University of Georgia Athletics
Bradford Goes Home As UGA Hits The Road
January 04, 2017 | Gymnastics
By: Jack Ryan, UGA Sports Communications Intern
ATHENS, Ga. — For Caroline Bradford, Georgia's upcoming trip to LSU will be a homecoming of sorts.
The sophomore Gymdog attended Episcopal High School in Baton Rouge, La., which is about a 10-mile drive from the campus of LSU. And when she and her teammates arrive to take on the Tigers on Friday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, Bradford will have no shortage of friends and family in the crowd.
"Going to high school in Baton Rouge, basically all of my friends went to LSU," she said. "So I'm really excited to go back home and be with all my friends and family, and let them see what my team is all about."
Those in attendance are due to see a matchup between two of the top teams in the country. The Gymdogs are ranked No. 9 nationally while LSU is ranked second, and both teams reached the Super Six a year ago. There will be plenty of people in the arena, but just how many of them will be there to see Caroline?
"I am taking as many tickets as I can from my teammates that don't have family members going to be in the Georgia section, and that's about 30-something."
That's just for family. As for her friends that are students at LSU, they may be sitting among their classmates, but Bradford does not see that as an excuse to wear their own school colors.
"I have my friends that can get the free tickets for being students [at LSU], and I told them, 'even if you're going to be in the LSU student section, you better be wearing red and black for me.'"
While Baton Rouge is her hometown, it is safe to say Bradford has found a new place to call "home" at Georgia. After attending a camp at UGA during the summer going into her freshman year of high school, she just needed one look around to know where she wanted to continue her gymnastics career.
"I always knew I wanted to go away for college," Bradford said. "I absolutely fell in love with Athens, Georgia gymnastics and their program. I walked into the facility and I was star-struck. I knew from then that that's where I wanted to go, and I set my heart to it, and kept training to be able to."
Players Mentioned
