Pitt Set for Final Regular Season Meet Against North Carolina

PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh gymnastics team will travel to Chapel Hill, N.C. this weekend, to face East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) foe North Carolina at Carmichael Arena in its final regular season meet of the year.

THE MEET

The Panthers (6-13, 3-2 EAGL) will face the Tar Heels (7-8, 1-3 EAGL) Saturday, March 17. Action is set to begin at 1 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT

Pitt posted the fourth highest bars score in program history en route to earning an overall team score of 195.500 to place third in its road tri-meet against No. 18 George Washington and West Virginia.
The Panthers earned a 49.175 on bars, a 49.025 on vault, a 49.000 on floor and a 48.300 on beam.
Individually, four Panthers recorded top-five event finishes in sophomore Alecia Petrikis (vault), senior Catie Conrad (bars), freshman Haley Brechwald (beam) and senior Taylor Laymon (bars).

STARS ON BARS

The 2018 Panther squad now owns three of the top four bars scores in program history.
Pitt posted the top score in program history in a dual meet against New Hampshire, earning a 49.275, which broke the 49.250 mark set by the 1999 squad.
They also recorded a 49.250 (tied second all-time) in a quad meet against Texas Woman's University, Auburn and NC State before posting their 49.175 (ranks fourth all-time) in Sunday's tri-meet against George Washington and West Virginia.
The team currently ranks 30^th in the nation on bars with an RQS of 49.010, and has ranked as high as 16th during the season.
Brechwald and Conrad are currently tied for the team's top RQS on bars with a 9.825, followed by sophomore Lucy Jones and junior Lucy Brett at 9.820 and sophomore Megan Tripp with a 9.795.

REACHING REGIONALS

Pitt currently ranks 37^th in the nation with an RQS of 195.440, just outside the top-36 ranking needed to qualify for the NCAA Regional Championship.
The Panthers will look to close the season strong against North Carolina and at the EAGL Championship, hoping to improve their RQS and qualify for the regional tournament for the first time since 2013.
Pitt has slowly moved up the rankings as of late, improving from 44^th in the week of Feb. 26, to 41^st in the week of March 5 to its current ranking of 37^th this week.

RELEVANT RANKINGS

The Panthers rank fourth in the North East Region and 37^th in the nation with an RQS of 195.440.
Pitt ranks third in the North East Region on bars with an RQS of 49.010, on floor at 49.000, on vault with a 48.835 and fifth on beam at 48.650.
The Panthers RQS of 49.010 on bars also ranks 30th in the nation.
Individually, Brechwald ranks 42^nd in the nation in the all-around with an RQS of 39.205, is tied for 57^th on floor with a 9.875 and is tied for 99^th on vault with a 9.820 while Conrad is tied for 67^th in the all-around with an RQS of 39.000.

CONFERENCE COMPETITION

Pitt has competed against four EAGL opponents so far this season. Pitt defeated New Hampshire, 196.225-195.175, in its record-setting dual meet Jan. 20. In the Panthers' home meet Feb. 3, they defeated Towson while falling to NC State. Pitt faced NC State for a second time in a quad meet at TWU Feb. 11, coming out with a 196.100-195.925 victory over the Wolfpack before falling to George Washington in its road tri-meet March 11 to move to 3-2 against conference competition this season.
The Panthers final meet of the regular season comes against EAGL foe North Carolina this Saturday.
The EAGL Championship is scheduled for March 24 at Towson.

A FRESHMAN TO FEAR

Brechwald has been named EAGL Rookie of the Week five times so far this year, which ties an EAGL record for most Rookie of the Week honors in a season.
Brechwald has collected 12 individual titles through nine meets. She earned the beam title in Pitt's final home meet of the season March 4. Brechwald also earned the bars title in Pitt's tri-meet at WVU and took the all-around title in the Panthers' quad meet at TWU. She earned the bars, floor and all-around title in Pitt's home quad meet against NC State, Temple and Towson. Versus New Hampshire, Brechwald took home the bars, floor and all-around title. Against Oregon State, she won vault, bars and the all-around title.
She currently ranks first on the team in RQS on floor with a 9.875, on vault at 9.820, is tied for first on bars with a 9.825 and ranks second on beam at 9.790. Her all-around RQS of 39.205 is also tops on the team.

PITT VERSUS NORTH CAROLINA

Pitt will face North Carolina for the 40^th time in program history, with the Tar Heels owning a 28-11 all-time series edge against the Panthers.
North Carolina defeated Pitt in its most recent meeting, earning a 194.525-194.100 victory March 18, 2017.
The Panthers last win against the Tar Heels came via a 195.675-194.975 victory March 19, 2016.

SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA

North Carolina is 7-8 on the season and 1-3 in EAGL competition. Most recently, the Tar Heels placed third in a home quad meet against Air Force Academy, Arizona and San Jose State.
As a team, North Carolina ranks ninth in the nation on floor with an RQS of 49.315, 19^th on vault at 49.070, 47^th on beam with a 48.635 and 56^th on bars at 48.505.
Sophomore Khazia Hislop ranks first on the team on floor with an RQS of 9.910 (tied for 15^th in the nation) and on vault at 9.865 (tied for 36^th in the nation) while senior Morgan Lane leads the team on beam with a 9.855 (tied for 69^th in the nation) and on bars at 9.775.

UP NEXT

Pitt will travel to Towson, Md., for the EAGL Championship Saturday, March 24 at SECU Arena.

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Pitt Set for Final Regular Season Meet Against North Carolina

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Haley Brechwald

Lucy Brett

Catie Conrad

Lucy Jones

Taylor Laymon

Alecia Petrikis

Megan Tripp

Pitt Set for Final Regular Season Meet Against North Carolina

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Haley Brechwald

Lucy Brett

Catie Conrad

Lucy Jones

Taylor Laymon

Alecia Petrikis

Megan Tripp

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