University of Georgia Athletics
Kupets Carter Embracing Past, Future
May 09, 2017 | Gymnastics
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
If you strolled through Stegeman Coliseum in the past 18 months or so during a basketball game or gymnastics meet, you likely noticed two things: the athlete front and center on the wall above the big scoreboard was Georgia Gymdog legend Courtney Kupets Carter, flashing her million-dollar smile during a floor routine; and out in the concourse you saw the expansive championship display honoring the remarkable and legendary coaching career of Suzanne Yoculan Leebern.
One, on the short list of greatest student-athletes ever at Georgia. The other, the Bulldogs' greatest coach ever.
They were an unstoppable force together during Kupets Carter's career, from 2006-09, and now they've reunited -- but with much different roles.
At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, in the Taylor Room right next to the Suzanne Yoculan Gymnastics Center, J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Greg McGarity introduced Kupets Carter as the Gymdogs' new head coach. And Kupets Carter immediately announced that Yoculan Leebern, retired since 2009, was coming on board as a volunteer assistant.
It was in 2010, Kupets Carter said, that she first began thinking about coaching at her alma mater. She was working as a student coach and "realized I was made for this sport -- not just for the sport of gymnastics, but specifically college gymnastics."
The teammates, the support systems -- the whole experience called out to her.
"It started then, but it's always been a thought," she said. "It was amazing when this opportunity came about. The first thing I thought about, my gut reaction, was that I could totally see myself bringing this program back to what I know it can be."
Kupets Carter said she's still assembling her staff, but reaching out to her former coach was a no-brainer.
"I just want to say that I am so thankful that she would come back and take the time to invest in the program that she started," Kupets Carter said. "It's going to be a monumental year, not only for the program, but for the athletes that get to experience little bits of what I got to experience from Suzanne, which will be really exciting."
Yoculan Leebern won 10 NCAA team championships during her 26 years as Georgia's head coach, from 1984-2009, and guided Gymdogs to dozens of individual NCAA titles. Kupets Carter, who won Olympic silver with the U.S. team and bronze in the uneven bars in 2004 before even starting her UGA career, was the brightest star on the star-studded teams that won Yoculan Leebern's final four championships.
Some Kupets Carter bonafides for you, because it's worth remembering just how much she accomplished at Georgia: in 2006 she earned all-around, bars and beam NCAA titles; in 2007 she was all-around and vault champion; and in 2009 she closed out her Georgia career by winning NCAA all-around, bars, beam and floor titles.
She was the first collegiate gymnast to ever win individual titles in all four disciplines, and only an Achilles injury in 2008 kept her from adding to her trophy case. Last month on the NCAA's website, a video counted down the five greatest gymnasts of all time. Kupets Carter was in the No. 1 spot.
What else? She won the Honda Sports Award for gymnastics in 2007 and 2009, and in 2009 was awarded the Honda Broderick Cup, which goes to the collegiate woman athlete of the year. In 2009 she also was awarded the SEC and NCAA postgraduate scholarships.
Seriously, you could just about fill the side of a New York skyscraper with her accomplishments. But she's never been a collegiate head coach before. Of course neither had Yoculan Leebern when she was hired in 1983. In the past two years Kupets Carter has worked as a color analyst for SEC Network's gymnastics coverage and as a coach at the Oconee Gymnastics Club.
The whole of Kupets Carter's accomplishments and experiences, McGarity said, made her the perfect choice for the job.
"I felt like this was an opportunity that was maybe not traditional, but the results that we had back in 1983 [with the hiring of Yoculan Leebern] proved itself right," McGarity said. "And, really, coaching, especially in gymnastics, is about development, relationships, and it is pressure-packed."
And Kupets Carter has proven again and again that she can handle pressure, he said.
Coaches usually know who among their student-athletes have the goods -- tangible and intangible -- to be effective coaches down the road. Kupets Carter not only did, Yoculan Leebern said, but it was during Kupets Carter's junior season that the preparation for Tuesday's announcement essentially began.
"I've seen it in four or five of our athletes through the years," Yoculan Leebern said. "We have many that I think have the traits. I saw it in Courtney probably the last two years that she was on the team; the way that she led the team, the way that she inspired the team; the way that she handles her own personal business; her mental toughness under pressure.
"Those are all things she has a total handle on and related them very well to her teammates. I'm very confident that as the head coach she'll be able to relay those things, as well."
Kupets Carter is replacing Danna Durante, who was not retained after five seasons at Georgia. This spring, the Gymdogs placed 12th out of 12 teams at the NCAA Championships, and the program hasn't placed better than fifth at the NCAAs since Yoculan Leebern retired.
Is there inherent pressure in a superstar returning to her alma mater to restore the program to its former glory? You bet there is, Kupets Carter said.
"Oh, there's tons of pressure -- are you kidding me?" Kupets Carter said. "There was pressure as an athlete and there's pressure as a coach, and that's just something you have to deal with."
The smile on her face when she said that looked a lot like the smile on her face in the gigantic display in Stegeman Coliseum. It's the smile of a big-time competitor embracing a challenge with everything she's got.
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.
