Spring Break
Gym Dogs roll with Tide
STEVE SANDERS
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Such should be the case Saturday night when the No. 5 Gym Dogs travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to take on the third-ranked Crimson Tide in Coleman Coliseum.
The meet is Georgia's regular season finale.
Though 'Bama (9-6, 4-2) is ranked two spots higher than Georgia (14-1, 6-0), the Crimson Tide may feel like the underdogs, as the Gym Dogs have beaten the Tide twice already this season.
In contrast, Georgia hasn't beaten Alabama in Tuscaloosa in three years.
Alabama is ranked higher because they have higher away scores than Georgia.
It's no secret that both teams want this one badly.
"There's just so much bad blood between Georgia and Alabama," senior Cassie Bair said. "Each team really wants to beat the other, and you can tell it by the fans."
Georgia head coach Suzanne Yoculan said she doesn't expect the atmosphere in Coleman Coliseum to be pleasant but that her team should feed off the excitement in the atmosphere in a positive way.
"I believe that an athlete is more passionate in training when they really want to beat someone," Yoculan said. "I like to try to
capitalize on the emotion of a rivalry. I think we're more focused on beating Alabama, but it's going to take a good score to beat them."
Yoculan also said that the team hasn't been able to practice this week like they normally would before a meet like this because of different injuries.
Junior Sierra Sapunar may be back on beam for the meet and will probably compete on the floor exercise after missing last week with a shoulder injury. Freshman Jamie Ackerman also may be back as well.
"Typically before a meet like this, we're doing a lot of team stuff," Yoculan said. "But we've had a lot of individual practice this week."
