Smith, Wahl Chasing Big Finishes At NCAAs
April 16, 2025 | Gymnastics, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
For Georgia gymnast Lily Smith, the goal was always to get back to the NCAA Championships after qualifying as a freshman last spring and earning All-America honors. For fellow sophomore Ady Wahl, she was eager to make her first appearance. Both got it done at the Washington Regional earlier this month.
"I put a lot of pressure on myself, just because I made it last year, so I need to make it this year," Smith said. "I just tried to focus on my training, and my coaches really helped me try not to put that pressure on myself."
While both GymDogs were hoping to be joined by their teammates at the national championships this week at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, at the Washington Regional, the 10th-ranked GymDogs placed third and didn't advance. Still, Georgia as a team took a big step forward this season under first-year co-head coaches Cécile Canqueteau-Landi and Ryan Roberts.
"Obviously, it could have gone a little bit better at the end of the season, but during the season, I think we showed people that we're on the rise — and I think the freshmen had a lot to do with that," Wahl said.
At the Washington Regional, Smith earned her spot at the NCAA Championships by earning a score of 9.925 on the floor rotation. Her score matched that of teammate Holly Snyder and was tied for first place at the meet. For Wahl, her 9.900 on vault earned her second overall in the meet and her first trip to Nationals.
"Our first goal is to make it as a team, but every time I step out there, I try to do my best as a competitor," Wahl said. "It just so happened to be my day that day."
Smith earned WCGA second-team All-America honors on floor and bars and was voted All-SEC, while freshman Nyla Aquino, one of several contributing first-year GymDogs this season, made the SEC All-Freshman team.
In 2025, Georgia earned scores of 197.000 or higher in six consecutive meets, which hadn't happened since 2001. In their regular-season finale against Oklahoma, the GymDogs' score of 197.975 was the sixth-highest regular-season score in program history — and no program in the country has a richer history than Georgia with its NCAA-best 10 national team titles and dozens of individual championships.
"I think our mindset changed, and I think the atmosphere that we were in changed," Smith said of the team's season. "I don't know, everyone just had the same goals in mind and worked so hard every single day."
Now, Smith and Wahl are in Texas, trying to put a bow on Georgia's season with their best individual performances of 2025. They're not adding any new wrinkles to their routines for the NCAAs, they're just going to do what they've been doing for months — and hopefully be at their best in the final and biggest meet of the season.
Smith and Wahl competed in multiple disciplines throughout the season, so the past couple of weeks of focusing just on one has been an interesting change.
"Training in one event, it's repetitive, but you get to focus so much on doing that one thing, like, perfectly," Wahl said. "That's changed (our training) a little bit, but the mindset behind it hasn't changed."
Smith said Georgia's coaches regularly remind the gymnasts that they can't get caught up in chasing a high score from the judges. What a gymnast does and what a judge sees can be two different things, so just focus on doing the routine as well as you can, Smith said.
"(The coaches) always say, 'Control the controllable,'" said Smith, who made the NCAAs last season in the All-Around and earned four All-America honors. She was also the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2024.
As the season and the semester come to a close, Wahl and Smith said they are looking forward to some time off at the beach this summer. Between the year-round work they do to stay fit, the preseason training to gear up for the months ahead, and the grind of the season, they've been putting their bodies through a lot.
"It wears on your body, but I think my mindset every day in the gym, it's like, I get to be in this position," Wahl said. "That kind of takes your mind off the pain and just allows you to keep going."
Before they get the sand between their toes, they're aiming to nail a couple more routines and end on a high note.
Staff Writer
For Georgia gymnast Lily Smith, the goal was always to get back to the NCAA Championships after qualifying as a freshman last spring and earning All-America honors. For fellow sophomore Ady Wahl, she was eager to make her first appearance. Both got it done at the Washington Regional earlier this month.
"I put a lot of pressure on myself, just because I made it last year, so I need to make it this year," Smith said. "I just tried to focus on my training, and my coaches really helped me try not to put that pressure on myself."
While both GymDogs were hoping to be joined by their teammates at the national championships this week at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, at the Washington Regional, the 10th-ranked GymDogs placed third and didn't advance. Still, Georgia as a team took a big step forward this season under first-year co-head coaches Cécile Canqueteau-Landi and Ryan Roberts.
"Obviously, it could have gone a little bit better at the end of the season, but during the season, I think we showed people that we're on the rise — and I think the freshmen had a lot to do with that," Wahl said.
At the Washington Regional, Smith earned her spot at the NCAA Championships by earning a score of 9.925 on the floor rotation. Her score matched that of teammate Holly Snyder and was tied for first place at the meet. For Wahl, her 9.900 on vault earned her second overall in the meet and her first trip to Nationals.
"Our first goal is to make it as a team, but every time I step out there, I try to do my best as a competitor," Wahl said. "It just so happened to be my day that day."
Smith earned WCGA second-team All-America honors on floor and bars and was voted All-SEC, while freshman Nyla Aquino, one of several contributing first-year GymDogs this season, made the SEC All-Freshman team.
In 2025, Georgia earned scores of 197.000 or higher in six consecutive meets, which hadn't happened since 2001. In their regular-season finale against Oklahoma, the GymDogs' score of 197.975 was the sixth-highest regular-season score in program history — and no program in the country has a richer history than Georgia with its NCAA-best 10 national team titles and dozens of individual championships.
"I think our mindset changed, and I think the atmosphere that we were in changed," Smith said of the team's season. "I don't know, everyone just had the same goals in mind and worked so hard every single day."
Now, Smith and Wahl are in Texas, trying to put a bow on Georgia's season with their best individual performances of 2025. They're not adding any new wrinkles to their routines for the NCAAs, they're just going to do what they've been doing for months — and hopefully be at their best in the final and biggest meet of the season.
Smith and Wahl competed in multiple disciplines throughout the season, so the past couple of weeks of focusing just on one has been an interesting change.
"Training in one event, it's repetitive, but you get to focus so much on doing that one thing, like, perfectly," Wahl said. "That's changed (our training) a little bit, but the mindset behind it hasn't changed."
Smith said Georgia's coaches regularly remind the gymnasts that they can't get caught up in chasing a high score from the judges. What a gymnast does and what a judge sees can be two different things, so just focus on doing the routine as well as you can, Smith said.
"(The coaches) always say, 'Control the controllable,'" said Smith, who made the NCAAs last season in the All-Around and earned four All-America honors. She was also the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2024.
As the season and the semester come to a close, Wahl and Smith said they are looking forward to some time off at the beach this summer. Between the year-round work they do to stay fit, the preseason training to gear up for the months ahead, and the grind of the season, they've been putting their bodies through a lot.
"It wears on your body, but I think my mindset every day in the gym, it's like, I get to be in this position," Wahl said. "That kind of takes your mind off the pain and just allows you to keep going."
Before they get the sand between their toes, they're aiming to nail a couple more routines and end on a high note.
Assistant Sports Communications Director 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.
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