2013 NCAA SeasonFeb 11, 2013 by The GymShark
3 Gym Dogs Who Must Step Up to Beat Florida
3 Gym Dogs Who Must Step Up to Beat Florida
3 Gym Dogs Who Must Step Up to Beat Florida
2/11/2013
The Florida Gators got the best of the Georgia Gym Dogs in last year’s regular season meeting in Gainesville, though each team had a much different look.
This time the #9 Gym Dogs host the #1 Gators for their annual Pinkout Meet Saturday Feb. 16, 4:00pm ET at Stegeman Coliseum.
Gym Dogs Must Step Up
The Gym Dogs try to get back on track following a less than stellar effort against Kentucky this past weekend in which they had to count a fall on beam.
To beat Florida, three Gym Dogs must step up their game: Shayla Worley, Sarah Persinger, and Noel Couch.
Shayla has 9.90+ potential on bars, beam, and floor, but these days rarely lives up to that expectation. At Kentucky, she was one of the athletes that fell on beam. She was once the anchor on floor, but with scores averaging 9.72 and trending downward, she was recently pulled from the lineup. Over time that may prove to be a good move for Georgia.
Shayla was a member of the 2007 U.S. World Champion team. That success was eons ago, but she must draw on the competitive fire and love for the sport that fueled her elite years, or her senior year will be a disappointing epitaph to her career.
If Sarah Persinger is used in three events this week, as was the case versus Alabama, then she will need to be more aggressive and contribute at least one 9.90 and nothing lower than 9.85. She has scored 9.90 on floor this season so it is definitely possible.
Noel Couch has only been back in action for two meets, but must quickly regain top form. She did well in her first meet scoring 9.875 on beam and floor. However, on those events in the following meet, her scores dropped to 9.75 and 9.725.
The bottom line is the Gym Dogs cannot continue the barrage of 9.725 – 9.825 scores and expect to beat the 2013 Florida Gators.
Gators Must Keep Chomping
After crushing one of the NCAA’s best teams in their last meet, Florida looks to continue their momentum on the road against a Georgia team that is no pushover.
Last Saturday Florida scored an amazing 198.100.
Historically, it would be natural for Florida to have a mental let down following such a strong performance.
The danger for the Gators lies in believing their own press. If they believe they can win by just showing up or if they lose their competitive hunger, they will lose this meet.
Undoubtedly, Georgia will be fired up. They will be looking to bounce back from a sub-196 performance, and would like nothing more than to stick it to the Gators.
Georgia will have a raucous crowd in Stegeman Coliseum. They will be starting on the vault, which is a very good event for them. Now imagine the deafening noise if Georgia goes on a run and sticks their vaults. It might be enough to get in the Gator’s head.
Florida better come out of the tunnel ready to go to work. They better stay calm and roll with the punches. Statistically, the road team at Stegeman is likely to have a major mistake over the course of the meet. Florida must respond to that situation as they did last Friday: with 9.9’s from the rest of the lineup.
If Florida does their job, they will be able to absorb Georgia’s best punches and win their fifth consecutive meet.
The Florida Gators got the best of the Georgia Gym Dogs in last year’s regular season meeting in Gainesville, though each team had a much different look.
This time the #9 Gym Dogs host the #1 Gators for their annual Pinkout Meet Saturday Feb. 16, 4:00pm ET at Stegeman Coliseum.
Gym Dogs Must Step Up
The Gym Dogs try to get back on track following a less than stellar effort against Kentucky this past weekend in which they had to count a fall on beam.
To beat Florida, three Gym Dogs must step up their game: Shayla Worley, Sarah Persinger, and Noel Couch.
Shayla has 9.90+ potential on bars, beam, and floor, but these days rarely lives up to that expectation. At Kentucky, she was one of the athletes that fell on beam. She was once the anchor on floor, but with scores averaging 9.72 and trending downward, she was recently pulled from the lineup. Over time that may prove to be a good move for Georgia.
Shayla was a member of the 2007 U.S. World Champion team. That success was eons ago, but she must draw on the competitive fire and love for the sport that fueled her elite years, or her senior year will be a disappointing epitaph to her career.
If Sarah Persinger is used in three events this week, as was the case versus Alabama, then she will need to be more aggressive and contribute at least one 9.90 and nothing lower than 9.85. She has scored 9.90 on floor this season so it is definitely possible.
Noel Couch has only been back in action for two meets, but must quickly regain top form. She did well in her first meet scoring 9.875 on beam and floor. However, on those events in the following meet, her scores dropped to 9.75 and 9.725.
The bottom line is the Gym Dogs cannot continue the barrage of 9.725 – 9.825 scores and expect to beat the 2013 Florida Gators.
Gators Must Keep Chomping
After crushing one of the NCAA’s best teams in their last meet, Florida looks to continue their momentum on the road against a Georgia team that is no pushover.
Last Saturday Florida scored an amazing 198.100.
Historically, it would be natural for Florida to have a mental let down following such a strong performance.
The danger for the Gators lies in believing their own press. If they believe they can win by just showing up or if they lose their competitive hunger, they will lose this meet.
Undoubtedly, Georgia will be fired up. They will be looking to bounce back from a sub-196 performance, and would like nothing more than to stick it to the Gators.
Georgia will have a raucous crowd in Stegeman Coliseum. They will be starting on the vault, which is a very good event for them. Now imagine the deafening noise if Georgia goes on a run and sticks their vaults. It might be enough to get in the Gator’s head.
Florida better come out of the tunnel ready to go to work. They better stay calm and roll with the punches. Statistically, the road team at Stegeman is likely to have a major mistake over the course of the meet. Florida must respond to that situation as they did last Friday: with 9.9’s from the rest of the lineup.
If Florida does their job, they will be able to absorb Georgia’s best punches and win their fifth consecutive meet.