In a competitive quad meet on Saturday, North Carolina finished second, defeating NC State and William & Mary, but being edged out by West Virginia.
Junior Michaela Woodford of host NC State earned three top-three finishes to win the all-around individual competition with a score of 39.175, marking a career high.
The third place Pack scored a combined seven top-three finishes on the evening.
But the Tar Heels posted a total score of 194.500, the second highest of the season, to earn second place. UNC placed three gymnasts in the top five of the all-around competition.
“We did some good things [tonight], but we have to expect a high performance every [meet] from every gymnast in order to achieve our goals. We will go back and push for that,” said head coach Derek Galvin.
In the all-around, Morgan Lane tied for second with a score of 39.125. Lexi Cappalli finished fourth with a 38.825 and Haley Watts notched a 38.700, taking fifth place.
The Tar Heels began the meet on floor, totaling a season-high score of 48.700. Lane and Cappalli both recorded a 9.825, tying for third among all competitors. Watts notched a 9.800, which tied for seventh place. In addition, Lauren Weisel added a 9.700.
UNC next competed on vault, which proved to be the team’s strongest rotation of the evening. The Tar Heels tallied a season-high 48.800. Carolina received two of the top six scores. Sarah Peterson notched a 9.875, tying for second and Watts had a 9.825, which tied for sixth. For the first time all season, Kaitlynn Hedelund participated in vault, where she received a 9.700. Lane and Cappalli also contributed scores of 9.700 for the Tar Heels.
On the uneven bars, Carolina finished with a 48.425. Hedelund notched a 9.800, which tied for second. Lane had a 9.725, tying for sixth. In addition, Cappalli received a 9.700 and Acacia Cosentino was awarded a 9.675.
“[At bars] we kind of lost our momentum, which was disappointing. We had an opportunity tonight to score in the 195 range again, but we were unable to perform on beam and bars,” said Galvin.
The Tar Heels finished the competition on the balance beam, tallying a score of 48.575. At the final apparatus, UNC placed three gymnasts in the top six. Lane notched a 9.875, the highest score among all competitors. Peterson added a season-high 9.775, tying for fifth. Hedelund notched a 9.750, which tied for sixth. In addition, Cappalli received a season-high 9.600.
“[This week] we will go into training knowing what it feels like to let an opportunity slide like it did tonight. We are determined not to let that happen again for the rest of the season.”