No. 1 Gym Dogs Open 2010 Season Against Stanford

#7 Stanford @ # 1 Georgia Saturday, Jan. 9 • 4 p.m. Stegeman Coliseum • Athens, Ga.
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No. 1 Georgia will open the 2010 season when the Gym Dogs welcome seventh-ranked Stanford to Stegeman Coliseum Saturday at 4 p.m. Georgia is coming off a fifth-straight NCAA title in 2009 and returns nine letterwinners off that squad including All-Americans Kat Ding, Hilary Mauro, Cassidy McComb, Courtney McCool, Marcia Newby and Grace Taylor. For only the third time in Georgia gymnastics history, the Gym Dogs will begin a new era as Jay Clark makes his debut against Stanford. Rick Walton was the first head coach in the program's history, and he was succeeded in 1984 by Suzanne Yoculan. Yoculan led the Gym Dogs to 10 NCAA titles and 16 SEC championships in her 26-year coaching career. Clark was an assistant on Yoculan's staff from 1990-96 and 1998-2004. "We're excited," Clark said. "When we left for the break we were excited about where we were, and the break always sets us back a little bit from a physical standpoint. They always have to go through some adjustments from being sore, but the kids are excited. The campus has kind of opened up and everyone seems to be getting back in here. There is a lot of talk about gymnastics right now. We're very excited and ready to get this thing going. The biggest thing is we just need to compete. We trained all fall and it's time to get going and see where we are. I think it's going to be a great atmosphere." The Georgia-Stanford meet will be televised on a tape-delay basis by CSS. The first air date is Jan. 12 at 10 p.m. Eastern. Gxtra will also provide live coverage of the meet on www.georgiadogs.com .
Tickets
$10 for adults; $6 for youth (high school and under) To order, call the UGA Ticket Office at 706-542-1231 or visit the georgiadogs.com online ticket office.
A Look At The Cardinal
Stanford enters the 2010 season ranked No. 7 in the nation, coming off a 23-8 season and missing a spot in the 2009 NCAA Super Six by just 0.075 points. The Cardinal had logged back-to-back Super Six appearances in 2007 and 2008, adding a Pac-10 title in 2008. The 2009 squad reached the NCAA Championships for the seventh time in nine years and spent four straight weeks ranked third in the polls. The Cardinal returns senior All-America Carly Janiga, who took second to Georgia's Courtney Kupets on the uneven bars in the NCAA individuals last season. Janiga's finish was the highest ever by a Stanford gymnast and was the team's best finish since 2001. Behind Janiga, Stanford returns 11 other members of last year's team while welcoming in three freshmen who are each multiple-time Junior Olympic qualifiers. Stanford freshman Ashley Morgan is the daughter of Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and ESPN commentator Joe Morgan.
Seamless Transition
Head coach Jay Clark enters his first season at the helm of the five-time defending national champion gymnastics team, but is no stranger to the program after spending 17 years as an assistant on the Gym Dogs' staff and the last five as associate head coach. Clark is the third head coach in the program's 29-year history that includes 10 national championships, 16 Southeastern Conference titles and 21 NCAA Regional crowns. Clark succeeds Suzanne Yoculan, under whom he served as an assistant while overseeing the Gym Dogs' success on the uneven bars. This season, he will continue to lead Georgia's bar performers while again coordinating the recruiting efforts.
Rankings
Georgia is ranked No. 1 in the GymInfo Coaches Poll, receiving 13 first place votes. Stanford is ranked No. 7.
Georgia & The Pac-10
The Gym Dogs hold an all-time record of 95-23-0 against the seven teams from the Pac-10 conference. In addition to the mark of 16-1-0 against Stanford, Georgia holds a record of 32-13-0 all-time against UCLA – its other 2010 foe from that conference.
The Stanford Series
Georgia faces off against Stanford for the 18th time in their histories. In the all-time series, the Gym Dogs own a 16-1 advantage dating back to their first meeting in 1986. The teams last saw one another in last year's NCAA Championship prelims, where Georgia finished first to advance to the Super Six and Stanford took fourth during that session. The Gym Dogs opened with the Cardinal to kick off the 2007 season, downing Stanford by a score of 197.375-194.6 on Jan. 6 in Athens. The teams' 2008 dual meet on Jan. 13 was also the season-opener for the Cardinal that season, although it wasn't for Georgia. The Gym Dogs won that day by a closer score of 196.875-196.150. The teams did not face off during the 2009 regular season.
Gym Dogs In Openers
The Gym Dogs are a convincing 17-6 in season-opening dual meets dating back to 1981, while they boast a record of 41-9-1 in all season-opening contests, including Super Six competition and other Invitationals. In each of the past five seasons of Georgia's national championship runs, the Gym Dogs are 11-1 overall to start the year. The Gym Dogs are 31-6 all-time in home openers, including a perfect 5-0 in the last five seasons.
Top-10 Opponents
The Gym Dogs waste no time getting into it this year, set to take on three top-10 opponents to start the 2010 season. Following the matchup with No. 7 Stanford, Georgia takes on third-ranked Alabama and No. 2 Utah in back-to-back road meets. The Gym Dogs will face a total of seven teams ranked in the top 10 in the preseason polls, and a total of nine ranked opponents, with meetings set against No. 4 Florida, No. 5 UCLA, No. 6 LSU, No. 8 Arkansas, No. 12 Michigan, and No. 14 Auburn.
Stegeman Coliseum
The Gym Dogs have maintained an overall record of 265-20-1 overall (.926) while competing inside Stegeman Coliseum in Athens. That includes a regular-season ledger of 183-11-1 and a mark of 82-9-0 in the postseason. Overall, the Georgia gymnastics team boasts an overall record of 877-143-6 (.855) in program history.
Picked First Again
No stranger to the spotlight, the Georgia gymnastics team has been picked No. 1 in the preseason poll for the fifth straight season (2006-2010). The Gym Dogs were ranked No. 2 to start the year for the four seasons before that (2002-05).
Gym Dogs On TV
The 2010 season will see 10 of Georgia's 11 regular-season meets shown on television on a tape-delayed basis, including three to be nationally televised. The Stanford meet will air Jan. 12 at 10 p.m. on CSS. The Alabama meet will be shown on ESPN2 on Jan. 24 at 1 p.m., followed by the Utah meet airing Jan. 26 at 10 p.m. on CSS. The two meets after that – Auburn and Kentucky – will also air on CSS on Feb. 2 at 10 p.m. and Feb. 13 at 9 p.m., respectively. The Arkansas meet will be shown on Fox Sports South on Feb. 20 at 9 p.m., before two consecutive meets will air nationally on the ESPN channels. The Florida meet will be shown on Feb. 25 at 9 p.m. on ESPNU while the LSU contest will air March 7 at 3 p.m. on ESPN2. UCLA (March 11, 7 p.m.) and N.C. State (March 18, 7 p.m.) will both air on CSS to close the regular season for the Gym Dogs. Including this season, 65 of the Gym Dogs' 88 regular-season meets over the last eight years will have been televised. All the home meets will also be video streamed live as part of the Gxtra subscription package.  Sign up for Gxtra today.
Returning All-Americans
The Gym Dog lineup is studded with returning All-Americans, with a total of six on the 2010 roster. Senior Grace Taylor leads the way as a three-year selection (2007, 2008, 2009) with seven total honors including first team on beam and floor. Seniors Marcia Newby (2007-2008) and Courtney McCool (2008-2009) are two-year selections, with Newby earning first team accolades on vault in each of those two seasons and McCool racking up first team honors on both floor and beam in her career. Junior Cassidy McComb was named a first-team All-American on floor in 2008 as a freshman, while classmate Hilary Mauro earned is a second-team selection on the beam the same season. Sophomore Kat Ding rounds out the group after earning All-America status on the bars in 2009 as a freshman.
All-Time Championships
Winning their fifth straight and 10th overall national championship to culminate the "All In For Ten" campaign in 2009, the Georgia gymnastics team became the first program ever to win double-digit titles. The Gym Dogs captured the NCAA Championship in 1987, 1989, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. Georgia captured the SEC title in 1986, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2008 for a total of 16 conference championships.
Gym Dogs Look To Fill Void
Another storyline in 2010 for the Gym Dogs will be the loss of veteran leaders Courtney Kupets and Tiffany Tolnay to graduation. The duo boasted a combined 31 All-America honors and nine individual national championships in addition to four team titles during their careers.
2010 Newcomers
Filling in behind the strong upperclassmen core is an equally strong group of freshmen. The Georgia gymnastics team welcomes four newcomers to the 2010 squad who will be making their first career appearances vs. Stanford. Kati Breazeal (Allen, Texas), Noel Couch (Towaco, N.J.), Christa Tanella (Allen, Texas), and Shayla Worley (Orlando, Fla.) will join the Gym Dogs this season and are expected to make an immediate impact.
Gym Dogs Lose Trani
In December, Georgia announced the end of sophomore Amber Trani's career due to a back injury suffered prior to the Olympic Trials in 2008. Since the injury, back pain has prevented any level of consistent training for the Richlandtown, Pa., native. She did not compete in 2009. Prior to the injury, Trani represented the United States in the Pan-American Games in Brazil, helping the team to a first-place finish by taking second on vault. She was invited to the Olympic Trials after placing ninth on beam and 18th on floor at the USA Championships.
Unbeaten Streak At Stegeman
The Gym Dogs are unbeaten at home in their last 28 regular season dual meets dating back to the 2005 season. Following a loss to Alabama on Feb. 18, 2005, Georgia won its next 10 dual meets in Stegeman Coliseum until tying top-ranked Florida on Jan. 27, 2007. Since then, the Gym Dogs have won 18 straight meets at home. Georgia has won its last five home openers with an average score of 196.195. The Gym Dogs beat Auburn in 2005, No. 19 Maryland in 2006, No. 8 Stanford in 2007, No. 5 LSU in 2008 and No. 23 West Virginia in 2009. UCLA handed Georgia its last home-opening loss in 2004.
On Deck
Georgia will hit the road for the next three weeks beginning with No. 3 Alabama Jan. 15. The Gym Dogs then travel to second-ranked Utah on Jan. 22 followed by Auburn on Jan. 29.

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