University of Georgia Athletics
2001 Season Review
October 24, 2006 | Gymnastics
2001 NCAA Championships: 2nd Place
Hosting the National Championships in Athens, Georgia entered the final rotation of the Super Six trailing UCLA by .1. UCLA’s last rotation was the balance beam and Georgia’s was vault. “Ninety-nine times out of 100, I would take that situation and think it would favor us,” Georgia senior Suzanne Sears said. “I thought all we had to do was five good vaults and we would have our 6thNational Title.”
With the Stegeman Coliseum crowd of 8,245 on it feet, the Gym Dogs stormed to a 49.5 on vault which included a career best 9.975 by Sears and a 9.95 from senior Kristi Lichey, who was competing in the final meet of her career on a badly sprained ankle.
At the same time, the Bruins were calming hitting five beam routines for a total of 49.575 which was the second highest total in UCLA history.
“We put the pressure on UCLA and made them earn the win. Every athlete on our team gave everything they had and I am very proud of them. But, you have to give UCLA credit for competing with so much calm confidence in our arena”
While most schools would be content with a second place finish, there was still a certain emptiness in the air for a program that doesn’t just expect to contend for a national championship every year but rather to win one.
“It was disappointing,” said senior Kathleen Shrieves, who earned First Team All-American honors on the bars for the second consecutive year.
While everyone agreed that not fulfilling the ultimate goal of winning a sixth national title was disappointing, there were many bright spots during the championships:
- Georgia’s second place finish at the NCAAs gave the school its 13th top three finish in the last 15 years.
- For the fifth consecutive year, Georgia was the highest finishing SEC school.
- Cory Fritzinger captured the NCAA vault title becoming Georgia’s 14th gymnast to win a combined 26 NCAA individual titles.
- Georgia had a total of eight 1st team All American Awards by four different gymnasts. Cory Fritzinger received 1st team All American status on vault, beam and floor; Suzanne Sears and Marline Stephens were both 1st team All American on vault and floor, and Kathleen Shrieves was a first team All American on the uneven bars.
Southeastern Conference Championships: SEC Champions!
The 2001 SEC Championships were held in Birmingham, Alabama on March 23, 2001. Georgia won its 11the conference title with a season high score of 198.00 including an SEC record of 49.625 on floor. Alabama was far out of reach with a second place score of 197.45 and Florida was a distant third with a score of 196.375.
- Cory Fritzinger was named SEC Freshman of the Year.
- Georgia had the individual SEC Champion on every apparatus and the All Around: Cory Fritzinger wins the all around with a 39.7, Kristi Lichey won the vault with a score of 9.950, Cory Fritzinger and Kathleen Shrieves shared the uneven bars title with a score of 9.95, Cory Fritzinger won the beam title with a 9.95 and the floor exercise title was shared by Marline Stephens and Suzanne Sears with a 9.95
- Suzanne Yoculan was named SEC coach of the Year for the fourth time.
- Amanda Curry, Anna Gingrich, Danielle Maurone, Suzanne Sears and Kathleen Shrieves were named to the SEC honor roll.
- Six Georgia gymnasts were named to the All SEC Team: Cory Fritzinger, Suzanne Sears, Kathleen Shrieves, Kristi Lichey, Marline Stephens and Chelsa Byrd.
Regular Season Notes
With an overall record of 33-3-1, Georgia completed the season leading the nation in attendance, averaging 9,855 fans for six meets. Less than five tenths made the difference between Georgia’s three losses—two losses to UCLA by a combined .275 and one loss to Alabama by .15--- and their third undefeated season and sixth national championship. “It was a great season overall,” Kathleen Shrieves said. “When you consider that we lost just three meets by so little, it really says a lot about our team and how we never were out of any competition.” What made this teams accomplishments even more special was the fact that often times it was performing under adverse conditions. The ominous overtones could be heard from the start of the year as the Gym Dogs lost freshman, Kinsey Rowe to a torn ACL in preparation to the season opener. Then the day prior to the meet, Yoculan’s mother, Doris Allen, suffered a brain aneurysm, causing Yoculan to miss a meet for the first time in 18 years. Another ofGeorgia’s top freshman, Sierra Sapunar, suffered a season ending elbow injury at the mid point of the year. “We hung in there all season long,” Suzanne Sears said “and we are proud of our finish and our success. Suzanne Sears becomes only the secondGeorgia gymnast ever (Kim Arnold) to score a 10.00 in the same event three consecutive meets. Senior, Kristi Lichey, was named SEC Gymnast of the Week three times in 2001, the first time ever a gymnast earned the honor three times in one year.