Newspaper Page Text
8
Friday, January 11, 2008 \ Thk Red a Black
Gym Dogs start season with injuries
BY TYLER ESTEP
Thk Red & Black
The top-ranked Oym Dogs open
their quest for a fourth straight
national championship tonight at
the same arena in which they
clinched 2007’s title, taking on Utah
to begin a season-opening road
stretch that coach Suzanne Yoculan
called “competitive suicide." After
taking on the Utes tonight. Georgia
will make the 770-mile trip to
Stanford to meet the No. 5 Cardinal,
a Super Six team last year.
“In our sport, we're not ranked on
wins and losses,” Yoculan said. “I
keep telling myself logically that it
doesn’t matter whether we win or
lose, but my nature is to want to
win.” After only seeing each other in
regular season action once between
the 1992 and 2004 seasons, the
Georgia and Utah gymnastics squads
have developed a rivalry over the
past several seasons. The Gym Dogs
and the third-ranked Utes have fin
ished No. 1 and 2 in each of the last
two seasons, and now pit their tal
ents against each other on a yearly
basis.
"Utah's always one of the better
teams that we go up against every
year, and they're always in the top
three at the end of the season, so it's
definitely one of our bigger competi
tions, but that’s good,” senior Katie
Work for the
Red&Black
We’re holding new writers’ meetings
at the Red & Black offices
Tuesday (Jan. 15)
and Wednesday (Jan. 16).
The meeting is at 6 p.ra., but only
30 people are allowed per session.
If you are interested, you must contact
Phillip Kssubika, the Recruitment Editor,
at recniitment@randb.com,
and tell him what day you want to come.
See you there
\ ffe .■ , "wife-
The Reserve at Athens...
I V. (ti Jb bQ^gr^fl
I *?* J|
|ai
Tjust minutes from campus
MILES away from average!
/'
Gated Entry s£ Resort Style Pool
24-hour Computer Lab • Game Room
24-hour Fitness Center _ rtl , Wooded Running Trails
Tanning Bed Fd F Community Events
Furnished & Unfurnished Units A . III l ()l> Xs ‘ Two & Four bedroom units
175 International Dr. • Athens, GA • 30605 • 706.548.4400 • www.myownapartment.com
Heenan said. “That’s what makes us
better in the end, even to start off
that way."
“We did win the national champi
onship (at Utah) last year, so It’s like
we should be able to go out there
and win again, but it’s anew team
and anew atmosphere,” two-time
NCAA All-Around Champion
Courtney Kupets said.
Yoculan said Heenan has two her
niated discs and likely would per
form tonight but not in the all
around, and would not compete
against Stanford “at all." That and a
New Year’s Eve appendicitis out
burst for Paige Bums are just a pair
of the injuries that have the Gym
Dogs feeling the most significant
injury bug to start a season in recent
memory.
"Mentally, we’re a lot stronger
than what the girls’ bodies are going
to allow them to do," Yoculan said
Yoculan added that junior Tiffany
Tolnay had had the flu all week and
would likely only compete in one or
two events. Sophomore Grace
Taylor, who injured her ankle in
Saturday’s Sneak-A-Peek at
Stegeman Coliseum, would also see
limited competition.
Injuries aside, the Gym Dogs are
out to win, whether or not it affects
their potential postseason standing.
“We might not have what we need
because of our injury situation being
BALL: Landers, athletes
look forward to Auburn
► From Page 1
One area that contin
ues to concern Coach
Landers is the amount of
minutes played by the five
starters. While each
starter reached double
figures for just the second
time this season, only two
of the Bulldogs’ 75
points came from the
bench.
“I think I played the
MEXICALI GRILLE I
•*. ... -- . ■*%.-
SPOUTS
i
LINDY DUGGER I Tut Km. a Buck
A Senior Gymdog Katie
Heenan performs on the
uneven bars during Saturday’s
Gymdog Sneak-a-Peek season
preview at Stegeman
Coliseum.
so poor," Yoculan said. “But we will
put the best effort forward because
it is Utah. Those girls are excited
about going to Utah.”
two post players too
much,” Landers said. It’s
just too many minutes for
those guys to play, but
overall it’s a good win and
a good way to start the
(SEC) season.”
The Lady Bulldogs will
look to use the victory as
a springboard into their
first road contest in the
Southeastern Conference,
Sunday afternoon against
Auburn at 3:00.
Dogs face harsh, yet
hopeful 2008 season
Let the debate begin.
While the 2007 col
lege football season
is over, there is no reason
to delay discussion of the
2008 campaign.
So, after its impressive
Sugar Bowl showing, are
the Dogs next year’s team
to beat? *
Yes, they are. At least
it will be one of the two
teams to beat. The only
other contender for the
preseason No. 1 spot is
USC. With Ohio State
sleeping through another
national championship,
Florida getting embar
rassed and LSU losing 10
starters, the Bulldogs and
Trojans are the only via
ble options. ESPN.com
senior writer Mark
Schlabach has the
Bulldogs at the top spot.
Sports Illustrated’s
Stewart Mandel also has
the Bulldogs at No. 1.
The Dogs will bring
back 17 starters on
offense and defense to a
team that ended the 2007
season No. 2. Georgia also
has a Heisman candidate
in running back
Knowshon Moreno and a
dark horse contender in
quarterback Matthew
Stafford.
The team will lose its
top wide receiver Sean
Bailey, but with a pletho
ra of experienced receiv
ers, as well as incoming
freshmen receivers A.J.
Green and Tavarres King,
wide receiver should not
be an issue for the
Bulldogs.
King is one of five
recruits who already
enrolled at Georgia for
the spring semester, mak
ing him eligible for spring
practice and the G-Day
game. Also already
TEAM MANAGER WANTED
UGA SOFTBALL
Hourly Wage Provided
Position Starts Jan., 9, 2008
Away Game Travel Required
Work Hours Approx. 2-6 pm Tues-Sun
Contact Norma Holliday (706)425-3139
IE
Jason Bun
A
enrolled are offensive line
man Ben Jones, running
back/linebacker Richard
Samuel, running back
Dontavius Jackson and
linebacker Akeem
Hebron, who returns from
his semester at Georgia
Military College.
The upcoming 2008
season has been looked
upon as “the year” for
Georgia since Stafford
arrived on campus. The
strong 2005 and 2006
recruiting classes have
matured and head coach
Mark Richt shored up the
offensive line last year by
recruiting junior college
transfers. The only thing
standing in its way is the
most brutal schedule in
recent memory for the
team. The Bulldogs have
four straight games away
from Athens, including
games to Baton Rouge to
face LSU, Jacksonville for
the showdown with the
Gators, Kentucky and
Auburn. That’s after the
Bulldogs play South
Carolina and Arizona
State away and Alabama
and Tennessee at home in
the weeks before.
I’m not sure the 16-0
New England Patriots
could go unscathed
through that lineup.
I know USC couldn’t.
Jason Butt is a
sportswriter for
The Red & Black.