An era is about to come to an end in Athens, Ga., this weekend.
This year’s NCAA gymnastics national championships in Lincoln, Neb., will be the last meet for the Georgia Gym Dogs’ head coach Suzanne Yoculan.
Yoculan has been the head coach at Georgia since 1983 and has built Georgia into one of the premier collegiate gymnastics programs in the country. During her time at Georgia, Yoculan has led the Dogs to nine national titles, including four in a row. But with this being Yoculan’s final season, Utah head coach Greg Marsden knows that though Georgia is the favorite this weekend, the pressure will be on.
“There is a lot of pressure on (Georgia),” Marsden said. “I can’t imagine that there’s not a lot of pressure on them to win this thing. They have everything to lose and they can only meet expectations.”
The pressure on Georgia is building not only because of Yoculan’s departure, but also from the departure of a senior class that has carried Georgia for the past four years. Georgia will be losing four seniors, including Courtney Kupets, the country’s top all-around performer.
It doesn’t stop there. As the preseason No. 1, the Gym Dogs have been expected to finish on top for the fifth consecutive year and take home their 10th national championship, which would tie them with the Red Rocks for the most all-time championships.
Marsden and Utah had a similar streak during the mid-’80s when the only 900-win coach in collegiate gymnastics history led the Red Rocks to five consecutive national championships from 1982 to 1986.
“Although it has been a while and I know I’m getting old, but I remember what (that pressure) is like,” Marsden said. “And the pressure does build. The expectation (at Georgia) is that if they don’t win it’s a bad year.”
With all that pressure on Georgia, Marsden has begun to take the underdog approach, which is something that could be used as an advantage Thursday when nationals get underway.
“Our perspective, and I think the perspective of other teams, is that we have everything to gain and nothing to lose,” Marsden said. “So we just need to relax and do our thing and see where it gets us.”
Because Utah is in the evening session and Georgia is in the afternoon session Thursday, the earliest the two teams would see each other is Friday in the Super Six Finals. Although historically Utah has always fared well qualifying for the Super Six, Marsden knows nothing is guaranteed when competing against the best teams in the country. Utah’s biggest competition within its session will come from No. 3-seed Alabama.
“Alabama is a young team,” Marsden said. “They had some injuries early in the year but they have really come together over the last month to six weeks of the season. They’ve been exceptional, just one good meet after another.”
Friday, Utah will be looking to spoil the farewell for Yoculan and Georgia which have just edged out the Red Rocks for the past three years, leaving Utah in second each year.
“We had a great nationals last year,” Marsden said. “We did about as well as we could do. We ended up three-tenths shy (of Georgia), but no regrets. I would just like for this group to have that same feeling, if that’s good enough to win, well that’s our dream.”
Tyler CobbThe Georgia Gym Dogs have won four national titles in a row under the guidance of head coach Suzanne Yoculan.