Courtney Kupets again NCAA Champion

Utah’s Kristina Baskett scored 39.60. Not enough to overtake Kupets.

While Georgia’s preliminary competition in the NCAA Gymnastics Championships was far from flawless Thursday, senior Courtney Kupets was perfect as she scored a 10.0 on the balance beam to seal her third NCAA all-around title.

Kupets finished with a 39.8 to win the award and become the first gymnast since Kentucky’s Jenny Hansen (1993-95) to win three NCAA all-around titles. …

“She reminds me of an angel with wings when she comes down on her landings,” Georgia coach Suzanne Yoculan said. “She is a joy to watch, so soft and graceful. She makes it all seem so effortless.”

In addition to claiming the all-around title, Kupets’ scores qualified her for Saturday’s event finals on every event. She has won NCAA championships on vault (2007), uneven bars (2006) and the balance beam (2006). She couldn’t compete in the NCAA Championships last year because of an Achilles tendon injury.

As dominant as she was Thursday, Kupets acknowledged that the past several weeks have had their low points as the pressure of facing her final collegiate meet led to some rough practices.

“I got down on myself, and that made it worse,” she said. “I got some negativity going, and I’m not good with negativity, and that made me even more frustrated with myself.”

Kupets got so frustrated she tried to talk Yoculan into letting her sit out of the all-around at the regional competition. Yoculan would have none of that, and Kupets went on to win the all-around, vault and uneven bars titles.

That success put Kupets back on track for nationals as her expectations led to big scores, not meltdowns.

“She is a perfectionist at everything, and she puts a lot of pressure on herself at everything she does,” Yoculan said.

Gym Dogs’ Kupets wins NCAA all-around title