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Gym Dogs set to take on No. 5 Alabama

Jan 30, 2013 by Georgia Sports Communications

ATHENS – The eight-ranked Georgia gymnastics team returns home to face its fifth top-10 opponent of the season when No. 5 Alabama visits Stegeman Coliseum Saturday at 4 p.m. The Gym Dogs are coming off a fourth place finish at the Metroplex Challenge with a 196.775. This is the fourth meet of the season for Alabama. The Crimson Tide is 3-0 on the year with SEC wins over Missouri, LSU and Kentucky. Saturday also marks Georgia’s annual Alumni Day, and more than 50 former Gym Dogs will be recognized prior to the meet.

Georgia-Alabama History
Georgia and Alabama are among the top programs in college gymnastics, combining for 16 NCAA titles, including back-to-back titles by Alabama the last two years. This marks the 131st all-time meeting between the two schools, with Georgia holding a 79-49-2 advantage. In 42 dual meets against Alabama, the Gym Dogs are 31-11. Alabama has won eight of the last nine meetings, including the last seven. Georgia last beat Alabama in a dual meet in 2009, 197.175-196.275 in Athens.

Back-To-Back SEC Freshmen Of The Week
For the second straight week, a Georgia gymnast was named SEC Freshman of the Week. Brittany Rogers was honored this week after her performance at Metroplex. She scored career-highs on vault, bars and beam, including 9.9s on vault and bars. The previous week, Brandie Jay was named Freshman of the Week with a pair of 9.9s on bars and vault, in addition to a 9.85 on floor.

Noteworthy
Georgia posted season-highs on bars (49.425) and beam (49.075) last week at Metroplex…Georgia’s 49.425 on bars last week was its highest road bars score since a 49.425 at the 2009 NCAA Super Six in Lincoln, Neb…In each of the first four dual meets, Georgia has posted the highest score on three out of four events…Noel Couch missed the first five 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 four meets…Chelsea Davis has placed first on bars in the all five meets, including a 9.95 at Metroplex and against Auburn. That is the highest score on any event by a Georgia gymnast this season…Shayla Worley has scored the team’s highest score on beam in four out of five meets.

Rankings
Georgia moved up one spot to No. 8 in this week’s national rankings with a 196.290 average. Florida is ranked No. 1, followed by Oklahoma, Michigan, UCLA, Alabama, LSU, Nebraska, Georgia, Utah and Minnesota to round out the top-10.

The Gym Dogs are ranked second nationally on the uneven bars (49.280), tied for fourth on vault (49.275), ninth on beam (48.880) and 16th on floor (48.855).

Alabama is No. 3 on bars (49.258), No. 6 on vault (49.267), No. 8 on beam (48.950) and No. 9 on floor (49.058).

Individually, Chelsea Davis is ranked third on bars with a 9.905 average. She tied for first on the event at Metroplex with a 9.95, her fifth bars title in as many meets this season. Brittany Rogers is tied for 20th on vault (9.875) and is 21st on bars (9.855). The freshman from British Columbia, Canada, posted career-highs on vault, bars and beam last weekend in Fort Worth.

Shayla Worley is 11th on beam (9.870), Lindsey Cheek is 25th on vault (9.870), Kaylan Earls is 25th on beam (9.840) and Christa Tanella is ranked 25th on floor (9.865). Tanella scored a career-high 9.9 last Saturday.

Up Next
Georgia will be back on the road next week when it travels to Kentucky for a 7 p.m. meet on Friday. The 16th-ranked Wildcats won a pair of SEC meets against Auburn and Kentucky before falling on the road at Alabama last week.

Tagged: uga gymnastics, gymdogs, ga bulldogs, georgia gymnastics, brittany rogers, brandie jay, chelsea davis, lindsey cheek, noel couch, shayla worley, danna durante