How last-place finish and ‘frustrating’ results can be building block for UGA GymDogs

Courtney Kupets Carter paced around the beam apparatus with anticipation. Her eyes locked on each gymnast as routines progressed. Repetitive mumbles of “Come on! Come on!” came from the Georgia head coach in hopes of a stuck dismount and high score.

A level of passion from the former GymDog mimicked that of her competing days. The floor became her zen again.

Kupets Carter stayed in her element Saturday night at the Metroplex Challenge and followed natural tendencies to be exuberant and supportive. A strong routine resulted in a loud yell, arms raised high and a long embrace. If one of her gymnasts made a mistake, Kupets Carter waited a few seconds to let the disappointment pass and then engaged in a private, uplifting conversation.

“She’s been here. She’s done it,” senior Sabrina Vega said. “She knows what it’s like to hit a routine and not get that score. She wants it just as bad as we do. It’s good to see when your coach is real with that heart and grit.”

From the moment that the bright lights twinkled around the Fort Worth Convention Center, Kupets Carter’s energy piloted Georgia through a meet in which it could never sustain momentum. Georgia (4-4, 0-2 SEC) finished with a 196.300 to finish in fourth place at the Metroplex Challenge behind Oklahoma (197.525), Alabama and Denver (tied at 196.575).

A youthful Georgia team with four freshmen and seven sophomores experienced growth in a different light Saturday evening. There were mistakes, and many of them led to scoring a full-point lower than Monday’s win against Iowa State. The GymDogs also felt like the final result could’ve been higher when routines were properly executed — realized as coaches spent extra time flipping through score sheets.

In the same breath, it didn’t matter after the season’s fourth meet and the team mentality carried a heavier weight.

“You have to take the next step,” Kupets Carter said. “If not, you’re just going to bring yourself down further. You have to build momentum, because you have so much more in you.

Georgia showed a semblance of fight throughout the meet. Fluctuations in energy showed, however, and it began while opening on balance beam.

Sophomores Rachel Baumann — in her homecoming — and Rachael Lukacs had stumbles on their routines. Displeasure showed, and Georgia walked away with a 49.025 on an event that has shown to be a strength to this point. Kupets Carter patted the two gymnasts on the back, then huddled her team together.

“We know it’s not what we wanted,” Kupets Carter told her team. “But it’s over. We have to take a deep breath. Let’s go on floor and show ourselves what we can do.”

After every rotation, those huddles held a similar message. Georgia has implored the vitality of moving on past mistakes from the first day of offseason practices. It likens to the philosophical cliche of, “This is a marathon, not a sprint.” That’s true on two fronts: A long season is ahead and there were events remaining to finish the meet.

Each time it worked, and Georgia can thank the party-like tunes of “TOES,” a rap song by DaBaby and MoneyBagg Yo. The GymDogs stepped onto the floor apparatus, realizing the potential of doing damage on the exercise, and it turned into a dance party. A loudspeaker sat behind them, and the beat blared. Each gymnast boogied in harmony, and collectively shivered to a loud “BURR.”

Georgia executed its floor routines with four scores above 9.800 — including Amanda Cashman serving as a last-second replacement for fellow freshman Soraya Hawthorne, who worked through an injury to return on vault. A usual excitement was palpable (even more evident with an on-the-floor perspective) as gymnasts mimicked their teammates’ routines, but then the scores might not have matched up to their desires.

Vega, with the potentially-viral routine, received the highest score with a 9.875. Georgia, in its second meet of the season, had three-consecutive scores of 9.950 and Vega scored a full tenth higher against Iowa State.

“Everybody has that passion and desire to get high scores, and it’s frustrating when you don’t get them,” Vega said. “We have to remember that we aren’t here only for the scores. It’s a bigger learning curve when the girls are walking out of here proud.”

After floor, a trend continued.

Georgia didn’t have the vault rotation — an exercise that has become a consistent strong suit under Kupets Carter — and the demeanor swung like a pendulum. After Cashman stumbled with a 9.575 and Haley de Jong’s head lowered while a grouping of teammates went silent. Lukacs and Hawthorne followed with 9.850 and 9.825, respectively, and momentum returned as the GymDogs rushed to the apparatus and team chemistry came together and began to soar.

Georgia huddled before heading to uneven bars, and it had a mandate to finish strong. Kupets Carter didn’t talk much. Instead, Vega took over. The senior wanted the team to be proud of its performance. That’s a justified request, despite mistakes, no individual awards and a drop in score.

One might not have guessed that Georgia would have its highest score on bars, but it brewed during the transition. Lukacs stuck a landing and let out a loud “YES.” Cashman notched a career-high 9.850 and received a long embrace from her head coach as she said, “I’m so proud of you.”

Happiness returned. Georgia improved and proved the worth of an entire meet by one event.

“Finally, our training has shown and it makes me so proud,” Lukacs said. “It’s one of our weaker spots, but it doesn’t stop us from getting better.”

A look at the stat sheet or a meet recap portrays a day with struggles and not much optimism for Georgia. Instead, it could be the GymDogs’ most important competition this season. They bonded closer as a team, found room for improvement and showed a glimpse of true potential, which will matter in April for the postseason (in the same city, in fact).

Different emotions bookended the meet. Georgia was jubilant when being introduced as the arena went dark. It shifted to some disappointments after falling short due to various factors.

Belief, however, never wavered.

“The scores were kind of low, but I’ve never had such joy competing as I did today,” Vega said. “These girls really pushed and everybody had a blast. That’s what it’s all about, because the scores will come.”

This story was originally published January 26, 2020 at 4:02 PM with the headline "How last-place finish and ‘frustrating’ results can be building block for UGA GymDogs."