University of Georgia Athletics
Williams Showing Skills, Star Power
February 05, 2026 | Gymnastics, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
As CaMarah Williams performed her floor routine last Sunday night in a packed Stegeman Coliseum, the Georgia freshman gymnast had the crowd in the palm of her hand — just where she wanted it.
"When I'm performing, I'm not even thinking about my gymnastics, because I know I've practiced that every day. It's not the gymnastics that I'm worried about; I just try to engage with the crowd as much as I can, I try to engage with the judges, and I really just try to have fun," said Williams, from Kansas City, Mo., who enrolled early in December and has excelled with the sixth-ranked GymDogs so far.
There was love and energy going back and forth during Williams' routine, with her Georgia teammates and the crowd feeding off of everything she was putting out there. She danced a bit, she smiled plenty, stuck her landings — she showed off immense skill, athleticism and personality from start to finish, and one of the two judges gave her a 10.0, while the other awarded her a 9.95. Her averaged score of 9.975 was the best of the meet and the best of her young career.
Williams tied or set season highs in all three of her routines in Sunday's 197.550-196-050 win over No. 12 Auburn.
"It was natural at first to just perform, but I think when I got to college, I had to realize the crowd is so much bigger. The way you perform in J.O. (Junior Olympic meets) is not going to reach the crowd in college, so I had to learn how to reach the crowd and make them understand that I'm here to perform for y'all," the 5-foot-1 Williams said. "I'm not just performing for myself, I'm doing it for the crowd."
When Williams saw Georgia co-head coach Cécile Canqueteau-Landi at the Winter Cup last year, she joked about trying to join the team early. It turned out that Georgia actually had a scholarship available, and Canqueteau-Landi talked to Williams and her mom, telling them the spot was hers if she wanted it. Williams did, which meant graduating in a hurry.
Williams was homeschooled for her last two years of high school — with the grind and travel involved in being an elite gymnast, homeschooling and operating on your own daily schedule is often much easier than attending regular classes — and she hurried through her remaining work. She signed with Georgia on Nov. 12, graduated around the same time, and was in Athens by Dec. 11. Two days after she arrived, she participated in the vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise at the team's GymDog Debut.
"It felt good; it felt like I was supposed to be here, because I don't know what I would be doing if I wasn't here," Williams said of enrolling early and joining the team in December. "The team has been really welcoming and helpful since I got here. Everything was kind of rushed, and it was hard for me to take one thing at a time, but the team helped me with that. I have just stayed out of my head, and I knew I was ready for it, so I had to trust myself."
She was ready, from Day One.
In Georgia's season opener, at No. 19 Ohio State on Jan. 10, Williams earned a 9.90 on floor, good enough for fifth in the meet. Six days later, in her proper debut at the Steg against No. 3 LSU, Williams did vault (9.775) and floor (9.925), finishing tied for second on floor. Both of those numbers went up in her next meet, on Jan. 23 at Oklahoma, now the No. 1 team in the country. She scored a 9.85 on vault and a 9.95 on floor, earning a share of the floor title for the first time.
When the GymDogs beat Central Michigan, Temple and Fisk in a quad meet last Friday, Williams won the vault title with a 9.875, placed third on beam with a 9.90, and she was second on floor with a 9.950. She then swept all three events last Sunday against Auburn, scoring a 9.950 on vault, 9.950 on beam and a near-perfect 9.975 on floor.
All of this is a long way from where Williams was during the pandemic, when she was debating whether or not to quit the sport. She actually did quit for a couple of weeks before realizing that gymnastics was a big part of who she was.
"My mom sat me down and was telling me how I can't react so fast based off emotions. She was like, take a break and see if you miss it, and then come back and see if you can get your spark back," Williams said. "After taking a couple of weeks off, I went back to practice. I was like, if I wasn't here, what would I be doing? Absolutely nothing. Cheer was just like an alternate; dance was like an alternate; nothing was going to replace the love that I have for gymnastics just by itself, even without my friends. But my team, (Junior Olympic) and college, makes the whole experience, so I'm glad I came back."
Georgia is mighty glad, too. Heading into Friday's meet at No. 10 Arkansas, Williams has the highest averages among all freshmen in the SEC. She's averaging 9.862 on vault, 9.925 on beam and 9.940 on floor. Williams' season high of 9.950 on vault is a team-high, and she's second behind standout Lily Smith on beam (Smith has a high of 9.9750; Williams a 9.950) and floor (Smith earned a 10.0 last Friday; Williams posted her 9.975 last Sunday).
To be performing so well at the very beginning of her collegiate career "means everything to me," Williams said. "I feel like I've worked so hard over the past year, and because I never even thought I'd be here, this is a blessing. I'm just happy to see my hard work pay off."
Staff Writer
As CaMarah Williams performed her floor routine last Sunday night in a packed Stegeman Coliseum, the Georgia freshman gymnast had the crowd in the palm of her hand — just where she wanted it.
"When I'm performing, I'm not even thinking about my gymnastics, because I know I've practiced that every day. It's not the gymnastics that I'm worried about; I just try to engage with the crowd as much as I can, I try to engage with the judges, and I really just try to have fun," said Williams, from Kansas City, Mo., who enrolled early in December and has excelled with the sixth-ranked GymDogs so far.
There was love and energy going back and forth during Williams' routine, with her Georgia teammates and the crowd feeding off of everything she was putting out there. She danced a bit, she smiled plenty, stuck her landings — she showed off immense skill, athleticism and personality from start to finish, and one of the two judges gave her a 10.0, while the other awarded her a 9.95. Her averaged score of 9.975 was the best of the meet and the best of her young career.
Williams tied or set season highs in all three of her routines in Sunday's 197.550-196-050 win over No. 12 Auburn.
"It was natural at first to just perform, but I think when I got to college, I had to realize the crowd is so much bigger. The way you perform in J.O. (Junior Olympic meets) is not going to reach the crowd in college, so I had to learn how to reach the crowd and make them understand that I'm here to perform for y'all," the 5-foot-1 Williams said. "I'm not just performing for myself, I'm doing it for the crowd."
When Williams saw Georgia co-head coach Cécile Canqueteau-Landi at the Winter Cup last year, she joked about trying to join the team early. It turned out that Georgia actually had a scholarship available, and Canqueteau-Landi talked to Williams and her mom, telling them the spot was hers if she wanted it. Williams did, which meant graduating in a hurry.
Williams was homeschooled for her last two years of high school — with the grind and travel involved in being an elite gymnast, homeschooling and operating on your own daily schedule is often much easier than attending regular classes — and she hurried through her remaining work. She signed with Georgia on Nov. 12, graduated around the same time, and was in Athens by Dec. 11. Two days after she arrived, she participated in the vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise at the team's GymDog Debut.
"It felt good; it felt like I was supposed to be here, because I don't know what I would be doing if I wasn't here," Williams said of enrolling early and joining the team in December. "The team has been really welcoming and helpful since I got here. Everything was kind of rushed, and it was hard for me to take one thing at a time, but the team helped me with that. I have just stayed out of my head, and I knew I was ready for it, so I had to trust myself."
She was ready, from Day One.
In Georgia's season opener, at No. 19 Ohio State on Jan. 10, Williams earned a 9.90 on floor, good enough for fifth in the meet. Six days later, in her proper debut at the Steg against No. 3 LSU, Williams did vault (9.775) and floor (9.925), finishing tied for second on floor. Both of those numbers went up in her next meet, on Jan. 23 at Oklahoma, now the No. 1 team in the country. She scored a 9.85 on vault and a 9.95 on floor, earning a share of the floor title for the first time.
When the GymDogs beat Central Michigan, Temple and Fisk in a quad meet last Friday, Williams won the vault title with a 9.875, placed third on beam with a 9.90, and she was second on floor with a 9.950. She then swept all three events last Sunday against Auburn, scoring a 9.950 on vault, 9.950 on beam and a near-perfect 9.975 on floor.
All of this is a long way from where Williams was during the pandemic, when she was debating whether or not to quit the sport. She actually did quit for a couple of weeks before realizing that gymnastics was a big part of who she was.
"My mom sat me down and was telling me how I can't react so fast based off emotions. She was like, take a break and see if you miss it, and then come back and see if you can get your spark back," Williams said. "After taking a couple of weeks off, I went back to practice. I was like, if I wasn't here, what would I be doing? Absolutely nothing. Cheer was just like an alternate; dance was like an alternate; nothing was going to replace the love that I have for gymnastics just by itself, even without my friends. But my team, (Junior Olympic) and college, makes the whole experience, so I'm glad I came back."
Georgia is mighty glad, too. Heading into Friday's meet at No. 10 Arkansas, Williams has the highest averages among all freshmen in the SEC. She's averaging 9.862 on vault, 9.925 on beam and 9.940 on floor. Williams' season high of 9.950 on vault is a team-high, and she's second behind standout Lily Smith on beam (Smith has a high of 9.9750; Williams a 9.950) and floor (Smith earned a 10.0 last Friday; Williams posted her 9.975 last Sunday).
To be performing so well at the very beginning of her collegiate career "means everything to me," Williams said. "I feel like I've worked so hard over the past year, and because I never even thought I'd be here, this is a blessing. I'm just happy to see my hard work pay off."
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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