GymDogs Return to Stegeman to Face Missouri

#20 Georgia vs. #12 Missouri
Saturday, January 20 at 1:45 p.m.
Stegeman Coliseum | Athens, Ga.
WEAR RED!
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ATHENS, Ga.  --- The Georgia gymnastics team returns to Stegeman Coliseum for a Southeastern Conference clash against the Missouri Tigers on Saturday, January 20 at 1:45 p.m.  Fans are encouraged to wear red to the meet.

SERIES HISTORY
The GymDogs hold a 23-7 record against the Tigers.

LAST MEETING
Georgia's first SEC meet of 2023 was in Columbia against the Tigers with the GymDogs falling 196.975- 196.425. The teams met again at the SEC Championship with the Tigers finishing ahead of the GymDogs.

CAREER HIGH NIGHT FOR SCOTT AT ARKANSAS
Sophomore JaFree Scott matched her career-high score of 9.950 on bars and notched a new career-best of 9.900 on beam in week two at Arkansas.

The Kansas City native first received a bars score of 9.950 last season against Arkansas and matched it this year against the Razorbacks.

HISTORIC DEBUT FOR LILY SMITH
Lily Smith is only the seventh gymnast- and fourth freshman- in Georgia gymnastics history to start a season with a 9.975 on any event.

She is only the fourth to achieve the mark on the uneven bars in the first meet- none of which were freshmen.

The only other freshmen to score a 9.975 or better in their GymDog debuts were Leah Brown on vault in 1994, Kim Arnold on vault in 1995, and Michelle Emmons on floor in 2002.  The other gymnasts include Karin Lichey (vault, bars, and floor in 1998), Courtney Kupets (beam in 2007 and bars in 2009), and Kat Ding (bars in 2012).

Additionally, Smith was the only freshman in the country to debut with a 9.975 across all events in 2024.

SCOTT CONTINUES THE MOONWALK
Sophomore JaFree Scott assumed the responsibility of taking over the Georgia moonwalk tradition on beam this season. She is the eighth GymDog to perform the moonwalk on the balance beam, following Nikki Childs, Cassidy McComb, Lindsey Cheek, Mary Beth Box, Morgan Reynolds, Sabrina Vega, and Soraya Hawthorne.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Four freshmen competed 10 routines in Georgia's season opener against NC State.

The GymDogs were led by freshman Ady Wahl's all-around event title in her first career meet. She scored a 9.775 on vault and beam, 9.800 on bars, and 9.825 on floor.

Lily Smith scored a nearly perfect 9.975 in her bars debut. She was the highest scoring freshman in the country across all events in week one of 2024. She also competed on beam and floor, matching teammate Ady Wahl's 9.825 in the final rotation. The pair shared the event title in the opener.

Anya Turner led the charge on beam, taking home the event title with a 9.875.

Jaydah Battle debuted on vault and beam in the GymDogs' first meet of the season. She scored a 9.800 on vault and a 9.850 on beam to kick off her rookie campaign.

SIDNEY FITZGERALD STEPS UP
Sophomore Sidney Fitzgerald competed on beam three times last season, notching a season-high 9.800 against Arkansas late in the regular season.  In Georgia's season opener against NC State the Evans, Georgia native competed on bars, beam, and floor.  She improved her career-beam score to a 9.850 and received scores of 9.750 on bars and 9.775 on floor.

SETTING THE BAR EARLY
In Georgia's season opener against NC State senior Katie Finnegan and sophomore Sidney Fitzgerald improved career-high marks.

Finnegan vaulted 10 times last year, scoring a high of 9.850 twice.  She matched that score to start 2024.

Fitzgerald competed on beam three times in 2023 receiving a season-high score of 9.800 against Arkansas. She improved that mark in the first meet of 2024 with a 9.850.

STRONG START FOR THE BEAM SQUAD
Georgia's beam lineup scored a 49.100 in the season opener against NC State, which was tied for the seventh best score on the event among all teams in week one.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jaydah Battle

Katie Finnegan

Sidney Fitzgerald

Soraya Hawthorne

Ja' Free Scott

Lily Smith

Anya Turner

Ady Wahl