Untitled Document It's hard to know where to begin. The 1992 Georgia gymnastics season was so successful, so dramatic and so diverse in its qualities that it's hard to define in just a few words.

Georgia dominated its competition in 1992, rolling through the regular season undefeated, winning the Southeastern Conference Championship by almost two full points over its nearest competitor, storming through the Southeast Regional by taking all but one of the top three finishes in every event and in the all-around.

t wasn't until the NCAA Championships that the Lady Bulldogs even looked human, finishing second against the best in the nation despite having its weakest meet of the season.

"Everything was easy for us last year," said Georgia coach Suzanne Yoculan, "but that's not to say we didn't work hard. Everyone worked very hard. We reached our potential and continued to improve."

Leading that success was the remarkable Heather Stepp. A junior, Stepp returned from an elbow injury that was expected to end her career, competed in every Georgia meet and established a new standard for Georgia gymnastics.

"To see Heather come back and compete, to see her up there on the awards platform...it was so impressive," said Yoculan. "It was amazing that, not only did she come back, but she came back better than before she was injured. It’s a tribute to Heather’s determination and work-ethic that she was so successful."

How successful? Stepp was the NCAA vault champion and the runner-up in the NCAA all-around competition. She was an all-American on floor and beam as well. Scoring a school-record 39.60, Stepp won the SEC all-around title, placing third or better on each apparatus and sharing the SEC vault title with two Georgia teammates. She scored one of the eight perfect 10.0s by the Georgia team last year, earning hers on the vault in a meet at Florida.

To call 1992 the year of the 10.0 would be an understatement. Take Hope Spivey, for example. The sophomore, who already had scored two perfect 10.0s as a freshman, added six as a sophomore...more than any other gymnast in history. She scored five on the floor exercises (and in fact entered the postseason with a regional qualifying score of 10.0) and one on the vault. Always a crowd-pleaser, Spivey's perfect routines were a sight to see.

"We knew what Hope was capable of, but she still is so impressive time after time," said Yoculan. "The thing about Hope was that she reached such a high level so early in the season, then stayed there until the end of the season. She peaked in January, then plateaued at her peak. "

And speaking of peaking...take a look at Georgia's FUF—the Freshmen United Front. Always together and always laughing, Andrea Dewey, Nneka Logan and Agina Simpkins banded together in and out of competition. All three were among five Georgia gymnasts to earn all-America honors.
Logan, whose strongest event is the beam, was a surprise runner-up finisher at NCAAs on the uneven bars. Conversely Simpkins, a 9.95 scorer during the season on both vault and bars, placed fourth at NCAAs on the beam. Dewey, whose tenacity and talent throughout the season earned her Georgia's McMinn award for competitive consistency, was an all-American on the vault.

If Yoculan wasn't talking about the FUF, she was raving about her S-Squad: the trio of all-arounders named Spivey, Stepp and Simpkins. All three scored over 39.00 in the all-around during the season, and all three are expected to do so again in 1993. The trio, along with Jennifer Carbone, Dewey and Rowlette, gave Georgia the toughest vault lineup in the nation. Georgia's 49.55 team score on vault is an NCAA record.

Nowhere was the dominance of the S-Squad more apparent than at the SEC Championships in Baton Rouge. Georgia was the favorite going in, but no one expected such a rout. Stepp (39.60), Spivey (39.50) and Simpkins (39.20) placed 1-2-3 in the all-around, Stepp and Spivey shared the vault title with teammate Sandy Rowlette, Simpkins won the bars, and Spivey and Stepp went 1-2 on the floor.

Beam was won by Nneka Logan and Alabama's Dana Dobransky.

"We dominated SECs," said Yoculan. "No team has really done anything like that before. To have a winner on each event...amazing. We expected that of ourselves, but it was, in retrospect, amazing. "

Other than the SEC Championships, the biggest night of the year for Georgia was February 1. Competing against BYU and Illinois, Georgia not only broke, but shattered, the NCAA scoring mark with a 196.90. At the time it set the standard in the NCAA and set the stage for the high-scoring season that was 1992. Spivey scored her first 10.0 of the season, while she and Stepp both set what was then an NCAA all-around mark, scoring 39.55s.

Another highlight of the regular season was the final home meet of the year, vs. Alabama. The rowdy crowd of 9,858 was not only a Georgia gymnastics record, but it was also the largest crowd to ever see a women's collegiate event in the state of Georgia. They weren't disappointed, either, as four 10.0s were scored, two by Spivey (on floor and vault) and one by 'Bama's Dee Foster (also on vault).

The fourth 10.0 was a fitting tribute to Georgia's lone senior, Chris Rodis. A three-time all-American with a creative flair for performing that made her a crowd favorite, Rodis scored the only 10.0 of her illustrious career in her final home meet.

Following that and SECs, Georgia took its travelling show to Florida for the NCAA Regionals. The Lady Bulldogs had won the previous four regionals, and 1992 was no different. Georgia placed the top three on every event but one. Georgia's performance included a 1-2-3 finish on the balance beam, thanks to the efforts of assistant coach Delene Darst. Season-long standouts on the beam included Carbone, Kelly Macy and Traci Tilton.

The stage was set for NCAAs. Georgia was the second seed behind high-scoring Utah. The Lady Bulldogs, however, had yet to be tested.
"Our team never got a taste of a close, nail-biting competition," said Yoculan, "because we competed strongly all season, right up through the end."
The Georgia team had its first and only "off-meet" of the season, and it happened at a bad time. Despite several falls and what can be called a sub-par performance, Georgia still finished second in to Utah.

"As a team, we had a letdown," said Yoculan. "We went through the whole season without letting down. What was hardest about it was that, if we had competed at our best, or even competed at our early-season level, we could have been the national champions."

The NCAA Championships were not a lost cause. Stepp brought home the national title on the vault. Five Georgia gymnasts earned all-American honors, more than any other school. Logan's performance to secure second place on the uneven bars was astounding, as were the efforts of Spivey, Dewey and Simpkins in their individual final events.

"We saw tremendous changes from our younger gymnasts, we saw excellent leadership from our upperclassmen," said Yoculan. "That team, with all the talent and all the hard work, deserved to be considered the elite in the nation."

Untitled Document

1992 Results & Scores
1/12	No.6 Penn State	192.90-188.40 W
1/19	vs. No.11 LSU	193.35-184.65 W
1/25	at No.9 UCLA	194.00-189.60 W
2/1	vs. No.17 BYU	196.90-188.20 W
	vs. ILLINOIS	196.90-183.95 W
2/14	at No.5 Florida	194.80-192.70 W
	w/ Iowa State	194.80-185.35 W
2/16	vs. No.18 KENTUCKY	194.45-187.60 W
2/22	at No.4 Alabama	195.35-194.80 W
2/29	BULLDOG INVITE
	No.16 MICHIGAN	196.00-189.30 W
	No.17 W. VIRGINIA	196.00-185.60 W
3/11	at No.11 Auburn	195.10-189.85 W
3/14	vs. No.4 ALABAMA	195.70-194.00 W
3/28	at SEC Championships (Baton Rouge, La)
	No.4 Alabama	196.40-194.50 W
	No.13 Auburn	196.40-191.35 W
	No.8 Florida	196.40-189.60 W
	Louisiana State	196.40-188.65 W
	Kentucky	196.40-185.95 W
4/11	at NCAA Southeast Regional (Gainsville, Fla.)
	No.11 Towson State	196.550-189.075 W
	George Washington	196.550-186.875 W
	Kentucky	196.550-185.075 W
	No.17 West Virginia	196.550-184.975 W
	North Carolina St.	196.550-183.550 W
4/25	NCAA Championships (Minneapolis, Minn.)
	Utah (1)	194.60-196.65 L
	Alabama (6)	194.60-193.35 W
	Penn State (5)	194.60-192.70 W
	Arizona (4)	194-60-191.95 W
	Oregon State (3)	194.60-191.30 W
	Arizona State (9)	194.60-191.00 W
	California (11)	194.60-190.70 W
	UCLA (8)	194.60-189.80 W
	Stanford (12)	194.60-198.10 W
	Florida (10)	194.60-188.70 W
	Brigham Young (7)	194.60-187.70 W

rankings indicated are at time of meet
NCAA seeds in parentheses, Georgia was seeded No.2

Notes from 1992
• Georgia scored its highest NCAA Championship total ever, a 196.40; the 195.65 scored by Utah was a meet record. Standing between Georgia and a team championship were three falls on the bars, which Georgia had the top scores on all season. Georgia as a team had the highest scores on two events, a 49.10 on vault and a 48.45 on the balance beam.

• Winning an individual  national championship for Georgia was junior Heather Stepp, with a score on the vault of 9.812. Stepp advanced to the event championships after scoring a 9.875 on the vault in Friday’s team competition. Stepp also placed second in the all-around, scoring a 39.45. Stepp became an all-American for the first time in her career, earning honors in the all-around and on vault, floor and balance beam.

• Joining Stepp on Georgia’s list of all-Americans were Hope Spivey on vault, floor, and in the all-around, Nneka Logan on the uneven bars, Agina Simpkins on balance beam and Andrea Dewey on vault. Logan, a surprise finalist on bars since her strongest event all year was beam, scored a 9.90 for second place. Simpkins, strongest on vault and bars, placed fourth on the balance beam.

• Georgia brought home its second consecutive SEC championship trophy, winning at LSU with a score of 196.40. Placing second was Alabama at 194.50. Individuals were led by junior Heather Stepp, the all-around champion, who totalled an SEC and UGA record 39.60.

• When Georgia faced Alabama at home on March 14, a record crowd of 9,858 was on hand. It was not only the largest crowd in Georgia women’s athletic history, but the largest crowd ever to see a women’s collegiate sporting event in Georgia.

• Chris Rodis closed out her illustrious career with a 9.725 on the floor exercises at the NCAAs. Rodis, a member of Georgia’s 1989 national champion team, scored the first 10.0 of her career and hit a 9.90 or better eight times in 1992.

• Georgia coach Suzanne Yoculan improved her career record at Georgia to 163-29-1 with an 18-0 mark last year. She coached the Lady Bulldogs to their seventh straight finish in the NCAA top five, and added Georgia’s first silver trophy to the two gold and two bronze already in the trophy case.

The Lowdown on High Scores
• Prior to 1992, eight 10.0s had been scored in NCAA competition. In 1992 alone, 25 were scored, for a grand total of 33 scores of 10.0 in NCAA Division I collegiate women's gymnastics.

• Lady Bulldogs have scored more 10.0s than any other team's gymnasts—13. Utah's gymnasts have scored nine, Oregon State has three.

• Lady Bulldog Hope Spivey-Sheeley has scored more 10.0s than any other collegiate gymnast. In just two years, she has scored eight 10.0s (Seven on floor, one on vault).

• Utah's Missy Marlowe, a 1992 senior, is the only collegiate gymnast to have scored a 10.0 on every apparatus.

A Chronological Listing of 10.0s

K. Garrison-Steves	Okla.	BB	4/9/88
Lucy Wener	UGA	UB	4/15/89
Pam Titus	Fla.	FX	1/25/91
Missy Marlowe	Utah	UB	2/11/91
Missy Marlowe	Utah	UB	3/1/91
Hope Spivey	UGA	FX	3/2/91
Rachelle Fruge	LSU	FX	3/15/91
Lori Brady	N.Hamp	V	1/18/92
Hope Spivey	UGA	FX	4/6/91
Missy Marlowe	Utah	BB	2/7/92
Hope Spivey	UGA	FX	2/14/92
Heather Stepp	UGA	V	2/14/92
Cindy Tom	Cal	UB	2/15/92
Hope Spivey	UGA	FX	2/29/92
Chari Knight	Ore. St.	UB	2/29/92
Chari Knight	Ore. St.	BB	2/29/92
Missy Marlowe	Utah	V	3/2/92
Missy Marlowe	Utah	FX	3/9/92
Kristen Kenoyer	Utah	BB	3/9/92
Dainty Mae Hiser	W. Va	V	3/10/92
Chari Knight	Ore. St.	UB	3/13/92
Hope Spivey	UGA	V	3/14/92
Hope Spivey	UGA	FX	3/14/92
Dee Foster	'BAMA	V	3/14/92
Chris Rodis	UGA	FX	3/14/92
Hope Spivey	UGA	FX	3/28/92
Missy Marlowe	Utah	UB	3/28/92
Kristen Kenoyer	Utah	BB	3/28/92
Christy McAdams	BYU	V	3/28/92
Anna Basaldua	Ariz.	V	3/28/92
Tina Brinkman	ASU	FX	3/28/92
Missy Marlowe	Utah	BB	4/11/92

• This many 10.0s will soon be a thing of the past. In 1994, an additional skill level, "E," will be added to the elements of gymnastics scoring. Currently, A- through D-level skills are judged. It will take more difficult routines to score a perfect 10.0 starting next season.

University of Georgia Athletics

1992 Season Review

Related News

Related Videos