The Gym Dogs closed the regular season out defeating No. 5 Utah on Alumni and Senior day 197.250-196.650. During pregame, the team honored alumni as they formed the tunnel the Gym Dogs ran through before the meet. Georgia honored its five seniors after the meet and included gymnasts Ashlyn Broussard, Lauren Johnson, Morgan Reynolds, Beth Roberts and Rachel Schick. They also honored Utah’s sole senior as well.
Georgia collected event titles on vault, bars, and floor. Reynolds and Johnson each posted a 9.900 to share the event title on vault. Hayley Sanders and Rachel Dickson shared the bars title with scores of 9.900 as well. Gigi Marino and Dickson collected the floor event title with scores of 9.950. The team also posted two team highs on vault and floor.
The Gym Dogs jumped out to an early lead after a team high score of 49.375 on the vault. Reynolds and Johnson posted the team’s high score on the event with their 9.900s. The score is Johnson’s season best, and Reynolds tied her career best. Sydney Snead contributed with a 9.875, Marino with a 9.850 and Dickson with a 9.850. The effort gave Georgia a prominent lead of 49.375-49.025 after the first rotation.
Georgia added to its momentum during the second rotation on bars with a score of 49.175. Sanders collected a career-best effort with a score of 9.900. Dickson matched her and kept Georgia’s pace high as she posted a 9.900 for herself. Rachel Schick contributed a 9.85 along with Snead posting a 9.750, Reynolds a 9.775, and Johnson with a 9.725. The performance by the Gym Dogs maintained the lead through the second rotation 98.550-98.150.
During the third rotation, Georgia put together a sound performance on the beam. The team put together a score of 49.100 with Vivi Babalis, Sabrina Vega, and Schick leading the way with 9.850s. Georgia’s effort on beam was sound enough for them to maintain the lead going into the final rotation 147.650-147.400.
Georgia dominated during the final rotation posting a season and a team high of 49.600. After Reynolds had started things off for the Bulldogs posting a 9.875, Georgia shut the floor down. The next five gymnasts posted at least a 9.900 with four of them posting career-best scores. Babalis started the hot streak posting a 9.900. Vega followed with a 9.900, and then Snead kept pace posting a 9.900. Dickson took the momentum to another level scoring a 9.950 before Marino anchored the event. For the fourth game in a row, Marino posted a 9.950 along with collecting a ten from one of the judges, and sealing the win.
“I think (the team’s momentum is) great,” said head coach Danna Durante. “We were stuck right under that 197-mark for so many weeks. Two weeks in a row to consecutively go above 197 even with still finding places where we can continue to get better, I think is a huge confidence builder. I think that will help us. We will rotate starting on the floor, which means we will finish on beam. We do really well finishing on beam on the road. I think it is really great preparation for us going into Jacksonville next week.”
Georgia will head to Jacksonville, Florida on March 18 to compete in the SEC Gymnastics Championship. The team competes during the evening session with a start time of 6 p.m.
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