Georgia Faces Kentucky Friday Night in Stegeman

Meet Information
No. 17 Georgia vs. No. 9 Kentucky
Friday, January 20 | 7:00 p.m. | Stegeman Coliseum | Athens, Ga.
Watch: SEC Network +
MEDIA GUIDE
MEET NOTES

ATHENS, Ga. --- The University of Georgia gymnastics team faces Kentucky on Friday, January 20 at 7 p.m. in Stegeman Coliseum for the team's first Southeastern Conference match-up at home this season.

The GymDogs hold a 89-4-1 record against the Wildcats.  The teams met three times during the 2022 season with Kentucky outscoring Georgia in all three meets.

FULL OF DEPTH
The 2023 GymDogs have the most depth of any team during the Kupets Carter era. At the annual First Look, Georgia had seven gymnasts on vault, 11 on bars, 10 on beam, and 11 on floor with the potential for more.  After three meets this season, 12 different GymDogs have earned a spot in the lineup.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Georgia has seven returners on the roster of 18 total gymnasts.  The GymDogs welcomed three transfers and eight freshman this season.

Additionally, there are new assistant coaches on staff, making Kupets Carter the only retained coach for this season.  She hired Ryan Roberts and Sam Welbourn as assistant coaches and Mollie Korth, former gymnast at Kentucky, as a volunteer coach.

STRONG START ON BARS
The GymDogs have had a strong start on bars this season. At Missouri, the GymDogs started the meet scoring a 49.475, which is the highest bars score since the 2019 Athens Regional Finals. Freshman JaFree Scott and senior Haley de Jong led the charge, both scoring 9.925.  Junior Katie Finnegan followed with a 9.900.  Freshman Naya Howard swung to a 9.875 and graduate Josie Angeny contributed a 9.850.

Coach Courtney Kupets Carter says the team has still not reached their full potential on that event.

GOING AGAINST HER FORMER TEAM
Graduate Josie Angeny became a Georgia GymDog after four seasons with the Kentucky Wildcats.  She competed in every meet of her Wildcat career on beam, notching a high score of 9.950.  She added vault and bars as a sophomore, scoring highs of 9.900 and 9.950 on those events respectively.

STEGEMAN DEBUT
Five freshmen and three transfer GymDogs made their Stegeman Coliseum debuts in the Georgia Quad Meet on MLK Day.  Naya Howard recorded her first 9.900 in a Georgia leotard on beam and won the event title.  She also received her best floor score thus far- a 9.875.

GYMDOGS WIN EVENT TITLES
The GymDogs collected event titles at Missouri.  Freshman JaFree Scott and senior Haley de Jong shared the high score of the night after both recorded a 9.925 on bars. Amanda Cashman won the event title on floor with a 9.925, which she received for the second-straight week.

The last time a GymDog won the event titles on the road on bars and floor was in 2021 at Missouri.

HAWTHORNE CONTINUES THE MOONWALK
Senior Soraya Hawthorne assumed the responsibility of taking over the Georgia moonwalk tradition on beam as a sophomore and debuted the move at LSU in 2021. She is the seventh GymDog to perform the moonwalk on the balance beam, following Nikki Childs, Cassidy McComb, Lindsey Cheek, Mary Beth Box, Morgan Reynolds, and Sabrina Vega.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Josie Angeny

Amanda Cashman

Haley de Jong

Katie Finnegan

Soraya Hawthorne

Naya Howard

Ja' Free Scott

University of Georgia Athletics