Gym Dogs '09 Schedule Announced

From UGA Athletics Dept:

The four-time defending national champion Georgia gymnastics team will face seven teams that competed in the 2008 NCAA Championships, including four at home as its 2009 schedule was announced Friday.

As always, our schedule is tough and we love it, head coach Suzanne Yoculan said. We saw a lot of these teams here at NCAAs last year so we know what we are up against. I love our home schedule. We have three Super Six teams coming here, so it s going to be a good challenge for us.

The Gym Dogs open the season with three meets in 11 days, first at home against West Virginia on Jan. 9 followed by the initial road meet of the season at LSU on Jan. 16. Utah visits Athens on Monday, Jan. 19 for Georgia s annual Pink Out meet to raise money for the fight against breast cancer.

Georgia will play host to Alabama on Jan. 23 before traveling to Raleigh, N.C., for a meet against N.C. State on Jan. 30. The Gym Dogs return home to face Auburn on Feb. 7, then head to Lexington, Ky., on Feb. 13 for a tri-meet with Kentucky and Centenary.

A trip to Barnhill Arena and a meet against Arkansas on Feb. 20 marks the final SEC road meet for the Gym Dogs followed by a visit from Florida on Feb. 28.

The Gym Dogs then travel to Los Angeles to face UCLA on March 28 before closing out the regular season with a meet against Michigan on Senior Night on March 14.

The SEC Championships will be held in Nashville, Tenn., on March 21 prior to NCAA Regionals on campus sites April 4. Lincoln, Neb., will be the site of the NCAA Championships April 16-18.

The annual Sneak Peek, where fans can catch a glimpse of the Gym Dogs routines, is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 7, at 2:30 p.m.

The Gym Dogs, who return 11 letterwinners from the 2008 squad, will be aiming for their fifth straight NCAA title and 10th overall.