March 26, 2006

Georgia's Courtney Kupets, who has led the Gym Dogs in scoring nearly all season, was named the SEC Freshman of the Year following her team's conference title on Saturday night.

Kupets is the seventh Georgia gymnast to win the award, which started in 1991.

Georgia's previous six winners include Kelly Macy (1991), Agina Simpkins (1992), Julie Ballard (1995), Karin Lichey (1996), Cory Fritzinger (2001) and Kelsey Ericksen (2004).

Kupets ended the regular season as the nation's top-ranked all-arounder, and was tied at the top of the balance beam rankings. Her 31 scores of 9.9 or better this season are the most ever by a Georgia freshman and seventh-most in team history.

Also this week the league announced its Good Works team for gymnastics with Gym Dog senior Brittany Smith as the Georgia representative. The Good Works team highlights an athlete from each school who gives back to her community in superior service efforts.

Smith, a three-time All-American, has worked with Habitat for Humanity's Women's Built in Athens and helped raise money for Champions Against Cancer, which earned $100,000 for Athens Regional Medical Center's Breast Cancer division. Smith also reads to children in Athens at Barrow Elementary School and delivered gifts to the elderly with the group Home Instead. She also makes hospital visits to children in the Athens area, as well as with her teammates she adopted a family and delivered gifts during Christmas. In addition, she is a Relay for Life participant and worked with YMCA's Cartwheels for Cancer.

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