GEORGIA BULLDOGS GYMNASTICS

Georgia Bulldog Gymnast Tiffany Tolnay. Thanks to us2briggs at flickr.com for the picture .

---

Another year, another NCAA Championship. It's a dog's life. Georgia "Gym Dog's" that is. The Georgia Bulldogs gymnastics team won its 4th straight national championship in 2008. The truly amazing thing is they did it without their star -- Courtney Kupets who went out for the year (in Feb) with an achilles tendon tear. Of course, she won the NCAA Individual All-Around in 2007.

But, never mind. Other Lady Bulldog's picked up the slack. This year Grace Taylor won the individual all-around on the balance beam and Courtney McCool won the individual all-around on the floor exercise. This gives UGA 33 Individual NCAA Gymnastics Titles all-time. More than any other school. What an amazing program!!

CONGRATS TO THE UGA "GYM DOGS"!!

It was even sweeter since, the University of Georgia hosted the NCAA championships in Athens at the Georgia's Stegeman Coliseum.

---

---

Georgia Gymdog Nikki Child. Thanks to us2briggs at flickr.com for the picture .

---

Prior Discussion: The coaches for the 2008 season are legendary head coach Suzanne Youculan (will retire after 2009), and two assistant coaches Jay Clark and Doug McAvinn.


Everyone is excited about the upcoming season because they will be defending their title. Not for one season, but for the fourth season, in a row.


The Lady Dogs are currently ranked #2 nationally, behind their SEC rival -- the Florida Gators.

Of course, practicing is even more vital this season. Routines must be set in perfect order and performed with agility and competitiveness. And as it is right now, they have found the key to making that happen.


The girls will perform in the 2008 season on the balance beam, uneven bars, vertical flips, and routines. With three NCAA Championship titles and the chance for number four, they will have to step up to the challenge just as they have stepped up to the challenge the last three seasons.


Courtney Kupets deserves special mention as the leader of the team and one of the best gymnasts in the world. Not only did she win the 2007 NCAA Gymnastics Individual All-Around Championship (for the second year in a row) -- but, she also won the Individual Vault and Balance Beam Titles.

The Lady Dogs perform as one team and although there are individual events, they all consider themselves one team. I don't think it will be very easy for an opponent trying to take the NCAA title away from them, although they will surely try. The ladies simply state one thing, and that is “we'll give it our best shot”. So far they have succeeded and kept their title in the NCAA Championships.

University of Georgia Gymnast Grace Taylor . Thanks to us2briggs at flickr.com for the picture .

---

Georgia Bulldogs gymnastics 2008 roster

Audrey Bowers/senior

Paige Burns/junior

Nikki Childs/senior

Megan Dowlen/senior

Christi Fortunato/sophomore

Katie Heenan/senior

Lauren Johnson/sophomore

Courtney Kupets/junior

Hilary Mauro/freshman

Cassidy McComb/freshman

Courtney McCool/sophomore

Marcia Newby/sophomore

Lauren Sessler/sophomore

Abby Stack/junior

Grace Taylor/sophomore

Tiffany Tolnay/junior

Show your support by buying Merchandise and Apparel, Tickets, and Baseball Caps.

---

What do you think?

We'd love to hear your comments and/or opinions. If you submit them here, other visitors can read them, rate them and comment on them. An e-mail address is not required.

Enter Your Title

Your comments go here. [ ? ]

Close Help Entering your comments is easy to do. Just type!... Your comments/story will appear on a Web page exactly the way you enter it here. You can wrap a word in square brackets to make it appear bold. For example [my story] would show as my story on the Web page containing your story. TIP: Since most people scan Web pages, include your best thoughts in your first paragraph.

Upload A Picture (optional) [ ? ]

Close Help Do you have a picture to add? Great! Click the button and find it on your computer. Then select it.

Add Picture Caption (optional) 

Author Information (optional)

To receive credit as the author, enter your information below.

Your Name	(first or full name)
Your Location	(ex. City, State, Country)

Submit Your Contribution

Check box to agree to these submission guidelines.

(You can preview and edit on the next page)