University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Women's Gymnastics

Galvin Only the third gymnastics coach in North Carolina history, Derek Galvin enters his 35th year in Chapel Hill.  Galvin, who has been at the helm of the program since it became an NCAA sport in 1982, has an overall record of 402-231-1.  His programs combine the best of athletic and academic achievement every season.   Over the last 14 years, Galvins Carolina program has experienced an explosion of success. The Tar Heels have won five East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) titles since 2002, including back-to-back championships in 2010 and 2011.  The Tar Heels also won league titles in 2002, 2005 and 2006.   Carolina has advanced to the NCAA regionals in 12 of the lalst 14 seasons, and has come tantalizingly close to competing in the national championships.  The Tar Heels have come within one place of advancing from regionals to nationals on several occasions.  Most notably, Carolina came within a whisker of making the NCAA finals in 2004, placing third at the Southeast Regional, just .025 points behind the second place team. The previous year, the Tar Heels missed the necessary second-place spot by .05 points.  Galvins successes have been recognized with five EAGL coach of the year honors and three Southeast regional coach of the year awards.  Most recently, he was the 2010 EAGL Coach of the Year after leading the Tar Heels to a come-from-behind victory at the championship meet. In the last 30 years, gymnasts coached by Galvin have been chosen for the National Association of College Gymnastics Coaches Scholastic All-America Gymnastics Team 156 times.  Two of Galvins former gymnasts Natalie Halbach and Stacey Kaplan have been honored as a GTE Academic All-Americas.  Halbach, a 2003 graduate, was the first female student-athlete in the Atlantic Coast Conference to receive the Walter Byers Postgraduate Scholarship, the most prestigious academic award given by the NCAA.  Six Tar Heels Kristin Aloi, Acacia Cosentino, Morgan Lane, Josselyn Mackey, Janell Sargent and Lauren Weisel were named to the 2015 NACGC-W Scholastic All-American gymnastics team, which requires a year-long or cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher through the season. Tar Heel gymnasts have had their share of success in the arena as well.  Courtney Bumpers, a 2006 graduate, achieved the ultimate individual honor in 2005 - winning floor exercise at the NCAA championships with a perfect score of 10.0. It was the second straight floor exercise national crown for Bumpers, who also earned All-America honors in 2003 with a fourth place finish on balance beam.  Christine Robella earned All-America honors in 2006 on floor exercise. It was her first All-America honor and the fourth in Carolina history. Several gymnasts have won individual league honors in Galvins tenure.  Christine Nguyen was a three-time EAGL Gymnast of the Year honoree from 2008-10.  Kara Wright, one of Carolinas top 10 all-around performers, was the 2010 EAGL Scholar-Athlete of the Year.  In 2011, Morgan Evans captured the all-around title at the NCAA regional.  In 2013, Elizabeth Durkac was named the leagues top gymnast at the conference banquet held in Chapel Hill. And just last year, Haley Watts was named the league's Senior of the Year. Those are just a few of the recent success stories that have dotted Galvins coaching resume.  He has a long history of success at Carolina. In his first year as head coach in 1982, he guided the Tar Heels to a fourth place finish at the Southeast Regional. His 1985 and 1986 teams both finished third at the meet after placing first in the Atlantic Coast Conference.  In addition to UNCs accomplishments as a team, Carolina has been represented every year at NCAA regionals by at least one individual gymnast. In 2003, Bumpers and junior Anna Wilson were the first Carolina gymnasts since 1986 to qualify for the NCAA national championships as individuals. Bumpers recorded the then-highest finish ever of any ACC or EAGL gymnast with her fourth place finish on the balance beam in the final round before achieving her championship status in the next two years on floor exercise. In 2004, the Tar Heels had arguably the best year in school history. Galvin was named the NCAA Southeast Region Coach of the Year for the third straight season after directing the team to a 22-1 record and a second place finish in the EAGL Championships. The Tar Heels earned a regional appearance and the .955 winning percentage was the highest in school history. It was a record-breaking year in team and individual results with the Tar Heels setting school records on every event except balance beam and scoring above a 197.0 in four meets. Bumpers, who earned the programs third-ever 10.0 in 2003, turned in seven perfect scores on floor exercise and surpassed her previous school record on the vault and in the all-around competition. She has the schools highest all-around total with a 39.725 and the highest vault score with a 9.975. Olivia Trusty set a record on uneven bars with a score of 9.95. Galvin was named the EAGL Coach of the Year for the fourth time in 2005, leading his team to a regular season record of 14-4-1 and the conference championship. Carolina finished the year ranked 23rd in the country and tied for third place at regionals. A year later, the Tar Heels repeated as EAGL champions. Galvin has been involved in gymnastics in various capacities throughout his life. He was a member of the Carolina mens team before the discontinuation of the program in 1974. Staying involved in the sport, he spent four years coaching at Gymdancetics, a training center established by Fred Sanders, former coach of the Carolina mens team. Under Galvins guidance, team members dominated state competition and advanced to the United States Gymnastics Federation championships. In 1978, he became director and head coach of the Triad Gymnastics Academy. The following year he accepted an administrative position with the research and consulting firm of Syllogistics, Inc., but remained active in area gymnastics. His first season as head coach of the Tar Heels was in 1982. Galvin has made contributions to many other areas of the gymnastics community. In 1982, he was named to the NCAA Southeast Region Advisory Committee and served as committee chairman for several years, including the 2005 season. He was the gymnastics site coordinator for the 1987 United States Olympic Festival in Chapel Hill. He is an active member of the NACGC and has served as a clinician of several USAG and NCAA Y.E.S. clinics. A native of Dublin, Ireland, Galvin moved to Arlington, Va., with his family when he was 10 years old. He competed on two state championship gymnastics teams under coach Jesse Meeks at Yorktown High School and graduated from Carolina with a psychology degree in 1976. Galvin and his wife, Debra, have two children. Both graduated from college in May 2003 - their son, Derek Sean, from UNC and their daughter, Ryan, from the University of Virginia.  Galvin has four grandchildren - Lily, Annie Wise, Maggie and Olive.  

Smith has played an instrumental role in developing some of Carolina's top all-arounders in recent seasons.  Elizabeth Durkac was named the 2013 EAGL co-Gymnast of the Year.  Haley Watts (2012-15) has had her two best seasons under Smith's tutelage and was the 2015 EAGL Senior of the Year. Smith came to Chapel Hill from UCLA, where she served on the Bruins coaching staff during the 2011-12 season. She got her coaching start at UCLA in 1998 as an undergraduate assistant coach under the guidance of head coach Valorie Kondos Field. From 2003-2006, Smith coached at the University of Florida where she became an established choreographer, specializing in floor exercise. During her time at Florida, Smith choreographed routines for six All-Americas. In 2007, Smith assumed the role of assistant coach at the University of Missouri. She served as the balance beam coach and choreographer until 2011. Smith choreographed All-America floor exercise routines and played a key role in Missouris success. Smith helped coach the team to a victory at the 2010 NCAA Regional where Missouri earned its first NCAA Championship berth in the gymnastics programs history. Smith returned to UCLA for the 2011-12 season and helped coach the Bruins to a third consecutive top-3 finish at the NCAA Gymnastics Championships. As a student athlete, Smith was a UCLA team co-captain in 1996 and 1997. She led the Bruins to their first NCAA Championship in 1997 following a close runner-up finish in 1996.  During her collegiate career, Smith was a three time All-America, twice on floor exercise and once on vault.