No. 10 Georgia vs No. 6 Arkansas
Friday, January 29 | 8:30 p.m. ET | Stegeman Coliseum | Athens, Ga.
Watch: SEC Network
Live Stream: https://gado.gs/605
The No. 10 Georgia gymnastics team returns to Stegeman Coliseum on Friday night to face the No. 6 Arkansas Razorbacks at 8:30 p.m. The meet will be the second to appear on the SEC Network’s weekly rendition of Friday Night Heights.
HISTORY AGAINST ARKANSAS
The GymDogs hold a 36-5-1 record against the Razorbacks. The teams met in Fayetteville last season with Arkansas edging the GymDogs by two-tenths.
HAWTHORNE CONTINUES THE MOONWALK
Sophomore Soraya Hawthorne assumed the responsibility of taking over the Georgia moonwalk tradition on beam this season and debuted the move at LSU. She is the seventh GymDog to perform the moonwalk on the balance beam, following Nikki Childs, Cassidy McComb, Lindsey Cheek, Mary Beth Box, Morgan Reynolds, and Sabrina Vega.
SERVANT LEADERS
Coach Courtney Kupets Carter has encouraged the seniors to be servant leaders for their younger teammates. With the season, and training in general, looking different than year’s past it is important for them to look out for the underclassmen. Kupets Carter has praised the servant leadership of Emily Schild for stepping up.
GEORGIA SELECTED AS 2021 NCAA REGIONAL HOST
The University of Georgia gymnastics team has been selected to host the 2021 NCAA gymnastics regional April 1-3 in Stegeman Coliseum.
Georgia is one of four hosts for the 2021 regional championships, along with Utah, Missouri, and West Virginia.
The 2021 regional marks the 12th time Georgia has hosted the event since 1985. Georgia last hosted in 2019 when the GymDogs posted their highest score in a decade with a 198.050 to advance to the NCAA National Championship. Marissa Oakley earned a Perfect 10 on bars, marking the first GymDog since 1998 to earn a perfect score on that apparatus in regional competition. Together the GymDogs earned a score of 49.550 on beam, which tied for the fifth highest single-meet beam score in Georgia gymnastics history.
The 2020 NCAA Regional and National Championships were canceled due to COVID-19.
GYMDOGS FINISH STRONG AT LSU
The University of Georgia gymnastics team finished strong and showed continued improvement with a 196.375 against the LSU Tigers at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Friday night.
The 196.375 was Georgia’s best score after three meets, but the team ultimately fell to LSU’s 197.200.
FRESH FACES IN THE ALL-AROUND
Junior Megan Roberts and sophomore Haley de Jong both competed all-around for the first time in their Georgia career at Florida. De Jong took home the all-around title with a 39.175 and Roberts followed with a 39.150, both beating out two Florida gymnasts.
The next week at LSU, junior Rachel Baumann added her bars routine to the lineup to compete all-around for the first time.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Freshman Victoria Nguyen competed all-around in her first competition as a GymDog. She recorded an overall score of 39.400 after notching a 9.750 on vault, a meet-high 9.950 on bars, a 9.850 on beam, and a 9.850 on floor.
The Houston, Texas native’s bars score was the highest in the nation after the first meet.