Georgia Gymnastics NCAA Championships Supplement Tiffany Tolnay Courtney Kupets Suzanne Yoculan Grace Taylor Courtney McCool April 16-18, 2009 Lincoln, Neb. Georgia Gym Dogs NCAA Championship • Lincoln, Neb. NO. 1 GYM DOGS, YOCULAN PREPARE trust in my ability to do that, and I don’t look back.” FOR NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS Georgia will be the top seed in the NCAAs. The The Georgia gymnastics team will attempt to win its Gym Dogs finished the regular season with the nation’s fifth straight national title and send its venerable coach highest regional qualifying score (RQS) of 197.255, then into retirement on a positive note at the NCAA Cham- added a 197.7 at the Southeast Regional. The combined pionships this week. total of 394.955 made Georgia No. 1 for the NCAAs. Georgia has earned nine national titles, including each of the last four, in the program’s history, and will be NCAA SCHEDULE looking to add to its trophy case at the 2009 NCAAs Georgia will hold its pre-NCAA Championships prac- in Lincoln, Neb. The team portion of the meet will take tice on Wednesday at 1:40 p.m. CDT. The Gym Dogs place Thursday and Friday, fol- lowed by the individuals event 2009 GEORGIA ROSTER on Saturday. The national meet will be the Name Event(s) Class Height Hometown Mariel Box AA Freshman 5-2 Calhoun, Ga. last one in the 26-year career Paige Burns V, UB, BB Senior 5-3 St. Cloud, Fla. of Coach Suzanne Yoculan, who Kathryn Ding AA Freshman 5-2 Sparks, Nev. built a once fledgling program Lauren Johnson V Junior 5-3 Cartersville, Ga. into perhaps the nation’s most Courtney Kupets AA Senior 5-3 Athens, Ga. Hilary Mauro AA Sophomore 4-8 Boston, Mass. dominant. Cassidy McComb AA Sophomore 5-4 Henderson, Nev. “I believe that our team is Courtney McCool UB, BB, FX Junior 5-0 Lees Summit, Mo. peaking at the right time, but I Marcia Newby V, UB Junior 5-7 Virginia Beach, Va. Gina Nuccio AA Freshman 5-1 Naperville, Ill. have no doubt that this champi- Lauren Sessler V, UB Junior 5-7 Snellville, Ga. onship will be a battle and a fight Abby Stack UB, FX Senior 5-3 Matthews, N.C. to the end,” senior Abby Stack Grace Taylor UB, BB, FX Junior 5-0 Aiken, S.C. Tiffany Tolnay AA Senior 5-1 Grapevine, Texas said. “In order to come out with Amber Trani AA Freshman 5-2 Richlandtown, Pa. a win, we are going to need to have calm confidence and stick Head Coach: Suzanne Yoculan Associate Head Coach: Jay Clark our routines. In regards to it Assistant Coach: Doug McAvinn Volunteer Coach: Julie Clark being Suzanne’s last meet, we try not to emphasize it, but there is no denying that it then will compete in the afternoon session on Thursday is in the back of everyone’s mind. She does not need at 1 p.m. CDT. Georgia will start with a bye before this championship to feel successful or to complete her floor, which is the same rotation the Gym Dogs had at career. I think it would simply be icing on the cake. But the Southeast Regional. who likes to eat cake with no icing?” “I feel great about this rotation,” Georgia coach Su- Yoculan said she is secure in her decision to retire. In zanne Yoculan said. “Ending on beam is great for us, and other words, don’t expect a Brett Favre-like return in we love to start a meet out on a go-for-it type event like 2010. floor or vault. For us, competing at the end of the meet “I know for sure I will not regret my decision based on makes it so much more fun.” if we win or lose,” said Yoculan, who has guided Georgia Georgia will compete with Stanford, Penn State, Okla- to a 22-1 record this year. “It has nothing to do with the homa, LSU and Florida in the afternoon session. UCLA, number of championships or who’s on the team or any- Utah, Illinois, Oregon State, Alabama and Arkansas have thing like that. It’s entirely based on where I am person- been assigned to the evening session. The top three ally and where the program is. I would never have made teams from each session will advance to the Super Six this decision unless I thought it was the right time for on Friday at 6 p.m. CDT. The individual championships the program, and it is. I make my decisions instinctively, I will be held on Saturday at 6 p.m. CDT. GEOR G IA GYM DO G S NOTES NATIONAL CHAMPS APLENTY was No. 2 on beam, No. 5 on bars and No. 6 on floor, In addition to its nine NCAA team championships, while Tiffany Tolnay was No. 10 on bars and No. 20 on Georgia has produced 33 individual national titles by 17 vault, and Gina Nuccio was No. 17 on bars. women. Leading the way is current Gym Dog Courtney Ku- ON THE AIR pets, who won the 2006 all-around, bars and beam titles GXtra, the official premium online service of the and the 2007 all-around and vault crowns. (An Achilles Georgia Bulldogs, will stream live audio of the NCAA injury suffered late last season kept her out of the 2008 Championships, with commentary provided by former NCAAs.) Gym Dogs Katie Heenan Dodson and Emily Bridgers. A year ago, Courtney McCool claimed the floor title The meet will be shown on tape delay by CBS on and Grace Taylor won the beam crown at the NCAAs Saturday, May 9, at 2 p.m. Tim Brando will handle the in Athens. play-by-play and Amanda Borden will provide analysis. Tiffany Tolnay is a 12-time All-American and leads the Live scoring can be found at the University of Nebras- current Gym Dogs in that category. She has finished ka’s website, huskers.com. fourth, fourth and third in the all-around in her three previous trips to the NCAAs. Coach Suzanne Yoculan LINEUP FOR NCAAS has called Tolnay “the X-factor” for the Gym Dogs at The Gym Dogs have the nation’s top regional qualify- the NCAAs. ing scores on bars, beam and floor and they are fourth Georgia also boasts past All-Americans in Kupets (10), on vault. Here is the lineup for the NCAA Champion- Taylor (5), Marcia Newby (2), McCool (1), Cassidy Mc- ships. As always, the lineup is subject to change. Comb (1) and Hilary Mauro (1). Vault: Lauren Sessler, Hilary Mauro, Cassidy Mc- Comb, Marcia Newby, Courtney Kupets, Tiffany Tolnay. GEORGIA AGAINST THE FIELD Bars: Kathryn Ding, Gina Nuccio, Courtney McCool, The Gym Dogs are pretty familiar with the other Grace Taylor, Tiffany Tolnay, Courtney Kupets. teams at the NCAA Championships, having met four of Beam: Hilary Mauro, Cassidy McComb, Tiffany Tol- them twice and three others once each this season. This nay, Grace Taylor, Courtney Kupets, Courtney McCool. will be the first time Georgia has met Stanford, Oregon Floor: Abby Stack, Hilary Mauro, Cassidy McComb, State, Illinois and Oklahoma this year. Grace Taylor, Tiffany Tolnay, Courtney Kupets. Alabama: W 197.175-196.275 (Regular Season) L 197.300-196.925 (SECs) GRAND SLAM OF PERFECTION Arkansas: W 196.925-196.725 (Regular Season) Courtney Kupets has earned a 10.0 on all four events W 196.925-195.650 (SECs) this season, becoming just the third Gym Dog to accom- Florida: W 198.200-196.650 (Regular Season) plish that feat. W 196.925-196.750 (SECs) Kupets recorded 10.0s on bars and beam against LSU: W 196.850-195.950 (Regular Season) W 196.925-196.550 (SECs) 2009 GEORGIA SCHEDULE Penn State: W 197.700-195.800 (NCAA Regional) Jan. 9 West Virginia W, 195.425-194.075 UCLA: W 197.725-196.125 (Regular Season) Jan. 16 at LSU W, 196.850-195.950 Utah: W 197.150-196.725 (Regular Season) Jan. 19 Utah W, 197.150-196.725 Jan. 23 Alabama W, 197.175-196.275 GYM DOGS END REGULAR Jan. 30 at N.C. State W, 195.000-193.150 SEASON WITH NO. 1 RANKINGS Feb. 7 Auburn W, 197.250-195.925 Georgia finished No. 1 in the final GymInfo poll with a Feb. 13 at Kentucky/Centenary W, 196.975-195.150-187.350 regional qualifying score (RQS) of 197.255. Utah is No. 2 Feb. 20 at Arkansas W, 196.925-196.725 with an RQS of 197.190. As a team, the Gym Dogs also Feb. 28 Florida W, 198.200-196.650 March 8 at UCLA W, 197.725-196.125 finished No. 1 on bars, beam and floor, and No. 4 on March 14 Michigan W, 197.400-195.825 vault. March 21 SEC Championship 2nd place, 196.925 Courtney Kupets completed the regular season ranked April 4 NCAA Regional 1st place, 197.700 No. 1 in the nation in the all-around as well as on bars April 16-18 NCAA Championship Lincoln, Neb. and beam, and at No. 2 on vault and floor. Grace Taylor GEOR G IA GYM DO G S NOTES Yoculan’s CAREER RECORD beam, and I never thought I’d see that day,” Georgia coach Suzanne Year Record SEC NCAA 1984 27-13 2nd 9th Yoculan said. “Whether the judges 1985 30-17 3rd 7th would put up three 10.0s in a row 1986 32-8 1st 4th 1987 38-3 1st 1st is another question, but we could 1988 35-8-1 2nd 5th legitimately earn three in a row.