UNC gymnastics records highest score of the season at ACC championships

GREENSBORO — There were hugs. There was jumping. There was yelling. 

Heading into the ACC gymnastics championship, UNC set a goal: score just above 197. 

"We were darn close to that," head coach Danna Durante said.

Cue the celebration.

No. 22 North Carolina competed in the night session of the ACC Gymnastics Championship at the Greensboro Complex against No. 6 California, No. 13 Stanford and No. 19 N.C. State. For the first time this year, UNC not only beat the Wolfpack, but the team also scored a 197.225, smashing North Carolina's previous season-high of 196.750 and landing the team in third over N.C. State, Clemson and Pitt.

“I don’t know if I can put it into words," Durante said. "We had talked about it in August, and it was hard for our entire team to see it was capable of that because this team had never done it."

The meet marked the first time a Durante-coached team ended with a score of a 197 or better. Not only did Durante earn 2025 ACC Co-Coach of the Year honors in her fourth season at the helm, but first-year Jojo Valahovic won the ACC Newcomer of the Year award and senior Lali Dekanoidze captured the ACC Specialist of the Year accolade.

To record its season-high team score, the Tar Heels broke a program record on uneven bars, notching a 49.475, besting the previous record of 49.450 from 2004.

It started with a solid leadoff routine from senior Julia Knower, who earned herself a 9.825, followed by a clean routine ending with a stick from sophomore Neve King that scored a 9.85, tying her season high. Junior Claire Stippich had a 9.85 before junior Gwen Fink tied a career high 9.9 and set a season high thanks to a stuck double layout dismount.

“It was exciting to watch them one after the other again just build a little bit,” Durante said. “Everyone stayed within themself and they know we don't need to be more, but we’re not going to be less. I’m a little bit at a loss for words because there’s so many things that Carolina hasn’t done in a very long time and that’s exciting for this squad.” 

While it might have taken until the end of the season for the gymnastics program to put up the big team number, the gymnasts believed it was just a matter of time. It's a glimpse of what they're capable of, according to Durante. 

“We do it a lot in practice," senior Isabelle Schaefer said. "We all have to stick routine after routine and we focus a lot on hitting and having the sticks be contagious. We’ve seen it happen throughout the season, but it was really fun to have [us] finally put it altogether.”

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