Georgia Opens Season with NC State Saturday

Saturday, January 6

Athens, Ga.

3:45 p.m.

University of Georgia

NC State

January 05, 2024 | Gymnastics

MEET NOTES

Georgia vs. NC State
Saturday, January 6 at 3:45 p.m.
Stegeman Coliseum | Athens, Ga.
SEC Network +

ATHENS, Ga. --- The University of Georgia gymnastics team opens the 2024 season with NC State on Saturday, January 6 at 3:45 p.m. in Stegeman Coliseum.

The GymDogs will also host Alumni Night in the season opener, honoring the historic teams from 1989, 1999, and 2009.

The 2024 Georgia roster features nine newcomers and nine returners, including the No. 1 signing class in the country.

Graduates Amanda Cashman and Haley de Jong return to the lineup for their final season.  Cashman recorded career-high scores of 9.900 on vault and 9.925 on floor with a season-high 9.800 on bars last year.  De Jong shines on all four events, notching career highs of 9.900 on vault, 9.925 on bars, and 9.950 on floor in 2023.  Katie Finnegan is back for her senior campaign, showcasing her talents on vault and bars with career-high scores of 9.850 and 9.950, respectively.

Other returners include Sidney Fitzgerald, Naya Howard, JaFree Scott, and Eryn Williams, but it will be a few weeks before Howard is back in the lineup due to injury.

The freshmen bring a wealth of talent and technique to the roster, five of which were four and five start recruits, according to collegegymnews.com.

SCOTT CONTINUES THE MOONWALK
Sophomore JaFree Scott assumed the responsibility of taking over the Georgia moonwalk tradition on beam this season. She is the eighth GymDog to perform the moonwalk on the balance beam, following Nikki Childs, Cassidy McComb, Lindsey Cheek, Mary Beth Box, Morgan Reynolds, Sabrina Vega, and Soraya Hawthorne

GYMDOGS IN SEASON OPENERS
Georgia is 5-3 in season openers under head coach Courtney Kupets Carter. Last season the GymDogs finished second at the Super 16 in Las Vegas with a 195.950.  The GymDogs' highest season-opening score under Kupets Carter was a 196.600 in 2019.