Courtney McCool never dwelled on the possibility of competing in Missouri for the NCAA Regionals April 10.
She never sat and hoped that she would get the chance to compete in her home state for the first time in four years and, in one of the final gymnastics meets in her illustrious career.

“It’s going to be so much fun — I’m so excited,” the senior from Lee’s Summit, Mo., said.

Courtney McCool has been a vocal leader for the Gym Dogs all season long. Photo by DOROTHY KOZLOWSKI

McCool — who has 20 tickets for friends and family — never seriously considered attend the University of Missouri, a school only 90 minutes from her home in the Kansas City suburbs, despite having friends and teammates attend there.

“I would have loved to go there, but I already knew [Georgia] was my home and I hadn’t even visited here yet,” McCool said. “I just knew it when I talked to the coaches and the girls on the team and I knew that God was intending for me go here, so it wasn’t a hard decision at all, and I never really considered attending Missouri.”

Even though she visits the Mizzou campus in Columbia, Mo., every summer to visit friends and old teammates, McCool’s blood runs red and black.

And when the Gym Dogs take to the Hearnes Center floor Saturday night, McCool will have no love lost for anyone, especially those in the black and gold leotards. She and her Georgia teammates are there to make a statement.

“What we do is a reflection of Georgia, and it’s just like competing for your country,” McCool said earlier this season. “You’re competing for your college — competing for Georgia and to show what Georgia’s about.”

For someone who has represented her country — winning team silver in the 2004 Olympic Summer Games in Athens, Greece — that statement speaks volumes to her commitment.

“I’m just so glad it worked out for her to be able to go home to Missouri once during her career,” head coach Jay Clark said. “She has been our life this year, and she has been our driving force this year.

“She’s been our rock, and I’m so proud of the growth she has had as a gymnast and a person. This kid is committed right now.”
“Committed” may not be a strong enough adjective to describe McCool’s tenacious desire for victory.

“I have not yet met a person like Courtney McCool,” freshman Christa Tanella said. “I have never met someone with the leadership she shows on a yearly basis, and I have so much respect for her.

“She has an undying passion for life, and it’s addicting. When you are near her, she infects you with it. She’s an essential part of our team’s attitude and our team’s breakthroughs and everything we have accomplished.”

McCool’s voice can often be heard shouting encouragement in both the practice gym and competition, but she wasn’t always that way. She knew it wasn’t necessarily her place — until her senior year of course.

“This team feeds off our vocal leaders, and Courtney really has taken up that role,” junior Cassidy McComb said. “Last year, she wasn’t that person, but this year she has stepped up and provides whatever we need at that time.”

She anchors all three of her events — uneven bars, balance beam and the floor exercise — and early in the season, her scores ultimately determined whether the Gym Dogs came out victorious or not.

“Words don’t even describe how key she is, not only on the floor, but off it,” McComb said. “Her mentality is there all the time. She is picking everyone up all the time and her attitude is always there and always for the team.”

And as the finality of her gymnastics career rapidly approaches, she has her mind — and heart — set on finishing the way she came to Georgia: as a champion.

“[The last few meets] are going to be extremely special, and I am just ready to go out with a bang,” McCool said. “I’m ready to finish what we started this year and to just enjoy our last few weeks together as the 2010 Gym Dogs, and hit our peak at nationals.”