The No. 8-ranked Georgia gymnastics team will advance to the NCAA Athens Regional Finals after competing to a 197.300 victory over No. 9 Kentucky, Missouri and Iowa State on Friday afternoon in Stegeman Coliseum.   

As the top two finishers of today’s session, Georgia and Kentucky (196.850) will compete again tomorrow night at 7 p.m. Joining them will be the top two finishers from tonight’s session. 

“We talked about confidence in the team meeting today, and they really showed that today throughout the meet,” Georgia head coach Courtney Kupets Carter said. “I really wanted to bring that to the forefront of their minds because a lot of times they second guess themselves in certain situations. I call that ‘trash-talk.’

They have to throw it away and remember all of the positive qualities in themselves because they are great, great gymnasts, and they make a very great team. Coming out on vault was absolutely amazing.

I know Jason Vonk, our vault coach, has been wanting that 49.500, so we nailed that from the very beginning, and Mikayla [Magee] was a very big part of that being the first athlete up. That is important when it comes to building momentum. She did a fantastic job, and that started off the meet for us.”

On vault, Georgia propelled itself to a season-high score of 49.500, with four GymDogs matching their season bests. Senior Sydney Snead and junior Rachael Lukacs each scored a 9.95, with junior Sabrina Vega adding a 9.90. Freshmen GymDogs Mikayla Magee and Abbey Ward capped the event with 9.85 scores apiece.

Georgia tallied a 49.250 in bars led by the 9.90 scores of Snead and freshman Alexa Al-Hameed. Freshman Megan Roberts, junior Rachel Dickson and sophomore Marissa Oakley each scored a 9.85 to wrap up the event.Next on beam, the GymDogs finished with a 49.225. Vega grabbed Georgia’s highest score in the event with a 9.925, and Oakley followed with a 9.875. Snead added a 9.85, while freshman Rachel Baumann scored a 9.80. 

Georgia had an exciting finish on floor, totaling a 49.325 after Vega earned 10’s from two judges to match her career best 9.975.   Lukacs was the next-leading scorer with 9.925, and Snead followed with 9.825. Freshman Sami Davis and Dickson performed to scores of 9.80. 

The GymDogs return to Stegeman Coliseum tomorrow night for the NCAA Regionals Finals. The meet is set for 7 p.m. on SECN+.

FINAL RESULTS-

GEORGIA: 197.300 (VT- 49.500, UB- 49.250, BB- 49.225, FX- 49.325)
KENTUCKY: 196.850 (VT- 49.200, UB- 49.125, BB- 49.175, FX- 49.350)
MISSOURI: 196.625 (VT- 49.025, UB- 49.175, BB- 49.200, FX- 49.225)
IOWA STATE: 196.250 (VT- 49.025, UB- 49.175, BB- 48.875, FX- 49.175)

VAULT- 49.500
Mikayla Magee: 9.850
Abbey Ward: 9.850
Sabrina Vega: 9.900
Rachel Dickson: 9.725
Rachael Lukacs: 9.950
Sydney Snead: 9.950

BARS- 49.250
Megan Roberts: 9.850
Rachael Lukacs: 9.775
Sydney Snead: 9.800
Alexa Al-Hameed: 9.900
Rachel Dickson: 9.825
Marissa Oakley: 9.875

BEAM- 49.225
Sydney Snead: 9.850
Rachel Dickson: 9.800
Mikayla Magee: 9.225
Marissa Oakley: 9.875
Rachel Baumann: 9.775
Sabrina Vega: 9.925

FLOOR- 49.325
Sami Davis: 9.800
Rachel Baumann: 9.600
Rachael Lukacs: 9.925
Rachel Dickson: 9.800
Sabrina Vega: 9.975
Sydney Snead: 9.825