Kat Ding finally gave the Georgia gymnastics fans something to cheer about on Sunday afternoon.
Two days after the Bulldogs failed to qualify for the team finals, the 5-foot-2 senior from Sparks, Nev., won the uneven parallel bars and the floor exercise, and finished third in the vault at the NCAA Gymnastics individual event finals at the Gwinnett Arena. It was a dominating performance from a young woman whose only other scholarship offer four years ago came from Iowa.
“Honestly, this is for my team, it's not about me personally,” Ding said. “I want to represent my program in the best way possible and by doing so I came away with wins. It's for the University of Georgia. It's not for anybody else.”
Ding made her moments count on Sunday. She began the day by winning the bars competition for the second straight year. The fourth of nine contestants in the event, Ding's routine was given a perfect 10 by four of the six judges. Her score of 9.9875 easily beat runner-up Sami Shapiro of Stanford and set a career best.
Ding also competed simultaneously in the vault. She posted a 9.875 on her first vault and a 9.75 on the second vault, leaving her with a 9.8125. The score thrust Ding into the lead, which she held until the final two competitors knocked her into third place.
She completed the afternoon by winning the floor exercise with a routine that was technically sound and artfully completed. Playing to the crowd, Ding scored a 9.95 to edge Alabama's Geralen Stack-Eaton, who had won the individual balance beam.
“Floor has been pretty much one of the hardest events for me,” Ding said. “It finally came around this year. My body is finally pretty much healthy and all the pieces fit together for once and I'm glad it all came together tonight.”
Ding has had a series of injury problems that pretty much limited her to the bars until later this season. She ruptured her foot during warmups at the regional meet of her sophomore season and didn't get to compete at nationals. Last year a problem with her femur kept her from working on dismounts and prevented her from competing on the floor and beam. She was back to full strength at last midway in her senior season and competed in the all-around in five of the last six matches.
Georgia sophomore Lindsey Cheek tied for seventh in the vault with a 9.713. It's only the second meet in which the Watkinsville native had vaulted in this year because of back spasms.
Georgia freshman Chelsea Davis qualified for the individual bars, but was unable to compete because of illness. Davis began to get sick on Friday and didn't show enough improvement that coach Jay Clark felt comfortable sending her back out on Sunday.
The SEC dominated the individual events. Kytra Hunter of Florida won the vault, giving the conference a sweep on Sunday, one night after Alabama and Florida went one-two in the team competition.
Individual champions
Beam
Geralen Stack-Eaton
Alabama
The senior completed her career by scoring a 9.9375 on a routine that featured a front aerial, a switch split to a split, and a 1 ½ dismount.
Uneven Bars
Kat Ding
Georgia
The senior's routine closed with a double dismount that drew “10s” from four of the six judges.
Vault
Kytra Hunter
Florida
The freshman, who won the all-around championship on Friday, scored 9.875 on her two vaults, the first a Yurchenko layout with a half twist, the second with a full twist.
Floor exercise
Kat Ding
Georgia
Coach Jay Clark said the difficult routine was “executed flawlessly” with the technical precision (feet and ankles together on landings) sought by the judges.
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