The Red and Black

Issue date: 4/17/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: DANIEL SHIREY Freshman Gym Dog Kathryn Ding will compete for an individual NCAA title on bars Saturday.

LINCOLN, Neb. - Aside from Georgia's 197.425 Thursday, the best all day at the preliminary round of the NCAA Championships in Lincoln, five Gym Dogs earned All-American honors and qualified for Saturday's individual competition.

• Senior Courtney Kupets, crowned the NCAA all-around champion for the third time in her career Thursday, will compete in all four events.

Three more wins would give her nine individual NCAA titles for her career, pushing her past Kentucky's Jenny Hansen for the most all-time.

• Senior Tiffany Tolnay, now a 16-time All-American, will compete on vault and floor.

Tolnay finished second in the all-around Thursday, and her 9.925 and 9.900 on vault and floor, respectively, qualified her for Saturday's competition.

• Junior Grace Taylor, last season's individual champ on beam, will compete on bars and beam.

She qualified with a 9.9 on bars and 9.95 on beam.

• Freshman Kathryn Ding, who earned her first All-American title with a 9.875 on bars Thursday, will vie for the individual title on the same event Saturday.

• Courtney McCool earned All-America status on beam with a 9.95 to push her career total to two.

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