No.13 GymDogs to Compete in First SEC Matchup Against No.3 Florida

No. 13 Georgia (2-2) at No. 3 Florida (3-1)
Date: Friday, Jan. 24, 2025
Start time: 6:30 p.m., ET
Location: Gainesville, Fla.
Arena: O'Connell Center

Media Information
Streaming: SEC Network
Live stats: GeorgiaDogs.com
Twitter/X: @UGAGymnastics

ALL-TIME RECORD against Florida: 93-67-1, 162^nd meeting
LAST MEETING: The GymDogs traveled to Gainesville for the NCAA Florida Regional last April where they fell to the Gators 197.425 - 197.925.

The Georgia GymDogs will open SEC action this Friday in Gainesville against Florida at 6:30 p.m., ET in the O'Connell Center.

BULLDOG-GATOR CROSSOVER
Assistant coach Marissa King, in her first season with Georgia, is a Florida Gymnastics alumna. King competed for the University of Florida (2010-13) where she was the national champion on vault in 2011 and finished her career as an 11-time All-American. King led the Gators to three SEC Championships (2010, 2012, 2013) and the program's first NCAA Championship in 2013. She also earned All-SEC honors in 2010, 2011 and 2012. King served as a volunteer assistant coach at Florida in 2014, helping the Gators to back-to-back national championships.

STARTING OFF STRONG
Georgia remains ranked at No. 2 in the nation on bars after topping their 49.300 event score in Denver with a 49.375 last Friday against Boise State. Ja' Free Scott scored a season-best 9.925 to win the individual bars competition, winning the event for the second week in a row and earning a No. 5 national ranking.
Lily Smith made her sophomore splash, ranking No. 7 and No. 11 individually, on beam and floor respectively.

NEW FACES AT THE HELM
For the first time in program history, the GymDogs have co-head coaches beginning in the 2025 season. Hall of Fame USA Gymnastics coach Cécile Canqueteau-Landi and Ryan Roberts – who has spent the past six seasons as an assistant coach at Alabama and Georgia – were named co-head coaches of the University of Georgia gymnastics program by J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Josh Brooks on April 25, 2024.
The pair then hired Oleksii Koltakov and Marissa King as assistant coaches after both spent the previous two seasons as assistants at Nebraska.

OLYMPIANS AMONG US
Co-head coach Cecile Canqueteau-Landi and assistant coach Marissa King are both former Olympians.
Canqueteau-Landi competed at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics for France and King competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics for Great Britain.
Canqueteau-Landi has also coached in three athletes at three Olympic games- Madison Kocian in 2016 in Rio and Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles in 2020 in Tokyo and 2024 in Paris.
Additionally, Csenge Bacskay competed on vault for Hungary at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

AMERICA'S COACH
One-third of the gymnasts in the 2024 USA Olympic Trials were coached by Georgia co-head coach Cecile Canqueteau-Landi. She coached nearly half of the 2024 USA Olympic team, including alternates.

OLYMPIC MEDALS
Co-head coach Cecile Canqueteau-Landi has coached three Olympians to 11 medals across three Olympic Games.

SCOTT CONTINUES THE MOONWALK
Sophomore Ja' Free Scott's beam routine features the Georgia moonwalk tradition. 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.

FRESH POWER
Six freshmen contributed 132 scores throughout 2024, four of which contributed on multiple events in their rookie season.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
The 2025 Georgia roster features 10 newcomers, including three transfers.

For all the latest on the GymDogs, follow the team on Instagram (@UGAgymnastics), Twitter (@UGAGymnastics), and Facebook (Georgia Gymnastics).

No.13 GymDogs to Compete in First SEC Matchup Against No.3 Florida

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Players Mentioned

Ja' Free Scott

Lily Smith