The Red and Black

Issue date: 2/11/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: LINDY DUGGER The Gym Dogs await their introduction at Friday's meet against N.C. State at Stegeman Coliseum. The Gym Dogs won the match with an overall score of 196.875-195.175, giving them a 5-1 overall record while remaining 3-0 in the SEC. Their next meet is this Friday at Auburn. [Click to enlarge]

Suzanne Yoculan may be more like Knowshon Moreno than she's given credit for.

Before her Gym Dogs' 196.875 - 195.175 win over N.C. State on Friday, Yoculan told a young fan that her favorite song was "Soldier Man." Assuming she was referencing the "Soulja Boy" that became popular on Sanford Stadium Saturdays, it was an eventful beginning to what would be an interesting win for the top-ranked Gym Dogs (5-1, 3-0 SEC).

Georgia opened the meet with a season-high on vault, arguably their biggest question mark, and followed with solid routines on bars to set the pace for a 1.700-point victory despite some question marks in the second half of the meet.

"We still didn't do perfect vaults, but I think that the energy was there and our minds were right," said senior Katie Heenan, who, along with junior Courtney Kupets, led the event with a 9.950.

Kupets also lead the meet with a 9.975 on the uneven bars.

Things went comparably sour for the Gym Dogs after that, with a very shaky performance from the beam lineup and a floor exercise that was only slightly better.

Heenan, sophomore Courtney McCool and senior Nikki Childs all had significant wobbles in their routines. Perhaps most uncharacteristically, Kupets, an 11-time All-American, fell on her dismount after what Yoculan called a "perfect" routine.

The former Olympian now has fallen three times this season after missing only two routines in her first pair of seasons in Athens.

"(Consistency) is always a challenge for an athlete and a coach, just getting a team to be consistent and to do in competition what they do in practice," Yoculan said. "I still believe that what you do in practice will carry over into competition."

After starting the season with five falls on beam in three meets, the Gym Dogs dominated the event with a 49.500 in their first home meet two weeks ago, and looked to have put the problem to bed. But Friday it awoke again, at least in the minds of the Gym Dogs.

"I think we need a lot more help and work on beam mentally," said senior Megan Dowlen, who returned to the beam with a 9.725 Friday. "Because we do it in practice every day but we definitely need to do some more mental sets and have the coaches push us harder."

Despite the woes on the beam, a lackluster performance on the floor - freshman Cassidy McComb fell - and some experimentation with lineups in most events, the Gym Dogs were still able to chart their fifth win of the season.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools