Feb. 15, 2006

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#1 Georgia Gym Dogs (10-0) vs. #9 UCLA (12-1)

Date: Feb. 17, 2006, 7:30 p.m. ET
Site: Athens, Ga.
Arena: Stegeman Coliseum (9,951)
Delayed Television: CSS, Feb. 20, 9 p.m. ET
Live Internet Broadcast: Live scoring and audio on georgiadogs.com

Gym Dogs Welcome Bruins to Athens
After winning two meets last weekend, Georgia now hosts UCLA for another top-10 matchup inside Stegeman Coliseum.

The Gym Dogs posted the nation's top score on Sunday with a 197.475 to defeat No. 6 Oklahoma after hanging on to win at No. 3 Alabama by .05 on Friday. Georgia's final team scores have increased each weekend this season.

Georgia is ranked No. 1 in the country for the fifth straight week and has won its first seven meets of the year. Only six other Georgia squads have won their first seven meets.

UCLA also competed in two events last weekend, winning a quad meet at Cal-Berkeley and then a dual meet with Washington in Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins top score this year is a 196.5 from their win last Friday.

In this year's pre-season coaches poll, UCLA was picked to finish third and received three first-place votes, while Georgia was picked No. 1 with 15 first-place votes.

The Gym Dogs and Bruins have combined to win eight of the last nine NCAA championships.

Freshman Courtney Kupets was named the SEC's Gymnast of the Week for the second time this year after winning the all-around competition against Alabama and Oklahoma last weekend. Her score of 39.6 against the Sooners is the highest mark in the SEC this year and only two other gymnasts in the country have scored higher. She is currently ranked second nationally in the individual all-around. Kupets is the only gymnast ranked in the top 10 in every individual event.

Junior Kelsey Ericksen is right behind Kupets in the all-around rankings at No. 3 and also leads the nation on the bars and is fifth on beam. Sophomore Katie Heenan is ranked No. 1 on floor and No. 9 on the vault and freshman Tiffany Tolnay is No. 3 on vault.

No. 1 Team Also Tops on Three Events
The Gym Dogs are at the top of the national rankings this week in the floor exercise, vault and balance beam. Floor and vault have been Georgia's top events for most of the season, but the No. 1 ranking on beam is the team's first since Jan. 21, 2002. In the win at Alabama, Georgia had its worst floor total of the year (48.95) and followed it with a 49.2 on beam.

Two days later the Gym Dogs had a team-best 49.425 on floor and 49.275 on beam against Oklahoma.

All-Arounders Leading League in Scoring
Courtney Kupets and Kelsey Ericksen are rated 2-3 in the nation in the all-around while Katie Heenan and Tiffany Tolnay are top-16. On the SEC stat sheet, Georgia's all-arounders have seven of the league's best 10 scores in 2006 including Kupets¹ high of 39.6. Ericksen has a 39.55 and 39.5, Tolnay scored a 39.5 and Heenan has posted a 39.425. Kupets has also twice scored a 39.475.

Different Year, Different Results
Last year the Gym Dogs went though the worst losing drought in Suzanne Yoculan's tenure with four straight losses to Florida, Alabama, LSU, and Oklahoma. And during that stretch Georgia's top score was a 196.3 in the loss to the Sooners.

The Gym Dogs just ended that same portion of the schedule with a 4-0 record including three scores above 197 and a 196.625 on the road against Alabama. Utah is the only other team in the country with one score above 197.