It hasn’t flipped quite like the Georgia-Florida football series did, but if the Gym Dogs don’t start beating the school’s chief rival, it might soon.
No. 9-ranked Georgia lost on Saturday to Florida in gymnastics for the fourth consecutive year in dual-match competition, 197.300 to 196.175. The 10-time national champion Gym Dogs (5-5-1, 3-1-1 SEC) now hold a narrow 18-16-1 lead in dual meets against the Gators.
Overall, Georgia has fallen to Florida in eight consecutive competitions. The Gators (6-1, 5-1) came in with the nation’s No. 1 ranking and considered favorites to win the 2013 national championship, which would be their first.
One of the reasons Danna Durante is now coaching the Gym Dogs is to get the series going back Georgia’s way.
“It’s huge,” said Durante, who succeeded Jay Clark this summer as UGA's coach. “I absolutely want to flip that. It’s not something we talk about in the office; it’s not pressure that we feel. It’s an opportunity to show what we’ve been doing in training. We’ve just got to carry it through the entire meet.”
Once again UGA was done in by its performance on beam. The Gym Dogs carried a 99.000 – 98.850 lead into that rotation, their third of the meet. But then they had to count two falls on beam.
Noel Couch, third up for Georgia, was the first to go down. Shayla Worley and Kaylen Earls then fell off in the Nos. 5 and 6 spots. The Gym Dogs also had two falls in beam in a tie at Kentucky last week.
“We had great momentum and our scores were showing it,” said Georgia freshman Brandie Jay, who got a 10 from one judge on the way to scoring 9.975 on vault. “We just started to fade for some reason and we need to fix that. It’s definitely frustrating because every day in the gym we don’t show that.”
The Gym Dogs still had floor to go, but their 48.125 beam score made it a nearly-moot exercise. Georgia made it easy on the Gators by going through the motions on floor. The 49.050 total was the team’s lowest since Jan. 18. Florida cruised in with a 49.150 on beam.
“I refuse accept that we’re not a great beam and floor team,” Durante said. “I’ve seen them; they’re talented; I’ve seen them train; I’ve seen them compete well. But there are some things that are happening and I can’t put my finger on it. It’s not a physical thing. They can do their skills in their sleep. We just need them to get better mentally and confidence-wise. We need to jump that hurdle.”
The meet could not have started much better for Georgia, which needed a near-perfect meet against the powerful Gators. The Gym Dogs began the meet on vault and turned in a season-best scored of 49.550. In addition to Jay’s 9.975, they got a 9.925 from Couch.
Georgia carried the momentum into bars, where Chelsea Davis (9.95), Brittany Rogers (9.925) and Worley (9.90) all cleared 9.9. The 49.450 score matched the season high and gave the Gym Dogs a strong 99-point score heading into beam.
Lindsey Cheek got the Dogs off to a great start with a personal-best 9.90 on the apparatus. But after a shaky turn from Sarah Perswinger, the falls began.
"I actually told them I was glad to see it tonight because now we know what we need to do," Durante said. "I’d rather see it against Florida in a dual than down the road. We’re going to figure it out and we’re going to work on it."
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