Georgia gymnast Brittany Rogers made sure UGA’s gymnastics team didn’t go home without something to brag about at the NCAA Gymnastics Championships. The junior tied for second in the individual uneven bars championships.
Rogers, who has a reputation as one of the best uneven bars performers in the country having earned All-America honors for three years in a row on the event, delivered one of her characteristically strong routines to earn a 9.95 score.
Unfortunately for her, Utah’s Georgia Dabritz was just a little better, winning the title with a 9.9625 while Florida’s Bridget Sloan, the defending champion, tied Rogers for second.
That Dabritz won the title wasn’t a complete surprise. She finished the season ranked No. 1 on the floor exercise and became the first gymnast in NCAA history to earn back-to-back 10.0s.
“I actually told my coaches I was intimidated being out there with her,” Rogers said. “But they reminded me that if I can stick my handstands and dismounts, I could be earning 10’s too.”
Georgia teammate Brandie Jay finished seventh out of eight competitors on the vault with a 9.85 and Mary Beth Box was tied for ninth on floor with UCLA’s Samantha Peszek with a 9.8875 out of 15 competitors.
High scores are hardly new to Rogers, who also scored a 9.9 at the SEC Championships to earn All-SEC honors on the same event.
Sunday’s competition was special for Rogers, she said, especially after the Gym Dogs failed to make Saturday’s Super Six competition, finishing fifth in Friday’s preliminary round.
“It was weird being out there without my team,” she said. “I’ve never been so nervous in my life but I think it was because I cared so much. My whole routine was a blur. When I landed, I had to ask my coach if I stuck my dismount.”
Jay’s performance concludes a season in which she finished ranked 21st nationally on the vault. Her 9.925 in the opener was Georgia’s highest season-opening vault score since 2003.
Box had a solid routine but it just wasn’t clean enough to compete for the title, which went to Florida’s Kytra Hunter with a 9.9625.
It was still a strong finish for Box, who earned All-America honors on the floor for a second year in a row. She scored a career high 9.95 during the regular season to lift Georgia past Arkansas in a SEC meet. She also finished the year ranked 19th on the balance beam.
Rogers believes the individual experience will help the Gym Dogs prepare for the future.
UGA loses seniors Chelsea Davis, Sarah Persinger and Demetria Hunte but return enough talent that they should be in the NCAA hunt again next season.
“I know I’m motivated to get back in the gym on Tuesday,” Rogers said. “This lights a fire in us knowing what we need to do to get us ready for next year. The wheels are already spinning in our heads.”
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