University of Georgia Athletics
Jay Setting Up Big Finish
February 18, 2016 | Gymnastics
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
What's true for regular college students is probably even more true for student-athletes: the years pass by quickly. You show up at Georgia an excited freshman eager to learn, grow and prosper in a new environment, and before you know it you're talking about graduating and the next chapter of your life.
Four years can feel like one or two if you find fun and fulfillment in what you're doing. Senior Gymdog Brandie Jay arrived at Georgia from Fort Collins, Colo., in the fall of 2012, and the years have gone by quickly.
Jay is about halfway through her final season of an accomplished career at Georgia, but there is still much to be done. The No. 10 Gymdogs host top-ranked Oklahoma at Stegeman Coliseum on Saturday.
"Going into last year and listening to our seniors talk about them being done, I was like, I'm not going to be ready for that and I'm not going to want to be done for the rest of my life," Jay said Tuesday.
The good news for Jay, coach Danna Durante and the Gymdogs, is that she's doing more than finishing strong -- she's still getting better. Jay was named the SEC co-gymnast of the week Tuesday for her stellar showing in Georgia's win at Stegeman last Saturday over No. 5 LSU.
In the win Jay was better than she's ever been. She posted the meet-high score on the floor (9.925), while also posting career highs on the bars (9.925) and beam (9.900). Her all-around score 39.675 was both the best of her career and the best of anyone in the meet (no small achievement given the talent on the two rosters).
"I'm just so excited for her and just proud of her," Durante said. "We're still at the middle of the mountain for her. She's going to keep going and we've got a good half of our season left, and the postseason, and I just see her on this steady climb."
Jay arrived in Athens with a bit more hardware then your typical student-athlete. At the 2011 Pan American Games, the Rocky Mountain High School student won a gold medal in the vault and helped the U.S. women's team win gold. Those moments of glory, which took place in October 2011, in Guadalajara, Mexico, occurred long before Jay became a Gymdog. Her success on the international level gave her a firm foundation of confidence heading into her collegiate career, but she didn't come in riding too high.
Jay said one of the best things about the Pan Am experience was performing in front of large crowds, which prepared her for competing for the Gymdogs at Stegeman.
"I think Pan Ams was awesome, experience-wise, because I'd never competed in front of so many people before," she said. "Just to compete internationally like that was big and it helped my confidence coming into college: I wasn't quite so shocked at how many people showed up at Stegeman the first time."
Clearly not. She earned All-America honors in the vault and was named team MVP. As a sophomore she was an All-American on the vault and floor and she earned All-American honors on vault for the third time during her junior season.
This season has been slightly different for Jay. For the first time in her Georgia career she's competing on the beam, which means she's doing all four events and competing for all-around titles. So how's she handling all that? Her all-around average of 39.469 ranks fourth in the nation.
"I just could not be more excited for someone who has put in that amount of work and determination," Durante said. "It's just Brandie, it's the way that she sets her mind to something and she is not going to stop until she gets it done. She'll face battle after battle after battle, but she's not going to back down.
"I just think that speaks to her character, that's who she is, which tells me there's nothing in life that she isn't going to tackle and conquer."
Jay has tackled her Georgia career with more than the support of the Gymdogs and their faithful supporters. Soon after Jay started school her mother, Teresa, moved to Athens. Since then her grandparents, Dennis and Clara Jay, have moved here, as has her older brother David.
And the Jays may be packing up when the season ends, and not just for the Southern hospitality and weather (it was actually warmer in Fort Collins than Athens on Thursday).
"I think they're going to stay; my mom definitely wants to stay," Jay said. "I just got accepted into grad school, so I think we'll all be hanging around here for a while."
Jay said next season she'd like to stay close to the sport and the Gymdogs by helping out with the team in some capacity. It all means too much to her to just put it in the rearview mirror.
"I'm not just going to be done with gymnastics and have a huge part of my life gone," she said.
But she's a long way from done this season. One reason she's doing so well, she said, has been an attitude adjustment.
"My approach this year has been a little different. I've really been thankful and grateful for every opportunity," she said. "In the past I've been known to be very hard on myself and beat myself up for a fall on the floor or a fall on bars.
"I think this year I just kind of let them go and focus on doing my best every meet. I don't get them back [by worrying about past mistakes] and I don't get anymore years."
Nope, but she's making the most of this last one.
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
