The No. 10-ranked Georgia Gymdogs will be opening March with an emotionally charged meet on Friday and a tri meet on the West Coast on Sunday.
Georgia will wrap up the Southeastern Conference portion of its schedule Friday when No. 8 Auburn visits at 7 p.m. The meet can be seen on SEC Network + with Melissa Lee, 9-time UGA national champion Courtney Kupets Carter and Kayce Smith on the call. Friday’s meet will serve as Senior Night with a post-meet ceremony planned for Mary Beth Box, Brandie Jay, Brittany Rogers and Anysia Unick.
The Gymdogs then will board a plane Saturday morning for Los Angeles in advance of Sunday’s meet against No. 7 UCLA and No. 16 Stanford in historic Pauley Pavilion. That meet will begin at 3 p.m. and will be shown on the Pac-12 Network with Jim Watson, Amanda Borden and Greg Marsden handling the announcing duties.
Box, Jay, Rogers and Unick made up the freshman class in 2013, which was Coach Danna Durante’s first in Athens.
“This senior class and our staff have experienced a great deal of highs and lows and learning together,” Durante said. “They were patient during that first year because our staff had to get to know all of the athletes, not just the freshmen. They figured out a lot of things on their own, so they became tougher and more independent because of it. The growth I’ve seen in this group is just phenomenal. It’s gratifying to see where they are now as seniors as compared to freshmen when it was like, ‘I’m at my wit’s end. Am I going to make it?’ I am thankful I got to be a part of that process with them and we’re looking forward to celebrating their careers.”
Box, Jay and Rogers have combined for 14 All-America certificates during their career and they are among the national leaders in several categories this season. Unick retired after two seasons due to injuries and remained with the Gymdogs as an undergraduate coach.
“When I was a freshman, a sophomore and a junior, I remember Senior Night being so important and so emotional,” Jay said. “I made sure I competed with all my heart for those seniors. Now that it’s our Senior Night, I know all of our teammates will respond the same way. I’m so excited to share this night with all of them.”
“I can’t say enough good things about our seniors,” freshman Gracie Cherrey said. “They are such great leaders. We couldn’t ask for a better senior class to lead us, to push us and to care so much about our team.”
The Gymdogs enter Friday’s meet nationally rated fourth on vault, sixth on bars, and ninth on floor exercise. Individually, UGA has several gymnasts who rank among the nation’s best. Jay is fourth on vault and 11th in the all-around, Rogers is sixth on bars, and Box is 15th on floor.
Georgia is 76-5 all-time against Auburn, 37-17 against UCLA and 21-3-1 against Stanford.
After the meet with UCLA and Stanford in Los Angeles on Sunday, the Gym Dogs will enjoy some time out west and will compete at Utah on March 12 to wrap up the regular season. The SEC Championship will be March 19 in North Little Rock, Ark., followed by the NCAA Southeast Regional in Athens on April 2.