Gym Dogs win Yoculan’s final home meet

Athens — Suzanne Yoculan’s 25 years of home meets came to a close in typical Yoculan style Saturday night — with a victory.

It was an emotional night, as a crowd of 10,224 at Stegeman Coliseum bid farewell to Yoculan and four seniors: Paige Burns, Abby Stack and all-Americans Courtney Kupets, and Tiffany Tolnay.

The gymnasts and their coach were introduced with smoke and fireworks. The seniors walked in after their team, waving in a spotlight. Yoculan followed, walking Uga VII onto the floor to rousing cheers.

“It’s like you blink your eye and 26 years go by,” said Yoculan, who has won nine national championships and 16 SEC championships at the helm of the Georgia gymnastics program.

Georgia (12-0) came out strong early, scoring a 49.475 on vault and a 49.525 on uneven bars on the way to a 197.4 to 195.775 victory against Michigan. The Wolverines had only five gymnasts compete in the first two rotations after losing a gymnast to injury during warm-ups. At the halfway point, Georgia led 99 to 98.275.

The Bulldogs struggled some on the beam. Junior Courtney McCool fell, but she scored a 9.275, and Burns scored a 9.55.

Grace Taylor quickly steadied the team with an agile, perfect 10, which brought the Georgia fans to their feet.

In the last rotation, the floor, the seniors’ fathers came down to the floor to watch, and congratulated the gymnasts after each performance. Georgia performed well, with 9.925s from Hilary Mauro and Grace Taylor. Stack scored a 9.9 and Kupets scored a 9.95.

Kupets took her 10th all-around title on the season.

Tolnay, a 12-time all-American, said it was a sentimental night.

“It didn’t really hit me until the floor, when the dads came down,” she said. “I struggled through that floor routine a little bit there.”

She said Yoculan has been a great coach.

“I’m just really excited for Suzanne,” Tolnay said. “She’s just been awesome and a mentor and a friend. I just thank her for everything.”

Retirement is coming at the right time, Yoculan said.

“It’s the right thing for me and it’s the right for the program,” she said. “I feel good about he decision.”

Her focus is now on the SEC tournament in Nashville next weekend.

“After this it’s all business,” she said. “We don’t talk about it again. It’s full steam ahead to win a national title.”