The Red and Black

Issue date: 4/28/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: RICHARD HAMM Head coach Suzanne Yoculan celebrates with her team after winning the NCAA Championship at Stegeman Coliseum Friday. The Gym Dogs brought home their fourth consecutive national championship with a score of 197.450. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: RICHARD HAMM The Georgia Gym Dogs cheer for fellow teammate Tiffany Tolnay after her dismount on bars during the NCAA Championship at Stegeman Coliseum Friday. Tolnay scored a 9.875 on her routine. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: RICHARD HAMM Freshman Cassidy McComb performs her bars routine, where she scored a 9.850. [Click to enlarge]

Save the drama.

The Gym Dogs completed their foursome Friday, and it wasn't close for most of the meet - Georgia took a 0.375-point lead after the first rotation, and never led by less than three-tenths of a point.

The fourth consecutive national championship gives the Gym Dogs nine all-time, tying them with Utah, who finished second for a third-straight year, for the most ever. Including preliminaries, they have now finished first in their last eight national meets.

"It wasn't so much about anybody being perfect or anybody going out and having an outstanding meet tonight, it was more about who made the least number of mistakes," said head coach Suzanne Yoculan, who was awarded her fifth National Coach of the Year honors Saturday.

"Winning the national title is relative to how your competition competes, and tonight we were the best."

Georgia's 197.450 was the lowest championship score during its current run of national titles, but it was good enough to be well ahead of Utah, which scored a 197.125.

The win makes Georgia's senior class of Audrey Bowers, Nikki Childs, Megan Dowlen and Katie Heenan one of the most decorated in NCAA gymnastics history.

"I love this place," said Heenan, Georgia's all-time points leader. "When we first came here we had no idea what we were getting into."

Heenan, who added four more All-American titles to her résumé Thursday, is now just the third gymnast ever to win a national championship and be an All-American all four years of her college career.

"These four years are the best of my life so far, and to have accomplished these goals means so much to me. Our class, this team, our coaches, the program, everything yells champions," Heenan said.

"It's in books and movies, the power of love or whatever, and in America it's mostly romantic love, but [these seniors] had a sisterly love for each other," said sophomore Grace Taylor.

"Every year they wanted it so bad for each other, they wanted it so bad for Georgia. Love can do a lot."

Despite miscues in the anchor spots on floor (sophomore Courtney McCool stepped out of bounds) and bars (Heenan fell), the Gym Dogs were able to maintain enough momentum to comfortably await their fate during a final rotation bye.

"We knew we had done our job," said Childs, who had a 9.850 on both bars and beam.

"I don't know if any of us knew what the gap was, but we thought we had a pretty good lead."

The Gym Dogs are just the second team to ever win four straight national championships - Utah took the first five after gymnastics became an NCAA championship sport in 1982.

In her first Super Six on Friday, freshman Cassidy McComb charted 9.900s on floor, vault and beam. Thursday's 9.900 on floor gave her her first All-American title.

"Words can't even describe what I'm feeling right now. It's a team effort but individually I felt I did the best I could," the Las Vegas, Nev. native said.

"I didn't know what to expect. Everyone has been telling me for so long that you don't even know the feeling, you just have to experience it. It's awesome."

She's got a long way to go to match her senior teammates' four titles, but said she can definitely see herself and her team doing so.

"Oh yeah, for sure. We're already talking about next year and winning in Nebraska. We're so ready for a fifth one already."

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