Coach Kupets Carter’s Georgia GymDogs have overcome a lot this season. Injuries, inexperience, it’s felt like this team was always just a little ways away from putting things together. While one shouldn’t count their chickens before they hatch or their landings before they’re stuck, on Friday night the Dawgs may have taken a definitive step in the right direction.

The GymDogs posted a season high score in downing the visiting #14 ranked Auburn Tigers 197.550 to 196.900. In fact it wasn’t only their highest score of 2024. It was the highest team score for the Red and Black since the 2019 NCAA Regionals in Athens

It was more than just an opponent defeat. This squad’s meet was the most comprehensive one we’ve seen in a while. Georgia won every event with the highest scores. Although freshman Lily Smith finished with a strong 39.450, including a career-high 9.950 to end the meet on the floor, she failed to win her second career overall title.

On an evening when multiple Bulldogs achieved career highs, Smith’s thrilling floor performance served as the cherry on top. Freshmen Jaydah Battle and Anya Turner tied for first place on beam with a score of 9.925, while Ady Wahl, a freshman, turned in a 9.950 on the vault. Freshmen Holly Snyder and Ja’Free Scott also shared the meet crown with a 9.925 on bars.

We have stated often this season how much promise this GymDog team has. Gymnastics fans were aware that the Bulldogs had possibly the strongest freshman class in the country in 2023, and that multiple players would probably compete for playing time. But those rookies had to step up sooner than the coaching staff had likely intended due to injuries to more seasoned players like Vanessa Deniz and Haley de Jong.