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The No. 21 University of Kentucky gymnastics team travels to Athens, Ga., to take on the second-ranked Georgia Bulldogs on Friday, Feb. 8. This is the second of five Southeastern Conference dual meets for the GymKats and their first SEC road trip. Action gets underway at Stegeman Coliseum at 7:30 p.m.UK (5-3, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) is coming off a second-place finish in a quad meet at West Virginia University on Feb. 2. The GymKats’ 193.925 topped George Washington (193.225) and Massachusetts (189.650) but was not enough to overcome WVU (195.125).

The GymKats saw four career highs set or tied at WVU. Sophomore Julie Joy earned first place honors on the uneven bars with a career-high 9.875. Freshman Michelle Gales tallied a career-high 9.925 on the floor exercise and a personal-best 9.775 on beam to finish second on both events. On the floor exercise, junior Melanie Zaharias also scored a 9.775, tying her career-best effort.

Georgia enters Friday’s matchup with a 10-1 record (4-1 SEC). UGA’s lone loss this season came in a narrow 195.675-195.025 decision at Alabama. The Gym Dogs’ impressive record includes two wins over defending national champion UCLA, one over No. 4 Alabama and one over No. 3 Oklahoma last weekend. The Gym Dogs have scored less than 196.475 only twice in seven meets and hit a season-high 197.900 against UCLA on Jan. 13.

Kentucky and Georgia last met at the 2001 SEC Championships in Birmingham, Ala., where the Gym Dogs captured the team title with a season-best 198.000, winning all five individual titles. UK finished fifth in the meet with a 195.850, the second highest team total in school history.

The scores were much closer in the teams’ 2001 regular-season meeting when No. 3 UGA had to overcome a resilient No. 25 UK squad to post a 195.500-193.675 victory. The GymKats were tied with Georgia after two rotations, but strong performances on floor and vault by UGA gave the Gym Dogs the win.