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Georgia's season comes to a close at Denver Regional

279 days ago
Georgia Athletics
Photo: Georgia Athletics

DENVER, Colo. --- Despite resilient effort, the University of Georgia gymnastics season comes to a close after scoring a 197.00 to finish third in the second round of the NCAA Denver Regional on Friday afternoon at Magness Arena.

The 197.00 team total is 0.14 higher than the team's National Qualifying Score coming into the regional. LSU and Oregon State advanced to the NCAA Denver Regional Final after both schools scored a 197.375. Nebraska scored a 195.525 to finish fourth.

"I am so proud of this team," head coach Courtney Kupets Carter said. "They have worked through a lot this season and to come out here today the way they did-they kept pushing. And we were so close! This is something to build on. This team has wonderful, dedicated, hard-working athletes who give their all for Georgia and unfortunately we came up short today."

The GymDogs started strong on bars, scoring a 49.300 in the first rotation, which was the highest bars score of the day. Freshmen Naya Howard and JaFree Scott, and junior Katie Finnegan all scored a 9.875. Senior Haley de Jong received a 9.850 and graduate Josie Angeny contributed a 9.825.

Moving onto beam, the GymDogs added another 49.300 to the total. Georgia added another three 9.875s from Howard, JaFree Scott, and de Jong. Angeny received a 9.850 for her routine and Jacquie Moran was back in the lineup, scoring a 9.825.

Georgia performed on floor in the third rotation, scoring a 49.250. Freshman Eryn Williams led off with a season-high 9.90. De Jong also scored a 9.900 from the fifth spot. Howard scored a 9.875 and senior Amanda Cashman received a 9.800 for her routine.

Down by 0.075 to Oregon State heading into the final rotation, the GymDogs added a 49.150 on vault while the Beavers scored a 49.450 on beam. Hawthorne scored a 9.875 from the anchor spot while Angeny and Howard contributed a pair of 9.850s.

Hawthorne was named a WCGA All-American. She was placed on the second team for floor, ranking 12th in the nation with a NQS of 9.945 for the regular season. Five GymDogs received All-SEC honors. De Jong, Deniz, and Hawthorne were given All-SEC nods, while Howard and Scott collected All-Freshman honors. This is the first All-SEC honor for all five GymDogs.