Georgia begins a new gymnastics era tonight when the GymDogs host Boise State for their home opener at Stegeman Coliseum. And they have a special guest for the occasion.
11-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles will be in attending as a special guest of UGA co-head coach Cécile Canqueteau-Landi, who has coached Biles at her gym in Texas.
The dual meet begins at 7 p.m. with coverage on SEC Network+. Tickets are already sold out.
While it’s the first home meet for the Red and Black, the ‘‘Dawgs already got off to a promising start on the road at the quad meet hosted by gymnastics powerhouse the University of Denver last week. Georgia scored a 49.300 on bars and 49.325 on vault during the season opener. Those scores place the ‘Dawgs high in the national rankings at #2 nationally in scoring average on bars and #4 on vault. Sophomore Ady Wahl scored a 9.925 to win the individual vault competition, and junior Ja’ Free Scott scored a 9.900 to tie for first in bars.
Georgia’s score of 195.975 was third behind #5 Missouri (196.125) and #11 Denver (196.575). The Dawgs easily beat last place University of Long Island (188.075). It was a very solid showing for a group competing on the road, at altitude, against a pair of national title contenders.
2024 was a building year for the GumDogs, with six freshmen thrust into the lineup, in part due to a raft of injuries. Senior leader Haley de Jong for example suffered a season-ending injury during warm-ups for the season opener. Several of those young contributors return this season, including Wahl, All-American Lily Smith, vault standout Jaydah Battle, Zora Morgan, who emerged as a key scorer on balance beam, and Holly Snyder, who provided some of the team’s top uneven bar work in 2024.
The GymDogs also added 10 new athletes this offseason, including 3 transfers. That includes Nebraska transfer Csenge Bacskay, a junior who competed for Hungary in the vault at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and Utah transfer Kara Eaker, an All-PAC-12 selection in 2023 who’s notched multiple perfect 10s on beam. The ‘Dawgs also added Arizona State transfer Anaya Smith, a first team All-American in 2024 and the National runner-up on vault.
On paper this is the strongest, deepest GymDog squad in years, with a mix of proven collegiate gymnasts and younger athletes who could take a big step forward. Until later…
Go ‘Dawgs!!!