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ATHENS, Ga.–For two years, Georgia’s Courtney Kupets and Utah’s Ashley Postell have given fans at Nationals quite a show.Since about the time of the Sydney Summer Olympics in 2000, gymnastics has seen an influx of talent in the college ranks.
Because of that, it is harder for any one gymnast to set herself apart as someone that can make fans’ jaws drop. Both Postell and Kupets possess that kind of ability, but the pair won’t both be vying for the all-around national championship for a third time around.
Kupets, who has beaten Postell out for the all-around title the past two years, suffered a season-ending Achilles injury on March 1. Her absence will be felt when Georgia takes the floor in Thursday’s evening preliminary session. Georgia head coach Suzanne Yokulan said the injury has been hard on Kupets, especially now that Nationals are here.
“It’s been hard for her and not in a selfish way,” Yoculan said. “She’s the most humble gymnast I’ve ever worked with. Because she loves gymnastics (and) her parents live down here, she wanted to be part these championships and it’s right in her face.”
Yokulan said she will try to provide the opportunity for the former Olympic bronze medalist to play an active role at Nationals to try and keep her mind off the fact that she isn’t out there competing.
“She has her Captain Courtney shirt,” Yoculan said. “We’ll find a way to include her.”
With Kupets’ injury, it seems the door might be open for Postell to finally claim the top spot that has eluded her for so long. As a freshman, Postell finished third at the 2005 National Championships in Auburn. In 2006 at Oregon State, Postell was the runner-up to Kupets, and then repeated that feat on her home floor in 2007. But this year, Postell says she isn’t even thinking about the all-around.
“I wouldn’t really say that I’m anxious,” Postell said. “I’m not worried about how I do, because then that that will just mess me up and steer me off and I’ll be away from the team so I just need to worry about what they’re doing and how I can contribute.”
While Postell very well could win the top individual honor this weekend, the No. 1-ranked all-arounder will still have some very tough competition.
LSU’s Ashleigh Clare-Kearney is Postell’s closest competition as far as rankings are concerned. Kearney is also fresh off a first-place finish in the all-around at the SEC Championships earlier this month. She then repeated her 39.600 at regionals to take the top individual crown there as well.
Oklahoma’s Kiara Redmond Sturms, Denver’s Jessica Lopez, Florida’s Corey Hartung and Stanford’s Tabitha Yim are also strong all-arounders that will figure into the mix. Yim is the only gymnast aside from Postell that has a season all-around average above the 39.400 mark. Postell averaged a 39.607 in the event this season, which is more than .1 better than Yim (a fairly solid margin in gymnastics) and at least .2 better than anyone else in the country.
The all-around national champion is the only national title awarded during Thursday’s preliminary sessions.
The following is a list of the 12 teams at national and their top gymnast for the all-around.
Afternoon Session–1 p.m. ESTNo. 2 Florida Gators- Corey Hartung (39.495 RQS)No. 3 LSU Tigers- Ashleigh Clare-Kearney (39.570 RQS)No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide- Morgan Dennis (39.425 RQS)No. 7 Oregon State Beavers- Jami Lanz (39.440 RQS)No. 11 Arkansas Razorbacks- Nobody in the top 25No. 12 Denver Pioneers- Jessica Lopez (39.510 RQS)
Evening Session-7 p.m. ESTNo. 1 Georgia Bulldogs- Tiffany Tolney (39.360 RQS)No. 4 Stanford Cardinal- Tabitha Yim (39.510 RQS)No. 5 Utah Utes- Ashley Postell (39.705 RQS)No. 8 Michigan Wolverines- Lindsey Bruck (39.395 RQS)No. 9 UCLA Bruins- Anna Li (39.385 RQS)No. 10 Oklahoma Sooners- Kiara Redmond-Sturns (39.555 RQS)
The following individuals also qualified for the all-aroundAuburn Tigers- Julie Dwyer (39.410 RQS)Nebraska Cornhuskers- Emily Parsons (39.395 RQS)Penn St. Nittany Lions- Brandi Personett (39.385 RQS)Adrianne Perry- Missouri Tigers (39.360 RQS)