category, an improvement over the last meet, a tri meet with N.C. State and New Hampshire, where UNC didn't place in the top three on the balance beam.
