How 'Bout Them Gym Dogs?

by T Kyle King on Apr 5, 2006 9:44 PM EDT in Events

Much of my attention lately has been focused on this Saturday's G-Day game in Athens. However, the Bulldogs' spring scrimmage in Sanford Stadium is not the only sporting event taking place in the Classic City this weekend, nor even the most important.

On Saturday evening, the Gym Dogs will host the N.C.A.A. Southeast Regional. The undefeated and top-ranked Georgia gymnastics squad, loaded with winners of too many individual awards to name and fresh off of winning its 15th Southeastern Conference championship, enters this weekend's meet hoping to capture its 18th regional title and qualify for its 23rd consecutive appearance in the N.C.A.A. Championships.

Good-looking Southern women. A sporting event involving an S.E.C. championship Georgia squad. A Saturday night in Athens. What more could anyone ask?

This will be the seventh N.C.A.A. regional gymnastics meet held in Stegeman Coliseum. The Gym Dogs finished first in five of the previous six and took second place in the 1985 regional competition.

The top two teams from each of the six regional meets will advance to the National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Championships taking place in Corvallis, Ore., starting on April 20. Joining Georgia in Athens this weekend will be No. 12 Nebraska, No. 13 Missouri, No. 22 West Virginia, No. 23 North Carolina, and N.C. State.

Suzanne Yoculan, the architect of the Bulldogs' dominant women's gymnastics program, pointed out that "Nebraska is the only team that was in this year's pre-season top 10 that we haven't seen."

23 seasons. 15 S.E.C. crowns. 17 regional championships. Six national titles. She's like Steve Spurrier . . . if Steve Spurrier won a lot more.

This season, Georgia is 21-0 overall, 6-0 in regular-season conference meets for the seventh time in the last decade, 19-0 against top 20 teams, and 11-0 against top 10 opponents. If the Gym Dogs win Saturday evening's regional meet, the Red and Black will have beaten every other preseason top 10 team.

Think about that for a minute.

Naturally, not even the earliest of preseason college football polls is out yet, but let's assume that the teams that were good in 2005 will be presumed still to be good heading into 2006. The order might be shuffled somewhat, but I doubt whether the projected top 10 released in late August will contain any teams not ranked in the postseason top 15 in early January.

Imagine, if you will, that defending national champion Texas entered 2006 ranked No. 1 and, over the course of their regular season schedule, conference championship game, and bowl game, the Longhorns faced all nine of the other preseason top 10 teams.

If, over the course of next fall's campaign, Texas beat Auburn, Florida, Louisiana State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Southern California, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia, would there be any doubt that it was the greatest feat accomplished by any college football team since Sewanee's 1899 squad won five games in six days against major opponents?

If Mack Brown's Longhorns had won seven or eight more games of this caliber last season, they'd be in a league with Coach Yoculan's Gym Dogs.

The Georgia women's gymnastics squad may be poised to do exactly that.

I am looking forward to Saturday's G-Day game between the hedges, but, were it not for family obligations later that evening, I would plan on sticking around the Classic City for the regional gymnastics meet. If you're going to be in Athens all day on Saturday, you should head over to the Coliseum, where you might be witness to history in the making.

I will refrain from getting all E.S.P.N. on you with all that "Greatest Team of All Time!" rhetoric before the season even ends, but the Gym Dogs have a chance to accomplish something extraordinary and every citizen of Bulldog Nation should sit up and take notice.

Go 'Dawgs!

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Comments

Way to put that in perspective...

Of course being a non-contact, individual sport you could argue that it is a little bit lower on the degree of difficulty scale. But I don't want to take anything away from this amazing and very impressive feat.

Good post, you made me want to go. But I imagine they look down on the ole flask in the stands routine a little more than at Sanford, so I'll have to pass.

by JP @ Dawg Sports on Apr 6, 2006 10:34 AM EDT reply actions

alternate analogy

Kyle, she's like the old ball coach, if the old ball coach co-habitated with sleazy old men.

by Dawgnoxious on Apr 6, 2006 4:18 PM EDT reply actions

Leebern, baby, burn

You know I'm with you on the whole Don Leebern thing, Dawgnoxious.

You also know, though, that plenty of quality women have maddeningly awful taste in men.

We forgave Rachel Hunter for Rod Stewart because she gave us Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues, "The Real Gilligan's Island," and the "Stacy's Mom" video.

We forgave Salma Hayek for Edward Norton because she gave us "Desperado," "From Dusk Till Dawn," "Dogma," and that scene where she got out of the inner tube in that bad romantic comedy with Matthew Perry.

We forgave Courteney Cox for David Arquette because she's a good Southern girl who was the best part of "Friends," the late seasons of "Family Ties," and the "Dancing in the Dark" video.

We can forgive Suzanne Yoculan for Don Leebern because she has turned Georgia into the dominant program in intercollegiate women's gymnastics, backed up her brash attitude with unparalleled success, and done right by her athletes in a sport in which success often is obtained through some truly shameful behavior towards gymnasts who have known little else but gymnastics in their lives.

Look at it this way . . . just imagine how bad he'd be if he didn't have Coach Yoculan to rein him in a little.

by T Kyle King on Apr 6, 2006 4:50 PM EDT up reply actions

Also . . .

. . . we forgave Halle Berry for David Justice.

And Jessica Simpson for Nick Lachey.

And Helen Hunt for Hank Azaria.

And Britney Spears for Justin Timberlake and that backup dancer guy.

And Katie Holmes for Tom Cruise.

And Nicole Kidman for Tom Cruise. (Is there an echo in here?)

And Lindsay Lohan for Fez from "That '70s Show."

Hey, you know what? Women just have lousy taste in men, don't they?

by T Kyle King on Apr 7, 2006 12:23 AM EDT up reply actions

But . . .

. . . I'm not sure we've ever really forgiven Ashley Judd for Michael Bolton or Demi Moore for Kelso.

What is it with guys from "That '70s Show," anyway?

by T Kyle King on Apr 7, 2006 12:25 AM EDT up reply actions

you forgot...

Reese for Phillipe

Hurley for Hugh (although he took care of that)

and my alltime favorite in which there will never be forgiveness.....

Catherine Zeta-Jones and that saggy old man, Michael Douglas. That just befuddles the mind.

by JP @ Dawg Sports on Apr 7, 2006 8:29 AM EDT reply actions

I am ashamed

J.P., I am in your debt.

How I forgot Elizabeth Hurley and that stammering philanderer or the star of "Entrapment" (who is almost exactly my age) and the star of "Disclosure" (who is almost exactly my father's age) is beyond me.

Thanks for setting me straight.

by T Kyle King on Apr 7, 2006 9:29 AM EDT up reply actions

Hey Kyle..

there's unfortunately too many of them that you are bound to forget some. Those just happen to be three of my favorite leading ladies so it is easy for me to remember. Especially CZJ.

Hopefully we won't get soaked at the G-Day game like the weather is predicted to do. Love your blog man, it helps get me through the work day. Keep it up!

by JP @ Dawg Sports on Apr 7, 2006 1:25 PM EDT up reply actions