Feb. 22, 2007

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AUBURN -

The No. 12 Auburn gymnastics team (4-4, 1-3 SEC) will hit the road to face its seventh ranked opponent of the season as it takes on Georgia (9-0-1, 4-0-1 SEC) at 6:30 p.m. CT on Friday at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Ga.

"We have been working very hard in the gym this week," head coach Jeff Thompson said.  "I think the girls are excited about competing at Georgia, and are ready to put on a great performance."

The Tigers are coming off a tough loss to LSU, 195.750-194.775 last Friday in Auburn, which will be aired on FSN on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT.  Auburn is in the midst of a three meet losing streak after starting the year with a 4-1 record.  The meet will feature two of the top four beam teams in the country, with Georgia ranked No. 1 and Auburn fourth.  This marks the first of two meetings scheduled for this season, with the second coming at the SEC Championships.  Auburn will be looking for the its first win over Georgia, as the Gym Dogs lead the all-time series 56-0.  Last year's contest in Auburn was the closest in series history, with UGA winning by .400, 196.550-196.150.

The Tigers are ranked fourth on beam with an RQS (regional qualifying score) of 48.855 and an average of 48.908.  Other rankings for AU include vault (13th), bars (14th) and floor (20th).  

Junior Julie Dwyer holds a No. 5 ranking nationally in the all around with an RQS score of 39.295, while averaging a score 39.350.  Dwyer is ranked No. 2 in the country on beam with an RQS of 9.880, while averaging a score of 9.892.  This season, Dwyer has notched three career-highs and a new school record.  She already has 10 individual titles-- three all-around titles, four beam wins, two on vault and one bar victory.  For her career, the Bloomington, Ind., native has 47 titles, including 16 all arounds, 16 on beam, nine on vault, three on floor and three on bars.

The No. 2-ranked Gym Dogs led No. 4 Utah all night in a 196.850-195.475 win last Friday  in Athens.  Junior Katie Heenan is rated No. 1 in the all-around with an RQS of 39.505, and is also first in the floor exercise (9.895).  Sophomore Courtney Kupet, the 2006 NCAA All-Around Champion, is first on the balance beam with a 9.905, while as a team, UGA is first on beam (49.300) and vault (49.360).   In all, the Gym Dogs hold 11 places among the top 10 individual national rankings, which is more than any other team.