Spring Break
Gym Dogs breeze through regional
Pair of 10s punch Georgia's ticket to NCAA Championships
TYLER ESTEP
Issue date: 4/3/09 Section: Sports
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The top-ranked Gym Dogs breezed through their NCAA Southeast Regional in Raleigh, N.C. Saturday, posting a 197.700 and finishing first to clinch their spot at the NCAA Championships in Lincoln, Neb. on Apr. 16.
Their score, headlined by 10s from Courtney Kupets and Courtney McCool, was more than a point higher than any of their five competitors.
""If we had not had a good meet, we would have had to build up that confidence going into nationals," head coach Suzanne Yoculan said. "Under pressure, you can't replace confidence with anything else. You've got to have it. It will help us a lot."
Kupets' 10 on vault, the first of her career on the apparatus, gave her the season grand slam - she's now achieved perfection on every event in 2009. She scored at least a 9.85 on every event, taking the all-around for the 12th time in 13 Georgia meets with a 49.670.
Heather Stepp (1993) and Karin Lichey (1996) are the only other Gym Dogs to ever achieve perfection on all four events in a single season. All four of Lichey's came in a single meet as she recorded the only 40.0 in the history of collegiate gymnastics.
The Gym Dogs led the meet off on floor, posting a 49.225 and putting a good foot forward to erase their dismal 195.000 showing during their previous trip to Raleigh.
A strong showing on vault, including 9.9s from sophomore Cassidy McComb and senior Tiffany Tolnay had Georgia up by a hearty eight-tenths of a point at the meet's midpoint.
The Gym Dogs tallied a 49.400 on bars before finishing strong with a 49.550 on beam, which tied their season-high and included McCool's 10, her second of the season on the event.
"I can't imagine anybody in the country beating our last three events," Yoculan said. "I think it is [a national championship-caliber performance] … If anybody [at another regional] had a higher score than us, I have a hard time believing they did better than we did tonight."
Twelfth-ranked Penn State, Yoculan's alma mater, will be joining the Gym Dogs in Nebraska, as they posted a 195.800 for second place. Host Nebraska won't be competing at nationals, as their 195.450 was only good enough for third place.
The Gym Dogs are now just two good meets away from their fifth-straight national championship.
"Two more times," Yoculan said.
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