Freshman Gina Nuccio competes on the uneven bars on Jan. 9. She scored a 9.775.

Yoculan questions freshmen

By: TYLER ESTEP

Posted: 1/14/09

When you're a Gym Dog, the words "Suzanne's not happy" are the last ones you want to hear.

Suzanne's not happy.

After the Gym Dogs' unimpressive season-opening win over West Virginia Friday, head coach Suzanne Yoculan was less-than-enthused, especially with her freshmen. The sentiment carried over to Tuesday.

"They don't fight. They haven't figured out what it means. They haven't," Yoculan said. "It's not club gymnastics where you practice all week and there's a meet and you get to go in it even if you're missing your routines. Club kids compete and go in the meet even if you're missing. It's not going to happen here."

First-year Gym Dogs Kat Ding and Gina Nuccio both made their debuts on bars Friday, with Ding falling and Nuccio making a few key mistakes that resulted in a 9.775.

For Yoculan though, that wasn't the most disturbing part. Ding was scheduled to do exhibition routines on vault and beam Friday, and classmate Amber Trani was supposed to do an exhibition on vault. But Yoculan pulled them from those after poor warm-up routines, questioning their "fire."

"Not only didn't I see the fire in them, but they were a distraction. They were a distraction," Yoculan said. "They were warming up on beam and falling all over the place … It was a waste. And they know it. They know I wasn't happy about it. They're not going to go up there again and do exhibition and fall all over the place. Or go up and even take the time in warm-ups."

Every freshman has been battling injuries, and Yoculan gave some credence to the notion that a freshly-sprained ankle hindered Nuccio's performance. But even they'll admit that their minds weren't where they needed to be.

"I was not where I was supposed to be in my head," Ding said. "I was like there's too many fans, I want to compete, I want to do good, I want to do this, I want to do this, this and this, and it completely bogged me down. I was not there."

Said Nuccio: "We now know what the first meet is like and the emotions we feel. I think we can only get better from there and as soon as our bodies are getting better, I think we'll pick it up a little more and hopefully make a better impression for the freshmen."

The opportunities are there, Yoculan said, for them to make an impact. They're just not seizing them.

"You're going to see their character come out," she said. "You're either going to see them compete for what they want, for a lineup position, or they're going to crumble and you're not going to see them compete all year. It's up to them."

Kupets named SEC Athlete of the Week

Senior Gym Dog Courtney Kupets was named the SEC Athlete of the Week, as announced Tuesday.

In her first meet since tearing her Achilles last spring, Kupets, a five-time national champion and 10-time All-American, took the all-around title with a nation-high 39.45.

Yoculan said she felt Kupets may have been a little tight, trying to prove something in her return, but Kupets saw it a little differently.

"I don't have anything to prove to anyone in my opinion. It's all for me," she said. "I was definitely nervous. I was a little more nervous than normal, just hadn't really gotten into the flow yet, but that's what the beginning of the season will do for you."