University of Georgia Athletics
Georgia Gymnastics 2011 Season In Review
May 09, 2011 | Gymnastics
May 9, 2011
DING CAPS GEORGIA'S SEASON WITH NCAA TITLE
Georgia junior Kat Ding capped the 2011 gymnastics season by winning the national title on the uneven bars at the NCAA Championships in Cleveland, Ohio. Ding became the 38th national champion in Georgia gymnastics history and the 10th on bars. UGA's 38 national titles is more than any other team in the country, and the Gym Dogs have now won 12 individual crowns in the last five years.
The Gym Dogs advanced to the NCAA Championships for the 27th time and finished in a tie for fourth in the semifinals. Georgia gymnasts earned a total of eight All-American honors at the national championships: Cassidy McComb earned first team honors on floor and in the all-around after she tied for third and second team honors on beam, Noel Couch claimed second team honors in the all-around and on vault and floor, while Ding and Lindsey Cheek claimed first team honors on bars and vault, respectively.
McComb was also named co-Southeast Region Gymnast of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches. The senior from Las Vegas, Nev., competed in the all-around in all 14 meets for the Gym Dogs and won 17 individual titles including the SEC all-around. Couch also competed in the all-around in every meet.
Georgia had four of the SEC's top performers on the uneven bars in 2011. NCAA champion Ding had the league's top score on the event, while Gina Nuccio, Shayla Worley and Cheek were tied for third. McComb turned in the SEC's highest score on vault.
Georgia finished with an 18-11-1 record with wins over eighth-ranked and national runner-up UCLA, No. 12 Arkansas and No. 16 Denver.
The Gym Dogs continued to draw large crowds in 2011. A total of 55,571 fans watched Georgia's six regular season home meets for an average of 9.262 fans per meet, the third highest average in the country.
The Gym Dogs return 12 gymnasts from this year's squad for the 2012 season including freshman Kaylan Earls, former two-time Junior Olympic national champion who missed the season with an Achilles injury. A pair of former junior international elite level qualifiers, Chelsea Davis and Sarah Persinger, signed with UGA and will compete next year for the Gym Dogs.
UGA EARNS EIGHT ALL-AMERICA HONORS
Georgia gymnasts earned a total of eight All-America honors at the NCAA Gymnastics Championships in Cleveland, Ohio.
Places 1-4 (plus ties) in each event and the all-around in each session of the preliminary team competition are considered first-team All-Americans. Places 5-8 (plus ties) are considered second-team All-Americans.
Cassidy McComb earned first team honors on floor and in the all-around after she tied for third and second team honors on beam, Noel Couch claimed second team honors in the all-around and on vault and floor, while Ding and Lindsey Cheek claimed first team honors on bars and vault, respectively.
Ding won the NCAA title on the even bars with a 9.9125 in the individual event finals on Sunday. She is the 38th Gym Dog to win an NCAA crown and the 10th to do so on bars and first since Courtney Kupets in 2009.
GYM DOGS FINISH SECOND IN ATHENS REGIONAL
Georgia used its second-highest team score of the season to finish second at the NCAA Athens Regional Saturday in Stegeman Coliseum, earning a place in the 12-team field of the 2011 NCAA Championships. The Gym Dogs put up an overall score of 196.750 to finish behind only sixth-ranked UCLA's 197.425. No. 18 LSU took third with their 195.350, followed by NC State with a 194.750, Maryland with a 193.200, and West Virginia with a 192.500.
Kat Ding took the bars title after winning her second consecutive SEC bars title two weeks ago, leading a 1-2-3 Gym Dog finish on the uneven bars. Cassidy McComb finished third in the all-around.
RANKINGS
Georgia ended the season ranked No. 9 nationally. The Gym Dogs were ranked in the top-10 each week of the 2011 season and were as high as No. 3 on Jan. 24. Georgia entered the NCAA Championships ranked in the top six in three events including fourth on beam (49.195), fifth on bars (49.625) and sixth on vault (49.235). UGA is ranked 12th on floor (49.140).
Senior Cassidy McComb, who won the SEC all-around title, was tied fo fourth nationally with a 39.440 RQS. The Las Vegas, Nev., native was tied for fifth on floor (9.9), 22nd on bars (9.87) and 23rd on vault (9.88).
Along with Ding and McComb, junior Gina Nuccio was also ranked in the top-25 on bars coming in at No. 10. Other Gym Dogs in the rankings include Shayla Worley, tied for 13th on beam (9.87), and Noel Couch, tied for 24th in the all-around (39.185).
McCOMB EARNS REGIONAL HONORS
Cassidy McComb was voted co-Southeast Region Gymnast of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches (NACGC), sharing the honor with the honor with Florida sophomore Ashanee Dickerson. The Nevada native took third in the all-around of the NCAA Regional while tying for second on floor and third on bars with a 9.9 on both events. It marked the first regional award of McComb's career. She competed in the all-around in 16 straight meets for the Gym Dogs, and won at least one individual title in 10 of Georgia's 14 meets this season with 17 total after winning just one individual title all season in 2010.
FIVE GYM DOGS NAB SEC HONORS
Cassidy McComb and Kat Ding were named to the All-SEC Gymnastics First Team, while Hilary Mauro, Gina Nuccio and Noel Couch were named to the second team.
Georgia tied Florida and Alabama for the most first team representatives with two each. UGA gymnasts have earned 10 All-SEC honors the last two seasons, the most in a two-year period since 2004-05.
CLARK NAMED NINTH BEST RECRUITER IN COLLEGE SPORTS
Georgia head coach Jay Clark has been ranked the ninth best recruiter in all of college sports by ESPNU and ESPN The Magazine. The list was compiled by a panel of three dozen experts who were asked: Who are the top 20 recruiters in college sports? Clark is the only gymnastics coach to make the list. Clark, in his second season at the helm of the Gym Dogs, has long led Georgia's recruiting efforts. The Roswell, Ga., native became an assistant coach at UGA under Suzanne Yoculan in 1990, and his recruiting success helped earn him the title of associate head coach in 2005. During his tenure at Georgia, the Gym Dogs have won seven NCAA titles and 12 SEC championships.
CHEEK GARNERS WEEKLY HONOR
Lindsey Cheek was named the SEC Freshman of the Week on Jan. 25 for her performance against Auburn. The Watkinsville, Ga., native scored a 39.550 in the all-around in the win over the Tigers. She tied three other gymnasts for the highest all-around score in the country, and her 39.550 was the highest by a freshman to that point. Cheek won individual titles on vault with a 9.95, bars with a 9.925 and beam with a 9.85. Her efforts helped the Gym Dogs post a team score of 196.650, the fourth-highest score of any team this season to that point. Cheek, who graduated high school a semester early and joined the Gym Dogs in late December, has five individual titles and was Georgia's top performer on vault the first four meets.
McCOMB HONORED BY SEC
Georgia senior Cassidy McComb was named the SEC Gymnast of the Week on Jan. 19 after she helped Georgia to the third-highest score in the country to date with a 39.525 in the all-around vs. No. 18 West Virginia on Jan. 17. She matched or set career highs on bars (9.9), beam (9.9) and floor (9.925) in the Gym Dogs' 196.725-192.125 rout of the Mountaineers. McComb won 17 individual titles for Georgia, including four in the all-around.
EARLS MISSES SEASON
Georgia freshman Kaylan Earls missed the 2011 season after she ruptured her Achilles tendon in a practice on Dec. 30. She underwent surgery on Jan. 4. A native of Chicago, Earls was a Junior Olympic national all-around champion in 2008 and 2009 and was a seven-time national qualifier. She was also a Level 10 Illinois state all-around champion in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Earls, who was in the lineup on vault, beam and floor during the Gym Dogs' preseason workouts, redshirted the 2011 season and will be ready to train again this summer.
CHEEK ENROLLS EARLY
Georgia freshman Lindsey Cheek graduated from Oconee County High School in nearby Watkinsville in December, and enrolled in classes at UGA for the spring semester. Even though NCAA rules prevented her from working out with the team in the fall, she trained on her own to be ready for her debut with the Gym Dogs at Denver on Jan. 8. She did not disappoint as she competed on three events and won the vault title with a 9.850. Against No. 3 Utah on Jan. 15, she posted a 9.925 on vault in her first career routine at Stegeman Coliseum. Cheek was Georgia's top vaulter in the first four meets. Her best meet was against Auburn on Jan. 21. Cheek won the all-around with a 39.550, matching the highest all-around score by any gymnast at that point of the season. She went on the claim first team All-America honors on vault.
GYM DOGS DRAW LARGE CROWDS
A total of 55,571 fans watched Georgia's six home meets this season, an average of 9,262 fans per meet. Four times Georgia attracted more than 9,000 fans: 9,186 against Auburn on Jan. 21, 9,794 against Florida on Feb. 12, 9,930 against Alabama on Feb. 25 and 9,914 against Michigan on March 12.
Last year, Georgia led the country in average attendance - both home and away. A total of 108,719 fans watched the Gym Dogs' 11 regular season meets this season - an average of 9,883 per meet. That is 1,000 more than second-place Alabama's average of 8,508 per meet. Utah was third with 8,030 per meet. UGA also led the country with 96.05 percent capacity in its six home meets in 2010. Three of Georgia's meets attracted more than 10,000 fans.
GEORGIA ON TV
Eleven of Georgia's meets this season aired on TV, including five on national television. The Auburn, Florida and Alabama meets were shown on ESPNU, while the SEC Championship aired on ESPN2 and the NCAA Championships aired on CBS. Seventy-four of the Gym Dogs' 99 regular season meets over the last nine years have been televised.
GEORGIA ADDS TWO FOR 2012
Chelsea Davis, a member of the 2010 USA World Championship team, and Sarah Persinger, a former international elite gymnast, signed with Georgia during the NCAA Early Signing Period in November and will join the Gym Dogs in 2012. Davis, a native of Austin, Texas, trains at Texas Dreams, while Persinger, from Charlotte, N.C., trains at Southeastern Gymnastics.