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Gym Dogs back In action Monday

Jan 20, 2013 by Georgia Sports Communications

ATHENS——-Eighth-ranked Georgia will be back in action Monday afternoon at 2 p.m when it welcomes Stanford to Stegeman Coliseum. The Gym Dogs are coming off a 196.050-195.700 win over Auburn Friday night. Georgia led throughout the meet, but Auburn closed the margin to .125 entering the final rotation. Season-highs on floor by Sarah Persinger (9.9), Christa Tanella (9.875) and Brandie Jay (9.875) sealed the win for the Gym Dogs.

This is the third meet of the season for Stanford. The Cardinal opened the season by winning a quad meet against San Jose State, UC Davis and Sacramento State on Jan. 4, then won another quad meet against Arizona, Illinois and San Jose State on Jan. 12. This marks the third of four straight road meets to start the season for Stanford.

Georgia-Stanford History
This is the the 21st all-time meeting between Georgia and Stanford and the sixth dual meet in the series. UGA leads the all-time series 18-1-1 and is 5-0 in dual meets. The two teams last met in the 2010 season opener in Athens. The Gym Dogs held off a late Stanford rally and won, 195.150-195.050 in what was the first collegiate meet for Georgia’s current seniors.

Noteworthy
Sarah Persinger claimed her first career event title with a 9.9 on floor Friday night against Auburn…Christa Tanella tied her career-high on bars and floor with a pair of 9.875s…Georgia’s 49.4 on bars against Auburn matched its highest score on the event since the 2011 NCAA Regional…In each of the first three meets, Georgia has posted the highest score on three out of four events…Noel Couch missed has missed the first three meets with an injury. From 2011-2012 she competed in the all-around in a school-record 28 consecutive meets…The Gym Dogs did not have an all-around competitor in the last two meets…Chelsea Davis has placed first on bars in the all three meets, including a 9.95 against Auburn. That is the highest score on any event by a Georgia gymnast this season…Shayla Worley has turned in the team’s highest score on beam in all three meets.

Rankings
Georgia moved up three spots to No. 8 in the latest edition of the GymInfo Top 25 released on Jan. 14. Current rankings are based on a team’s average total score, and new rankings will be released Monday morning.

In the event rankings, Georgia entered the week ranked No. 2 nationally on vault with a 49.313 average. The Gym Dogs scored a 49.3 on vault in the season-opener, and topped that mark with a 49.325 against Arkansas. Georgia is ranked fifth on bars (49.088) and seventh on beam (49.0).

Individually, Shayla Worley is tied for fifth on beam with a 9.9 average, while Cat Hires is tied for sixth on vault (9.913). Sophomore Chelsea Davis is tied for 14th on bars with a 9.863.

2010 Flashback
Courtney McCool posted a clutch 9.925 in Georgia’s final routine to lead the top-ranked Georgia Gym Dogs over No. 7 Stanford by a score of 195.150-195.050 in front of a sellout crowd of 10,224 at Stegeman Coliseum. The Gym Dogs had to count a fall on floor and needed a 9.85 by McCool to win. The senior answered the call to lead the Gym Dogs to a season-opening victory. Noel Couch scored a 9.85 on vault, and Shayla Worley posted a 9.825 on beam in their first collegiate meet.

Up Next
Georgia will travel to Fort Worth, Texas, for the Metroplex Challenge on Saturday. The Gym Dogs will compete against four other teams: LSU, Oklahoma, Oregon State and Washington.

Tagged: uga gymnastics, gymdogs, ga bulldogs, georgia gymnastics, noel couch, shayla worley, danna durante