Spring Break
Kupets takes three NCAA titles, now has most all-time
TYLER ESTEP
Issue date: 4/17/09 Section: Sports
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With individual NCAA titles on bars, floor and beam Saturday following her all-around title on Thursday, Kupets finishes her career at Georgia with nine individual championships, the most ever by a single gymnast.
The mark pushes her past Kentucky's Jenny Hansen, who had eight.
The championship on floor, a tie with LSU's with Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, gives Kupets at least one individual title in every event during her career. She's also the first gymnast to do that.
"There's no question she's the best college gymnast of all-time," coach Suzanne Yoculan said.
"She, and this is related to the boxing gloves that got us through the end of the season, is the Muhammad Ali of gymnastics. The Greatest."
Kupets dominated competition at the NCAA Championships in Lincoln, Neb. all week, posting a perfect 10 on beam in the preliminaries Thursday, before putting up two more 10s on bars and vault in the Super Six Friday.
Her 9.950s on bars and floor gave her her first two titles of the day, before a 9.9875 on beam gave her still another.
She put up a 9.900 on her first vault, but a big hop on her second gave her an average of 9.856, good enough to tie her for third.
Kupets took titles on all-around, beam and bars during her freshman season in 2006, and on all-around and vault in 2007 before missing last year's NCAAs with an Achilles tear.
Statistically, and according to Yoculan, arguably the best gymnastics coach of all-time, Kupets is the greatest.
But she's not so sure.
"I don't believe that, because I just do what I do and I love it," Kupets said. "I don't know. It's kind of crazy for someone to say that about me. It's really an honor and I just don't believe that people would think that of me. I just have fun with what I do."
OTHER INDIVIDUAL GYM DOG COMPETITORS:
• Junior Courtney McCool, last season's floor champion, put up a 9.950 on balance beam, putting her at second place, just behind Kupets.
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